Memories...

Food and memories seem to go together. Whenever I have a jalapeno popper I always think of the end of my pregnancy with Evie :) Whenever I dip my french fries in mayonnaise I think of my travelling in the Netherlands. Whenever I make a silver white cake with chocolate chips I think of my last year in college and how our apartment's heater didn't work. It was so cold that fluffy light cake seemed like a pound cake (I miss you Anna and Laura and Amanda!). I could go on and on... Whenever I make Honey Hoisen pork tenderloin I remember how Ashley made it for us one of the times we came over to their apartment in 2006. And how that stupid pork just wouldn't cook! Until we realized the oven wasn't turned on :-D Ashley and Eric were some of our first friends when we moved to Muscatine. We have had a ton of fun times with them: beer pong, played with a tiny bouncy ball in their tiny apartment, late nights of playing settlers, Ashley super gluing her finger to her toe, singing karaoke... Just recently they moved from Muscatine and we already miss them! So, I will make this recipe and remember them (I'll just try to be sure to turn the oven on!)

Honey Hoisen Pork Tenderloin

2 Tablespoons sliced green onions

2 Tablespoons hoisin sauce

2 Tablespoons soy sauce

2 Tablespoons sage (or clover) honey

1 Tablespoon hot water

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 lb Pork Tenderloin, trimmed

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon sesame seeds       

1. Combine first 6 ingredients in a small bowl. Pour 1/4 cup of mixture into ziplock bag with pork. Reserve rest of marinade. Refrigerate pork 30 minutes.

2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

3. Remove Pork from bag. sprinkle with salt. Heat a skillet over medium heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add pork, brown on all sides.

4. Brush with 1 Tablespoon of marinade. Sprinkle with sesame seeds. Place Pork on cookie sheet and bake for 20 minutes.

5. Drizzle pork with remaining marinade and serve sliced.                              

Sichuan Pork & Menu Planning Apps

I recently discovered the awesomeness of a menu planning app. This app lets me input recipes on my computer and then will sinc the recipes with the app on my phone. Then I can set my menu plan up and then it will add the ingredients I need to my grocery list. The name of this oh so awesome app is Pepperplate. I even had Matt download it so he can see our weeks menu if he is wondering what's for dinner, or if he needs to add something to my grocery list. I feel as though I have entered the technological age! No more grocery lists on pieces of paper that get lost in my purse or left at home! Now I just have to worry about dropping my phone... I'm also currently in the process of typing up all my recipes (which should make it easier to blog about them!).

Last week I realized I hadn't tried out any new recipe's in awhile (my excuse: 3 children :-)). I decided to attempt Sichuan Stir-Fried Pork in a garlic sauce from my cooks illustrated magazines (I LOVE this magazine btw). It didn't take too long to throw together & turned out awesomely! I was a little worried about the pork (you soak it in baking soda???) but it turns out very tender and tastes great. So, if you're feeling adventurous here's a yummy pork dish:

Sichuan Stir-Fried Pork in a Garlic Sauce

Ingredients

Sauce
1/2 cup chicken broth

2 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons soy sauce

4 teaspoons Chinese black vinegar (2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar & 2 teaspoons rice vinegar)

1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil

1 tablespoon Chinese rice wine or dry sherry

2 teaspoons ketchup

2 teaspoons fish sauce                                   

2 teaspoons corn starch 

Pork       

12 oz boneless country-style pork ribs, trimmed

1 teaspoon baking soda                                   

1/2 cup cold water

2 teaspoons Chinese rice wine or dry sherry

2 teaspoons cornstarch                           

Stir-Fry

4 garlic cloves, minced

2 scallions, white parts minced, green parts sliced thin

2 tablespoons Asian broad-bean chili paste (or Sriracha sauce, cut back on this a lot if you don't want spicy)

4 tablespoons vegetable oil

6 oz shitake mushrooms, stemmed and sliced thin

2 celery ribs, cut on bias into 1/4 inch slices

 Instructions

• For the Sauce

  1. Whisk all ingredients together in a bowl; set aside.

• For the Pork

  1. Cut pork into 2 inch lengths, then cut each length into 1/4 inch matchsticks.
  2. Combine pork with baking soda and water in bowl.
  3. Let sit at room temperature for 15 minutes.
  4. Rinse pork in cold water. Drain well and pat dry with paper towels. Whisk rice wine and cornstarch in bowl. Add pork and toss to coat.

• For the Stir-Fry

  1. Combine garlic, scallion whites & chili paste in bowl.
  2. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in Wok over high heat until just smoking. Add mushrooms and cook, stirring frequently, until tender, 2 to 4 minutes. Add celery and continue to cook until celery is crisp-tender, 2 to 4 minutes. Transfer vegetables to separate bowl.
  3. Add remaining 3 tablespoons oil to now-empty wok and place over medium-low heat. Add garlic-scallion mixture ad cook, until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
  4. Transfer 1 tablespoon garlic-scallion oil to small bowl and set aside.
  5. Add pork to wok and cook, stirring frequently, until no pink remains, 3 to 5 minutes.
  6. Whisk sauce mixture to recombine and add to wok. Increase heat to high and cook, stirring constantly, until sauce is thickened and pork is cooked through, 1 to 2 minutes.
  7. Return vegetables to wok and toss to combine. Transfer to serving platter, sprinkle with scallion greens and reserved garlic-scallion oil, and serve over steamed white rice.