Saturday, March 7, 2009

Pork loin wrapped in bacon

Pork loin wrapped in bacon



I crave Sunday roast from home but it is not easy to get a roast beef here and its expensive and lamb is impossible to get so pork is always my alternative option. This time I took my pork loin and covered it in mustard and rosemary salt and pepper wrapped it in bacon and used rosemary twigs to hold the bacon in place then drizzled some maple syrup over it.
This pork loin was 7000 won.


I then took my wrapped loin and placed it in a roasting tin on a bed of onions and garlic so as it doesn't fry it is roasted all over. Pre heat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius for 1hour 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes I added parboiled potatoes with a little rosemary.

Baileys mustard sauce
To make the sauce I used chicken stock, baileys, whole grain mustard salt pepper , sage and parsley. I de glazed the roasting pan the pork was on and strained the contents with a sieve.
Once the roast pork was finished I let it sit for 10 minutes before cutting . I finished the roast potatoes in the oven at 250 degrees Celsius for another 10 minutes


Looks Can Be Deceiving

I now keep my camera in the kitchen and rush to take pictures of anything I make that looks promising. But lately it's been a matter of "looking promising" and not delivering. Isn't that the worst?
I mean, doesn't this look appealing (for meat lovers)?


Meatballs are getting cozy with ham in my Dutch oven. I added the rest of the sauce ingredients and let them stew for 30 minutes. Soon after, I'm settled with a plate in front of the TV for Lost.

I had high hopes for this recipe and it looks sensational. So what's the problem? Sometimes looks can be deceiving.
I usually pride myself on being a good recipe picker. Smoky Meatballs in Serrano Ham Tomato Sauce had all the indications of a good recipe. Basic ingredients with a twist (smoked paprika in the meatballs for a smoky flavor, ham in the tomato sauce), the make ahead aspect of the meatballs, and the addition of chunks of red bell pepper allowing the recipe to stand as a one-dish dinner. But overall the recipe was lacking something, namely salt. Only 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt was allocated to a full pound of ground beef, and no salt was added to the rest of the recipe. As any Top Chef judge would say, the dish was underseasoned.
Not that one cannot add salt after tasting the dish. But as I mentioned, I was already well settled into the couch with my plate watching a gripping episode of Lost and never got around to finding the salt shaker. I was only aware enough to know I was disappointed in the recipe.
(Note that when I was warming up the leftovers at work, a woman standing next to me nearly drooled into my tupperware as she asked me what I was eating. At least that made me feel good.)

I tried another promising recipe the next week. Malaysian Chicken Curry with Sweet and Spicy Peppers:


Again with the red peppers. I'm sensing a theme. Do red bell peppers suck all the taste out of things? I'm not sure where this recipe went wrong. The chicken was seasoned well, browned in the pan and then simmered in coconut milk with curry powder, red peppers, and jalapeƱos. I forgot to start the rice so I turned to my favorite rice substitute, couscous, which is always ready in five minutes and does a good job of soaking up the coconut curry. And yet. The recipe didn't wow. And there is too much good food out there to settle for a lackluster performance.

So did I make anything good recently? I've been making this trout for a few years now, and it always satisfies yet doesn't look exciting:

I need a supply of these unassuming recipes which are delicious and memorable enough that I can keep coming back to them to recover from bad recipes.

Indian Grilled Trout (adapted from "step-by-step Indian")

4 trout fillets
2 tablespoons butter
1 garlic clove, crushed
1/2 fresh green chile, deseeded and chopped
1/2 tsp chopped ginger root or ginger paste
3/4 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp ground cumin
Grated zest from half a lemon
Juice from one lemon
salt

Season the trout and place in broiler pan. Heat the butter in a saucepan over low heat. Add the crushed garlic, chile, chopped ginger, and spices and cook very gently for 30 seconds, stirring. Remove the pan from heat and stir in lemon zest and juice. Spoon half the mixture over the trout pieces and cook under the broiler for five minutes. Turn the fish over, spoon the remaining mixture over the fish and broil for a further five minutes. Garnish with cilantro and lemon wedges.

PR 4 Asari no Pasta

5 Maret 2009, kamis

Kebetulan hari ini belanja asari-kerang, jadi sekalian bikin PR deh. Asari no pasta...kayaknya enakkk. Apalagi Mei suka banget ma kerang ini, biasa dibikin miso siru, kali ini dicampur di pasta. Bilangnya oishiii, mama...

Bahan
200 gr pasta
4 sdm olive oil
18-25 btr kerang
1 siung bwg putih
1 bh cabe kering
paseli bubuk scukupnya
cara
1.rebus pasta di 2 lt air, bubuhi 1 1/2 sdm garam,rebus stengah matang.
2.iris tipis bwg putih, cabe potong tipis2 kerang dicuci bersih
3.mskkan olive oil n bwg putih n cabe di ferifan. masak dengan api kcil mpe wangi.
masukkan kerang, msukkan air 50 cc, tutup
4. tunggu kulit .kerang terbuka, masukkan paseli,masukkan sedikit air rebusan pasta, rebus dengan api kecil
5. masukkan pasta ke 4.Ambil 200 ml air rebusan pasta, masukkan di 4.rebus mpe air habis.Kalau pastamasih agak keras, tambahkan sedikit air.
6.terakhir masukkan 1 sdm olive oil, rasakan.kalau perlu tambahkan garam, masukkan paseli secukupnya

Inari Zushi

7 maret 2009, sabtu

Tadi belanja ke supermarket deket rumah, ketemu kulit tahunya buat bikin inari zushi. Ah, jadi ngiler pengen makan...apalagi Mei suka banget ma sushi yang satu ini. Bikinnya gampang banget, pake cuka sushi n gula dikit, trus taburin furikake di nasinya, aduk rata. Trus nasinya tinggal dimasukkin ke kantong kulit tahunya..jadi dah...nyam nyamm. Sekali bikin 15 biji...ga lama uda ludesss...laku nih bikinan kali ini.