Bacon Wrapped Pork Loin with Morel Mushrooms

What do you get when you combine the flavors of bacon, creme fraiche, wild morel mushrooms, pork loin, garlic and white wine? Pure perfection . Our local CSA had wild morel mushrooms available this week and I had the perfect recipe to go with them in the cookbook A Platter of Figs by chef David Tanis. It was pure perfection- did I mention that already? Originally the recipe called for veal, but since we don't eat veal, I decided to substitute a pork loin instead and it worked out beautifully. The finished dish was not only beautiful on the plate, but one bite and I was completely done for. The earthiness of the morels swimming in the cream sauce was the perfect compliment to the tender pork and slightly salty bacon. This is one recipe I know we'll definitely be making again real soon.


Bacon Wrapped Pork Loin with Morel Mushrooms (serves 4)
1 pork loin
salt, pepper to taste
4 garlic cloves, sliced
a few rosemary and thyme sprigs
4-5 slices thinly sliced pancetta or bacon
1/2 lb. morel mushrooms
2 tbsp. butter
1 shallot, finely chopped
2 cups chicken stock
1/4 c. white wine
1/2 cup creme fraiche or heavy cream

Season the loin with salt and pepper. Make shallow slits into the loin and insert the garlic slices into the meat. Roughly chop the rosemary and thyme sprigs and press them onto the pork loin. Wrap the pancetta or bacon strips around the loin and place in a pan. Refrigerate for at least an hour.
Bring the meat to room temperature, and preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Roast the pork for 30-45 minutes, until the internal temperature is at least 150 degrees but not more than 160 degrees. Let the meat rest, loosely covered for at least 10 minutes before slicing.
While the pork loin is cooking, prepare the sauce. Over high heat, reduce the stock by half to yield one cup. Set aside. Swish the mushrooms quickly in a large bowl of salted water, then lift them out and pat dry. Trim and discard tough stems. Coarsely chop the morels, or if they're small, cut them in half.
Melt the butter in a saucepan. Slowly saute the shallots in the butter, stirring occasionally until lightly browned. Turn up the heat and add the mushrooms, salt and pepper. Stew the mushrooms with the shallots for a minute or two, then add the reduced stock and white wine. Simmer gently for 10-15 minutes.
When the pork loin is out of the oven and resting, pour off the fat from the roasting pan. Add to the morels and stock. Stir in the creme fraiche and simmer the sauce for 10 minutes more.
Slice the meat, arrange on a platter and spoon over the mushroom sauce. Enjoy!

Stuffed Zucchini

This is one of my family's all time favorites- we just adore this and I've made many variations of the basic recipe. I first saw this recipe in the cookbook Chocolate and Zucchini- Daily Adventures in a Parisian Kitchen by Clotilde Dusoulier. Her recipe is vegetarian, but I found that adding a sausage that's been taken out of the casing and sauteed before adding the rest of the filling ingredients seems to suit my families taste. I've stuffed it with bulgur wheat, brown rice, cooked orzo, quinoa... depending on my mood and what's leftover in the refrigerator. No matter how many zucchini we happen to make, it never seems like enough because we devour it all in 10 seconds flat (well, not really, but you get the picture)!

Stuffed Zucchini (serves 4 as a light main course)
extra virgin olive oil
4-6 zucchini cut in half and scooped out with a small melon baller or tsp. spoon- reserve zucchini flesh
salt, pepper to taste
1 cup cooked bulgur, orzo, rice, or quinoa
1/8 cup pine nuts, toasted
1 small onion, diced
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp. red pepper flakes
1 sausage removed from the casing
2 oz. goat cheese, crumbled
several sprigs of mint, chiffonade

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and lightly grease a casserole dish with olive oil. After you've washed, halved and scooped out the flesh of the zucchini, place in dish and bake for 15-20 minutes or until slightly softened but still holding their shape. Chop the flesh and set aside.
Meanwhile, heat a pan over medium heat and saute the sausage until cooked through. Remove and chop coarsely. In the sausage oil, heat the chopped zucchini flesh, onions, salt, pepper, cinnamon, red pepper flakes, grain of choice and pine nuts until softened and heated through. Add the sausage bits and stir together. Remove from heat and add goat cheese and chopped mint, stirring until blended. Taste and adjust the seasoning, if necessary.
Stuff the zucchini shells with the warm filling and return to the oven for 10-15 minutes more until heated through and serve immediately.

Orange and Basil Mussels

What to make for dinner on a weeknight that's quick but a little more special than chicken? Orange and Basil Mussels, of course!
Mussels in a white wine and garlic broth are delicious and standard fare on many restaurant menus, and I often order them as a main dish (they're usually listed in the appetizer section) to go along with a nice salad. While I was flipping through Sunset Magazine, I came across this quick recipe for mussels prepared in a way I've never seen or tasted before. Mussels with Orange and Basil. hmmmmmm- it sounded like the combination would go great together, and with the sweetness of the orange I had a feeling it would be a hit with the girls. Noelle enjoys mussels and will eat a couple from my dish when I order them (our favorite is the Baked Green Leaf Mussels at Mio Sushi), but Sophie had never tried mussels before. I like to encourage my girls to try new things, so this recipe sounded perfect... and it was. In the words of Sophie who enjoyed a second helping, "They're divine!"

Orange and Basil Mussels (serves 4)
3 garlic cloves, smashed
2 tbsp olive oil
2/3 c. dry white wine
3/4 c. cup orange juice
1/2 c. canned diced tomatoes
salt, pepper to taste
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
2 lbs. of mussels
1/3 c. fresh basil, chiffonade
1 loaf of crusty bread

Heat olive oil over medium heat in a large pan. Add the garlic cloves and heat until fragrant. Add the wine, orange juice, diced tomatoes, salt and both peppers; simmer for 5 minutes. Add the mussels in shells, cover and cook until mussels open (about 5-8 minutes). Remove from heat and sprinkle with basil. Serve mussels with a generous amount of liquid and bread for dipping.

Strawberry Clafouti

First of all I want to apologize for the lack of recipe posts this past month- our computer had to be sent to the repair shop, then we left for a vacation to Hawaii, and now our digital camera got rolled over by the Jeep and we're awaiting a replacement. So, sorry, but there's no appetizing photo to accompany this amazingly simple and in season treat. I won't however, be apologizing for the way you'll fall head over heels in love with this Strawberry Clafouti.
What is a Clafouti, you might ask? It's basically a classic French dessert that involves fruit (usually plums or cherries, but in this case, strawberries) spread out in a buttered pan and topped with a thin pancake-flan type batter and baked. It's uncomplicated, comforting and delicious. I had some lovely lavender sugar that I had bought on a trip to the Hood River and it added just a hint of delicate lavender taste, but the recipe would taste just as good with granulated sugar. I hope you'll enjoy some of the Spring Season's first strawberries in this dessert.

Strawberry Clafouti (serves 4-6)
1 1/2 cups fresh strawberries, hulled and halved lengthwise
2 tsp. cornstarch
3 large eggs
1 c. milk
2/3 c. flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. salt
powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a shallow 2 qt baking dish or gratin dish. In a bowl, gently toss strawberry halves with cornstarch until evenly coated, then arrange berries with cut sides down in bottom of dish and set aside.
In a blender, whirl eggs, milk, flour, granulated sugar, vanilla and salt until smooth, about 15-20 seconds. Pour batter over strawberries.
Bake until puffed, golden brown and set in the center, about 45-50 minutes. Let cool slightly and dust with powdered sugar. Serve slightly warm

Pork Tenderloin Roulade

This recipe is 5 ingredients long- yep, you read right, 5 ingredients! Though the grocery list isn't long, it definitely doesn't fall short on flavor. It's also a nice presentation since the ingredients are rolled in the pork. Try it, and trust me, you won't be disappointed.
The original recipe called for charring the pork on the grill, but it's the first week of April and we got snow today, so we weren't planning on going outside. Instead, I chose to braise the pork over med-high heat in a pan and then finish the cooking in the oven. It was nice and caramelized on the outside and slightly pink in the center, just the way I like it. Because I browned the pork before finishing in the oven, I had all of those lovely browned bits on the bottom of the pan. I don't know about you, but I can't let all that flavor go to waste, so I quickly chopped some veggies (carrots, onion, celery and shitakes), threw them in the pan to saute then deglazed with a splash of red wine and simmered till tender in some chicken stock. It was a nice accompaniment to the stuffed pork tenderloin. In a couple of weeks, I plan to prepare this recipe just as it was intended- on the grill and see which we like best. For now, here's my recipe:

Pork Tenderloin Roulade (serves 4)
1 1 lb. pork tenderloin
1/4 cup chopped shallots
1/4 cup crumbled goat cheese
3 Tbsp. chopped walnuts, toasted
2 tsp. chopped fresh thyme
salt, pepper to taste
1-2 Tbsp. olive oil

Place pan over med-high heat and add olive oil. Slice tenderloin lengthwise, cutting to, but not through the other side. Open halves, laying tenderloin flat. Place tenderloin between 2 sheets of plastic wrap, pound to 1/2 inch thickness using a meat mallet or heavy skillet. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Sprinkle shallots, goat cheese, walnuts and thyme on tenderloin. Roll up, starting with long side, secure pork at 1 inch intervals with twine. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Put tenderloin in hot pan to sear on all sides until browned, about 3-4 min. per side.

Remove from pan and place in a dish. Cover with tin foil and cook in the oven for 15-20 minutes or until inside is just slightly pink. Remove from oven and let rest for 5 minutes. Thinly slice and enjoy!

Strawberry Shortcakes with Balsamic Vinegar and Sugar

This is my second post for the day but I just had to share this recipe. I was in a 'Welcome Spring' mood, trying to coax the season into coming just a little sooner by making a few recipes with fresh seasonal produce. I saw the bright red strawberries at the grocery store and their price couldn't be beat. I immediately thought- strawberry shortcakes! I went over to get a box of Bisquick baking mix (please don't judge- Bisquick has a wonderful recipe on the back of their box for delicious shortcakes and I love it for making fluffy pancakes). I knew my girls would LOVE this surprise for dessert, so in the cart went the box and strawberries.
As you can guess, I don't follow the recipe on the Bisquick box completely. Did you know that adding balsamic vinegar and sugar to a bowl of strawberries enhances the berry-ness, adds a note of complexity and makes a delicious syrup? Effortless and delicious. Instead of adding whipped topping to my shortcakes, I simply pour half and half over the entire thing. The half and half soaks into the shortcakes and is pure heaven. I hope you'll try this recipe and enjoy it as much as we do.

Strawberry Shortcakes (makes 6)
1 pint fresh strawberries, sliced
1/4 c. sugar
1 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
2 1/3 c. Bisquick baking mix
1/2 cup milk
3 Tbsp. sugar
3 Tbsp. melted butter
half and half

Mix strawberries, 1/4 cup sugar and balsamic vinegar together in a bowl. Let sit on the side.
Meanwhile, heat oven to 425 degrees. Stir Bisquick mix, milk, 3 Tbsp sugar and butter until soft dough forms. Divide dough into 6 portions and drop onto baking sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Split warm shortcakes, fill and top with strawberries and pour half and half over the top. Enjoy!

Pasta with Creme Fraiche, Lemons and Basil

As I was perusing through my cookbooks trying to plan the meals for this coming week, I came across this recipe for Lotsa Lemon Pasta in the I Love Trader Joe's Cookbook. I looked at the ingredient list and saw that one of my favorite ingredients was featured- creme fraiche. If you've never had creme fraiche before, I can describe it's flavour and texture as somewhat similar to sour cream. It's tangy and ever so slightly sweet. Because of it's high fat content, it doesn't separate when heated and can lend itself well to either savory or sweet dishes. I continued to look down the ingredient list and saw that arugula was listed. Because I didn't have fresh arugula on hand but had just bought a bunch of fresh basil, I decided to substitute one green for the other. As I added ingredients and stirred the sauce together, I tasted it and decided that because of the aromatic lemon zest, I only needed the juice of one lemon instead of two. I also decided to add a dash of nutmeg to the sauce and I felt it was perfectly seasoned.
When the warm pasta was added to the creme fraiche sauce, I immediately smelled the citrusy zing of the lemon and I added the basil right before serving to avoid it turning an unattractive brown. We took our first bite and it was like Spring in our bowls. Seriously. It was fresh, aromatic and made me feel happy. The recipe below is written with my substitutions and additions. I hope you'll enjoy this first taste of Spring.

Pasta with Creme Fraiche, Lemons and Basil (serves 6)
1 7.5-8 oz. container creme fraiche
juice of 1 fresh lemon
zest of 2 lemons
1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1 16 oz bag of bow tie pasta (or other similar sized pasta)
freshly ground pepper and salt, to taste
dash of nutmeg
10-12 leaves of fresh basil, chiffonade

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil and cook the pasta al dente. Drain the pasta and set aside.
Meanwhile, in a large bowl, stir together the creme fraiche, lemon juice, lemon zest, salt, pepper, dash of nutmeg and Parmesan cheese together. When pasta is slightly cool, add to sauce and stir. Right before serving, stir in basil. You can add more Parmesan and basil to the top, if desired. Bon Appetite!