As a part of the Easy and Elegant Party Package, Calphalon sent me a Unison Slide Nonstick Griddle and Sear Nonstick Grill Pan.  The pork was made using the Sear Grill Pan.  If you don’t have a grill pan in your repertoire, you need one.  I have a variety of shapes and sizes.  The bonus of the Calphalon Unison line is that unlike most nonsticks – these *are* dishwasher safe.  I love grill pans for meat, vegetables, breads, grilled sandwiches, anything really.  I think the Unison Grill Pan is perfect for a family.  I most often cook en masse as with the 9 pounds of pork tenderloin in the recipe below.  When cooking large quantities like this, I love my All-Clad Gourmet Double Burner Grill.  As for the 9lbs, if I’m serving 2 meats, I go with about a 3 oz serving of each meat per guest.  For this recipe, that yielded about 50 servings of pork tenderloin.

I have to admit, this is my first use of coriander seeds.  I’ve been avoiding recipes with them for years as the seeds are the dried fruit of the plant from which cilantro leaves are harvested.  Cilantro is another love it or hate it ingredient.  Some believe a person is genetically predisposed to love or hate the herb.  I think I was merely shattered by an article in the Austin Chronicle proclaiming that cilantro tastes like body odor smells.  After that description, I had a hard time ever wanting to ingest the stuff again.  Whatever the situation, the coriander seeds have a totally different flavor than cilantro.  Both are a fresh “herby” taste, but I’d call the leaves musky and the seeds light and citrus tinged.  In any case, I’m so glad to discover I love the seeds!   A whole new world of recipes to explore has just opened up to me.

Seared Pork with Lime, Coriander, and Cumin Marinade Recipe

adapted from Chef Michael Symon’s recipe – about 50 buffet servings

2 whole, trimmed pork tenderloins (approx 9 lbs)

4 tsps coriander seed

1 tsp cumin seed

zest of 9 limes

juice from 6 limes

2/3 c. olive oil

4 tsp kosher salt

5 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 a white onion, minced

With a very sharp knife, cut tenderloins into 1 and 1/2 inch medallions.  In a small dry fry pan, toast the coriander and cumin seeds about 5 minutes on medium heat, swirling occasionally.  In a bowl, combine toasted seeds with zest, lime juice, olive oil, salt, garlic and onion.  Whisk until blended then pour over the pork medallions.  Use tongs to toss pork in marinade every 30 minutes, up to a total of two hours.

Preheat oven to 375.  Heat grill pan over medium high heat, use tongs to sear pork on each side for 3 minutes each, then place grill pan in the oven for 5 minutes to cook through.  Move to a platter and serve with herb sauce.

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Jerk Seasoning comes from Jamaica and principally includes allspice and hot peppers, in combo with garlic, salt, cinnamon, and other spices.  Add a little of the islands into your backyard and enjoy with a cool Red Stripe!

Grilled Jerk Pork Chops

Bone in Pork Chops

Caribbean Jerk Seasoning

2 oranges halved

2 lemons halved

Season Pork Chops surface with Caribbean Jerk Seasoning.  Preheat a gas grill on medium high heat with lid closed for 15 minutes.  Turn heat to lowest setting.  Grill Pork Chops over direct heat for 5 minutes with lid closed, then turn.  Grill lemons and oranges on upper rack.  Check temperature of pork chops after another 5 minutes.  Cook to an internal temp of 155, then let rest on the counter for 5 minutes before serving.  Squeeze half a roasted lemon and half a roasted orange just before eating.

If you find yourself sitting around coveting a fabulous stand mixer, biscuits and cakes and frostings dancing through your head, DoughMessTic has a contest running through midnight this Tuesday where you can win one!  Hope over there, make a comment in the comment section noting you were sent there by dinnerandconversation.  If the random number generator picks your comment number, you can with a Stand Mixer in a color of your very own choosing!  While you’re at it, you can become a fan of DoughMessTic on Facebook and my site!  Just search for doughmesstic or dinnerandconversation.com in your facebook, then click Become a Fan of!

The very very very best way to make Southern Style Biscuits requires White Lily Flour.  Really.  All other flours yield a biscuit though delicious, lacking a delicacy and levity unparalleled.  If you’re in Dallas, you can pick up your White Lily Flour at Central Market.  And if you’re lucky enough  to be in Austin, you can pick it up at almost any HEB.  Otherwise I hope you live in the southeast or you’ll be paying exorbitantly to ship 5 lb. bags of flour from either the site above or another you google.  Quality ingredients are worth the shipping.  Just ask me about my shipments of Heinz Genuine Dill Pickles.  At the end of the day, my pickles cost over $10 a jar.  That’s almost enough to make me hide them from my children.  But who am I kidding, I can’t blame them for their highly refined palates ; )  And at least I’m no longer buying them from the Piggly Wiggly, who gracefully managed to pack them so that at least 1/3 of my shipment broke every time.  Sigh.

Southern Style Biscuits Stand Mixer Recipe (makes about 14 biscuits)

Hamburger Soup Recipe

2.5 lbs ground chuck

1 yellow onion, diced

2 cans stewed tomatoes (14.5oz)

4 cans Campbell’s Beef Consomme (10oz)

1 can water

12 turns fresh ground pepper

In a large stock pot, brown ground beef on medium high heat.  When you can see no more pink, use a spatula to push beef to one half of the pot, then add the diced onion to the other.  Spread out your onion and stir each half every thirty seconds.  Continue until onion is soft and beef is very brown.  Use spatula to push beef and onions to one side, then tip pot to drain fat to the other side.  Remove fat with a spoon and discard.  Add tomatoes, consomme, water, and pepper to pan.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer.  Simmer 25 minutes, then serve and enjoy!

To address the first issue, I decided to read recipes where ever I could find them.  On the corn husks package (which p.s. is frightening, what in the world would I do with 25-30 DOZEN tamales?), on the lard package, on the masa package, and from my all time favorite resource, Google.  All the recipes I came across seemed fairly similar.  I knew I wanted pork filled tamales, so I built my recipe using the techniques and methods from my chimichanga meat, enchilada sauce, and a hybrid of the things that are required to create a tamale: dough, husks, and a filling.   As for issue number two, I never remember lard in my kitchen growing up.  I think of it as some sort of frightening, old-fashioned, and quite unhealthy ingredient.  That said, I’m also scared of crisco and very skeptical of the Spectrum Palm Oil Shortening substitute one can find at the Whole Foods.  I’m going to give it a shot, but I figured I’d try the original on my first batch.  I’ll let you know my results.  As for the quantity used, it’s about a tablespoon per tamale, so I’m not going to sweat it too much.

Three, complicated -yes and time-consuming – yes.  This one is legit.  An assembly line, might make this more do-able, but unlikely tamales are ever going to appear on a 30 minute meals show.  As for issue Four, Williams-Sonoma had a crazy sale on the All-Clad Multi-pot I’ve been craving for ages.  So I’m now a proud owner of a very large steamer.  And a 12 quart soup pot.  Just imagine how happy that makes me.

At the end of the day, these tamales were insanely delicious.  For a first time out of the box creation, Cory and I were ecstatic with the results.  I encourage you to try them if you’re feeling ambitious.  And if you’re not, arrange a tamale making party with friends so you can all take some home at the end of assembly.  Or come to my house for my upcoming spring tamale event.  However you get them, do.  They are so worth the work and the calories.  Yum.

Tamale Dough – (makes about 6 dinner size tamales, serves 3)

1 c. maseca instant masa

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp kosher salt

1 c. chicken broth, lukewarm

1/3 c. lard

In a bowl, combine masa, baking powder and salt.  Add in chicken broth, then stir with a spatula to combine.  In a stand mixer, beat lard until creamy, then add masa mixture.  Continue to beat dough until surface bounces back like a sponge, without sticking to your fingers. Refrigerate dough for one hour before assembly.

Pork Tamale Filling (makes a ton, probably enough to make 30 dinner size tamales – but freezable I’ve never seen a smaller pork roast, I guess you could cut it in half before hand, I’ve not tried that yet)

2.5 lb pork loin roast

kosher salt

fresh ground pepper

paprika

1 tbsp olive oil

Rinse pork loin and pat dry.  Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and paprika on all sides.  Heat a heavy stock pot with olive oil on medium high, then brown pork loin on all sides.  Cover with water, bring to a boil, then simmer for 2 hours.  Check with a fork to see if pork shreds easily.  If not, continue cooking and test again in half an hour.  When able to very easily shred, remove pork to a bowl and shred using two forks.  Reserve broth for sauce use.

Tamale Sauce (also makes a ton – enough for ~30 tamales, also freezable)

4 c. water

5-6 large ancho chiles

1 tbsp olive oil

1/2 yellow onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp oregano

1/2 tsp kosher salt

3 ladles pork broth

10 oz can tomato puree

kosher salt

fresh ground pepper

Bring water to a boil.  Add chiles and remove from heat, soaking for an hour.  Cut off stems and rinse chiles under water to remove seeds.  Place chilies in a food processor, then add 1 and 1/2 cups of the soaking water.  Turn on and run until you have a fine puree.

In a skillet on medium heat, warm olive oil.  Add onion and saute 8 minutes.  Add garlic,  oregano, and salt, saute another minute.  Add 3 ladles of broth from cooking the pork.  Cook 1 minute, then pour into a blender to puree.

Return the pureed garlic and onion mixture to skillet.  Add ancho puree, tomato puree and sprinkle surface liberally with kosher salt and fresh ground pepper.  Simmer for 5 minutes then check seasonings and add salt and pepper to taste.  Reserve one and a half cups of sauce for serving and dipping.  Then add shredded pork to remainder.  Stir, then cook another 10 minutes.

Tamale Assembly and Preparation

6 corn husks

water

Soak corn husks in warm water for about 2 hours.  Rinse.  Spread 75% of the husk surface with a thin layer of tamale dough.  Add 1-2 tablespoons of tamale filling in a vertical line.  You want this to be centered in the tamale with just the edges free of filling.  Roll long edges in to center.  Use right side to squish tamale dough around filling creating a tube with left side of dough, then fold both edges of husk over to form a packet.  Fold bottom edge up, then top.  Place seam side down in a steamer basket.  Repeat.

Cover tamales with a wet dishtowel.  Steam over 2 inches of boiling water, with a tightly fitting lid for an hour and 10 minutes.  Check after 45 minutes to make sure you still have enough water, then check again at one hour.  To check tamales, remove one and gently unfold.  Dough should not stick to husk and should be a very moist, but not wet,  cornbread-like consistency.  Serve two per person, with additional sauce for dipping if desired.  Enjoy!

Chili, like tortilla soup, seems to be a dish that means different things to different people.  I started to enter a contest earlier this year where part of the instructions required a smooth consistency of meat to gravy, containing no identifiable vegetables at all.  And some people think of chili only being a dish served so spicy it demands several beers in rapid succession to keep your taste buds from being destroyed.  This turkey chili with black beans recipe is not very spicy – you can adjust the amounts of cayenne and chili powder to increase the intensity to your desire.  You also could add half of a minced jalapeno in with the garlic, similar to the method I use in my tortilla soup.  I prefer to spice mine at serving with a sprinkling of red pepper flakes.  Enjoy experimenting!

Turkey Chili with Black Beans

2 tbsp olive oil

2.5 lbs ground turkey

1 large white onion, finely chopped

1 red bell pepper, finely chopped

4 cloves garlic

5 tomatoes on the vine, chopped

1 and 1/2 tsp kosher salt

1 and 1/2 tbsp chili powder

1/4 tsp cayenne

12 turns fresh ground pepper

1 and 1/2 tsp ground cumin

4 c. chicken stock

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained

Toppings: shredded cheddar jack cheese, diced onion, and crushed red pepper

Heat a heavy bottomed stock pot on medium heat.   Add olive oil and saute onion and bell pepper 8 minutes.  Add ground turkey, increase heat to high and brown thoroughly.  Add garlic, cook another minute.  Add tomatoes, spices and stock, bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer for 2 hours.  Add black beans, simmer another 30 minutes.  Serve and enjoy!

Anyhow, I’ve been thinking of making fish tacos often recently.  ( I previously integrated them into my diet circa 2001.)  Friday night at a party, someone who works with my sister mentioned Z’Tejas and their fish tacos, and I knew it was fate.  I just *had* to make fish tacos, and I can’t make fish tacos without thinking of SMIL.  Now, mine are a bit different than Z’Tejas, but here’s what I see as integral to a fish taco:  1)  White fish 2) Cabbage 3) Spice and 4) a tortilla.  I used to drizzle a habanero sauce on mine on top of dry cabbage.  Over time, I’ve realized I like my spice *in* my fish and my cabbage to exhibit a saucy-sour component to balance.  Most places seem to serve cream sauces as the side, but in general, I’m just a vinaigrette gal.  So here’s mine.  Don’t get carried away with your ground red pepper, it sneaks up on you and can make your fish crazy hot.  Feel free to change up your fish, just choose a mild white fish and you’re good to go.

Fish Tacos (serves 3)

3 tilapia fillets

sea salt, finely ground

ground red peper

fresh ground black pepper

paprika

garlic salt

grapeseed oil

Heat a skillet (I use an oval non-stick fish pan I picked up somewhere along the way) over medium high heat.  Rinse and dry fillets with a paper towel.  Sprinkle first with sea salt, then red pepper, black pepper, paprika, followed by garlic salt on each side.  You want to cover the surface, but very gently as this is a mild and delicate fish.  Pour about a tablespoon of the grapeseed oil in the skillet, then use a wooden spatula to spread over the entire surface.  Place fillets in skillet and cook until edges turn opaque and center is opaque 1/3 of the way through.  Flip using a wide spatula, then cook on opposite side until opaque throughout.  Depending on thickness, total cook time will be around 5-7 minutes.

Vinaigrette Coleslaw

1/2 head green cabbage

1/2 head purple cabbage

1 large white onion

1/2 c. sugar

1 c. apple cider vinegar

1 tsp dry mustard

1 tsp celery seed

1 tsp salt

3/4 c. grapeseed oil

Chop cabbage and onion into a large bowl.  In a saucepan, bring ingredients to a boil.  Cook for 1 minute, then remove from heat.  Pour vinaigrette over vegetables, then chill in the fridge.  This will make a large amount.  You can easily half it or serve it with other meals.  It will keep 1 week to 10 days in the fridge.

Serve fish in a warmed whole wheat tortilla and top with coleslaw.  Enjoy!

This recipe is written as I made the soup, which is certainly a time intensive method – but there are several shortcuts you could employ.  If your freezer is home to one of my staple whole roasted chickens minus the breast meat which was eaten at an earlier date, skip the first paragraph and throw your freezer portion in the pan with 2 raw split breasts.  If your freezer is bare AND you’re short on time, use 3 raw split breasts and cook for at least an hour before adding your vegetables if you can – but even 30 minutes will get you started.  When you are lacking a whole or part of a roasted chicken your broth isn’t going to be as flavorful, and there will be more room in your pan.  So cover the split breasts, then when you add the veggies, add 4 cups of chicken stock.  If you have cooked white rice on hand, that would totally work as well, I just like this method since the rice absorbs some of your stock’s flavor without stealing all of the stock thus leaving you with a thick, dry soup.

Now get out there and make some for yourself, and a friend, or just throw it in your freezer in individual sizes to bring you through the winter!

Lemony Chicken with Rice Soup Recipe

1 whole chicken approx 5 lbs, rinsed giblets and neck removed

1/2 a lemon, cut into 4 pieces

4 large cloves garlic

1 and 1/2 tsp kosher salt

1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper

olive oil

5 stalks celery, sliced

4 carrots, peeled, then sliced lengthwise, then again, then chopped into 1 inch slivers on an angle

1 yellow onion, peeled, sliced, then rounds sliced into quarters

2 bay leaves

2 c.  long grain white rice

3 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice

1/4 tsp crushed red pepper

Preheat oven to 425.  In a roasting pan fitted with a rack, stuff the chicken cavity with the lemon pieces, garlic, salt and pepper.  Drizzle skin very lightly with olive oil, then sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Roast chicken in oven for just over an hour – if you’re going to eat the breast meat at this point, you’ll need to keep cooking it to a safe internal temp of 165.

Since I’m going to continue boiling mine, I took it to 145, then put it in the stock pot and covered with water.  Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer, for 2 hours.  Add celery, carrots, onion, and bay leaves, simmer another hour.  Carefully remove the chicken with turkey forks or a fish spatula, being sure to remove all bone pieces from stock.  Shred chicken meat with two forks, then return to broth.  Add 2 teaspoons kosher salt and 15 turns fresh ground pepper.

Cook rice in  four cups of boiling water.  Reduce heat to a simmer, cook covered about 15 minutes – until mostly cooked, then remove with a slotted spoon, drain, then add al dente rice to soup.  Cook 10 more minutes in covered soup pan.  Add lemon juice and crushed red pepper.  Simmer another 5 minutes, then adjust seasonings to taste.  Serve and enjoy!

Any how, since I really did love the music, and many of my friends were involved, I chose to be a serving wench.  I graciously delivered bowls of beef with barley soup, plates of prime rib, and glasses of wassail to the crowd.  As a reward, I got free dinner and to see the show.  And a reason to be out socializing on a school night.  Which I was *always* looking for.  So perhaps I was caught up in the beauty of the costumes, or the sound of the music, or caught up flirting with my latest love interest, some how, I can not make this soup taste how I remember it, nor find a recipe that in anyway holds promise to do so.  And I didn’t go to a fancy high school so so I’m bound to be crushed one day when I learn I’ve been longing for Kroger brand Soup in economy size cans.

This soup isn’t bad, my husband loved it actually.  And the homemade beef stock from the leftover ribs from my standing rib roast turned out perfectly.  But if you love something you eat when out and about – beg, borrow, or steal the recipe quickly!  Don’t wait to attempt your own version nearly 15 years later. I realize many of you have no desire to make your own stock.  So for an express version, simply purchase boxed beef stock.  I recommend Kitchen Basics.  But if you cook a standing rib roast, save your bones in a ziploc in the freezer and make this stock some Sunday!  One thing I’ll probably alter next round will be to use a chuck roast instead of leftover prime rib, cause seriously, who usually has that lying around.  I’ll go ahead and brown it and braise it the way I do for my pot roast and chimichanga meat.  Then shred the meat and add it to the soup.  I’m a huge fan of shredded over cubed meats.

Beef and Barley Soup

6 c. beef stock – see recipe for homemade stock below

3 stalks celery, chopped

1.5 c. baby carrots

1 medium white onion, chopped

2 tbsp olive oil

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 c. pearled barley, uncooked

3 c. leftover rare prime rib

Kosher Salt

Fresh Ground Pepper

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

Heat olive oil in a stock pot over medium high heat.  Add carrots, onions, and celery and saute until slightly browning, scented, and softening.  Add beef stock, leftover prime rib, and garlic, bring to a boil, then cover and reduce to a simmer.

Meanwhile, boil 4 cups of water in a sauce pan.  Add 1 tsp salt and barley, reduce to a simmer, cook for 45 minutes.  Then add to soup.  Remove leftover prime rib from stock, then shred if you can or cut into bite size pieces and add back to stock.  Skim any surface fat with a spoon to remove.  Season soup with salt, pepper and cayenne to taste.  Let simmer 15 more minutes, then serve.

Homemade Beef Stock

leftover ribs (4) from a standing rib roast

water

2 tbsp salt

2.5 c. celery, chopped

2 c. yellow onion, chopped

2 c. baby carrots

fresh ground pepper

Place ribs in large stock pot, fill to the top with water.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer.  Cook for 3 hours, then add celery, onions, and carrots, salt and pepper.  Cook another hour, then strain into a fresh pan.  Let sit 30 minutes to separate, then skim off all fat with a spoon.  Or refrigerate, then pull off the solid fat pieces.

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This sauce makes a very quick gourmet meal.  I think it would be delicious with roasted asparagus and a spinach salad, but my kids wanted spaghetti.  So we topped our chicken on whole wheat pasta and spooned the sauce over both.  I used half and half instead of cream, since that’s what we had on hand.  I used a Sauvingnon Blanc instead of vermouth, since the liquor cabinet was lacking.  Dry Vermouth is very inexpensive and shelf stable, and even if you don’t like martinis, I highly recommend keeping it on hand.  It can always replace white wine and adds a much better flavor than wine, IMO.

It’s game day now, and ESPN is in Austin, so I’m off to jog at 11 – then eat nothing but queso for the rest of the day.  Hook ‘em!

Whole Grain Mustard Sauce

2 tbsp olive oil

4 thin cut chicken breasts

kosher salt

fresh ground pepper

shallot, minced

1/2 c. dry white wine – or vermouth if you have it

3/4 c. half and half

3 tbsp coarse ground Dijon mustard

Heat a saute pan over medium high heat.  Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper.  Add olive oil, swirl and saute chicken, 5 minutes per side for thin cut.  Remove cooked chicken to a plate.  Add another drizzle of olive oil and shallots.  Saute one minute, then add wine.  Deglaze pan, stirring up brown bits, then reduce to two tablespoons.  Add half and half, stirring continuously, bring to a boil and reduce until thickened.  Add mustard, stir to combine then serve over chicken.