KC202009 Seared Pork Tenderloin with Cocoa Spice Rub

When the ancient Myans began using chocolate 2,600 years ago they didn’t have the luxury of creamy Swiss milk or the ingenious idea of the Spanish to add sugar. Instead they mixed the powder of the ground seeds into hot water spiked with spicy chilies and fragrant herbs to create a frothy drink. This Cocoa spice rub is inspired by those amazing Myans who first discovered the wonders of chocolate.

To make the spice rub I first mix together dark cocoa powder about three or so tablespoons. I then add about a teaspoon or so each of, fresh ground pepper, ground coriander, ground nutmeg, ground cloves, and ground cumin. I also add about a tablespoon of cinnamon and at least two teaspoons of sea salt. I mix them all together well in a bowl.



I use two boneless pork tenderloins about two pounds a piece. I make sure to remove all the silver skin as this does not cook off and becomes chewy when cooked. I like to leave the fat on pork tenderloin as it is a very lean cut of meat and will need the little bit of fat it has on it for optimum flavor.



I coat each tenderloin with the cocoa spice rub and let it rest for about fifteen minutes at room temperature.



In a very hot cast iron skillet I warm about two tablespoons of olive oil and sear the pork tenderloin for about two minutes on each side. I then place the cast iron skillet with the pork tenderloin in a 450 degree preheated oven for about ten to fifteen minutes. I like my pork tenderloin to be slightly pink on the inside. It is safe to cook pork to medium as pork is now raised on corn and no longer feed scraps. I let the pork rest for another five minutes before cutting into it. This pork is best served sliced thin. I like to side it with wild rice pilaf, rosemary potatoes, or roasted asparagus.



This pork tenderloin makes great leftovers. I like to make sandwiches with it using mayonnaise on homemade whole wheat bread with swiss cheese. The leftover spice rub will keep in an airtight container for about a month.

KC192009 Orange Cupcakes

My aunt had a bake sale last Monday to raise money for the Alzheimer’s Memory Walk. She raised $216. I donated 48 orange cupcakes with orange cream cheese frosting. Well give or take few for “tasting”.



To make the cupcakes I started with organic yellow cake mix. Once I mixed together all the ingredients on the cake mix box instructions I then added the zest of one orange and half the juice of a fresh squeezed orange. I mixed the batter again to incorporate the new ingredients. The batter is thinner than normal because of the juice but it bakes up just the same.



I then poured the batter into cupcake pans lined with cupcake papers. I filled each cup about half way to the top. I baked the cupcakes according to the directions on the box. I let the cupcakes cool on wire racks for about an hour before making the cream cheese frosting.



To make the frosting I beat one package of cream cheese for each 24 batch of cupcakes using the paddle attachment on my kitchen aid. The cream cheese needs to be softened significantly. I always forget to leave the cream cheese out the night before so to remedy this I just leave the package on the stove top while the oven is warming and the cupcakes are baking. Once the cream cheese was beaten smooth I added the zest and juice of one orange. I bet it again until smooth adding about a half a cup or so of sugar. You can add a little more or less depending on your sweet tooth. The frosting had a slightly thicker consistency than royal icing.



I placed one small spoonful of frosting at the center of each cooled cupcake and made a circle with the back of the spoon moving outwards towards the edge of the cupcake. Because I’m pretty impatient when it comes to cake, I’ve never been very good at frosting. They tasted awesome even though they weren’t the best looking cupcakes.

KC182009 Pasta Salad

My summer garden is overflowing with fresh vegetables. One of my favorite things to make with the summer surplus is pasta salad. I like using tri color spiral pasta, sliced grape tomatoes, julienned red and yellow gypsy peppers, sliced cucumber, green olives stuffed with pimento, and chopped green onions.



To make the salad I first cooked the pasta until al dente. While the pasta cooked I cut the vegetables and tossed them in a large bowl with olive oil, champagne vinegar, parmesan cheese, salt and pepper. Sometimes I like to add a little dried Italian seasoning.



Once the pasta was cooked I drained it in a metal colander and ran it under cold water from the faucet. I also added about a cup of ice to help stop the pasta from cooking. I used a metal colander to better transfer away the heat.

Once the pasta had cooled I tossed it in a large bowl with olive oil, champagne vinegar, parmesan cheese, salt and pepper. Once the pasta was completely coated I tossed it together with the already dressed vegetables. I dress the vegetables separate from the pasta to be sure every thing is coated evenly.

This pasta salad is usually eaten within a matter of days but it will last in the refrigerator for a little over a week. Be sure to cover it and stir it well before each serving.

KC172009 Pasta w/ Ricotta, Caramelized Onions, and Sautéed Green Beans

The other night for dinner I made elbo pasta with ricotta, caramelized onions, and sautéed green beans.

While waiting for the pasta water to boil, I chopped half of a large sweet Vidalia onion and sautéed it in a large skillet with olive oil on medium/ high heat until golden, about fifteen minutes.



To the skillet I added about a cup of green beans cut into bite size pieces that I had blanched earlier. I sautéed the green beans until tender, about 3 minutes.



I then added the cooked pasta and about half cup of the pasta water to the skillet with the green beans and onions. Keeping the burning on low heat I added about half cup of ricotta, 1 teaspoon of lemon pepper, 1/4 cup torn fresh basil, and salt to taste. I stirred the skillet constantly until all the ingredients were fully incorporated, about a minute or two. I removed the skillet from the heat and garnished with parmesan cheese.



I got the idea for this dish from a recipe I found in a magazine. The magazine called for sugar snap peas and lemon zest but I used green beans and lemon pepper instead. I had just harvest a bunch of green beans from the garden. While I was at the store picking up the ricotta and onion I forgot to grab a lemon and didn’t realize this until I was almost done cooking so I just used lemon pepper instead.