My Pork Creation

Pork roast with a butternut squash crust #pork #butternut #squash #roast via caseygoduti

Have you ever had a moment of inspiration that turned itself into something totally amazing. That was what it was like for me, in the creation of the dish above. I literally created this dish at the grocery store, while thinking of the leftovers I wanted to use in the refrigerator.

This meal was made in two parts.

The first part was the butternut squash mixture, where I roasted the butternut squash, mashed it, and added ginger, Chinese 5-spice, Duck Sauce, Soy Sauce, celery and garlic.

"Let's see, I have half a butternut squash mash mixture I used for stuffing potstickers Asian style. What do I want to do with it?"

The only meat that came to mind to me was a pork loin.

Putting the pork loin in the pan, I poured sesame oil over the top and placed the butternut squash mixture on like a crust. I then stuck a thermometer into the pork and put it into a 350f  oven. I put 1/2 cup white wine into the button of the pan and cooked the pork until it reached 170F.

When it was done it was moist and juicy and a real treat.

It is not that often that I come up with such a creative meal. I was really proud of myself.

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Wonton Adventures

Watching Alton Brown explain the semantics of wonton wrappers brought forth major inspiration while walking the aisles of the supermarket. My perfect popstickers did not exactly come out as good looking as Alton's Brown but mine didn't lack flavor.

PERFECT POTSTICKERS                                                                                            35 to 40 potstickers

Recipe courtesy Alton Brown, 2004 Show: Good Eats Episode: Wanton Ways

Total Time: 1 hr 10 min                     Prep 50 min                          Cook 20 min        Level: Intermediate

½ pound ground pork (I used ground turkey)	1½ teaspoons kosher salt
¼ cup finely chopped scallions (regular white onion)	½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons finely chopped red bell pepper (celery)	¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 egg, lightly beaten	35 to 40 small wonton wrappers
2 teaspoons ketchup	Water, for sealing wontons
1 teaspoon yellow mustard (ground mustard)	3 to 4 tablespoons vegetable oil, for frying
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce	1⅓ cups chicken stock, divided
1 teaspoon light brown sugar

Preheat oven to 200°F.

Combine the first 11 ingredients in a medium-size mixing bowl (pork through cayenne). Set aside.

To form the dumplings, remove 1 wonton wrapper from the package, covering the others with a damp cloth. Brush 2 of the edges of the wrapper lightly with water. Place ½ rounded teaspoon of the pork mixture in the center of the wrapper. Fold over, seal edges, and shape as desired. Set on a sheet pan and cover with a damp cloth. Repeat procedure until all of the filling is gone.

Heat a 12-inch sauté pan over medium heat. Brush with vegetable oil once hot. Add 8 to 10 potstickers at a time to the pan and cook for 2 minutes, without touching. Once the 2 minutes are up, gently add ⅓ cup chicken stock to the pan, turn the heat down to low, cover, and cook for another 2 minutes. Remove wontons to a heatproof platter and place in the warm oven. Clean the pan in between batches by pouring in water and allowing the pan to deglaze. Repeat until all the wontons are cooked. Serve immediately.

Here are what the wontons looked like before wrapping

You wet the wontons on two sides fold it over and press down on the edges then pinch them.

The end result was definitely worth it.

It was something new to try and a challenge worth taking...

New Cookbook and Fabulous Meal

I am so excited, tomorrow night I am going to the Ivoryton Playhouse to see The Irish...and How They Got That Away.  It is based on a book by Pulitzer Prizer winning author, Frank McCourt. Here is the poster.

Poster provided by The Ivoryton Playhouse

I also wrote an article on Quora.

Here is a picture of the scrumptious meal I made today.

It is Maple-Glazed Pork Chops with Roasted Corn Relish. It is from The Hay Day Country Market Cookbook.

Here is the recipe straight from the book.

and here is the little part that is missing.

The meal was amazing. It tasted wonderful.  I did not grow up eating pork chops but they were wonderful, especially with the roasted corn relish.

This cookbook originated from the Hay Day Country Farm in Westport, Connecticut which opened in 1978. This Country Market later became Balducci's.  If you like gourmet supermarkets you will like this one. They also make excellent deli sandwiches.

Whip up something new in the kitchen and try something new.

Cassandra

My First Pork Roast

The time has come for me to make my first pork roast, and that I did.  I thought it looked so beautiful when it came out of the oven. I roasted some potatoes while I cooked it. Here is the recipe I used.

Honey-Ginger Pork Roast

Weathertop Lodge Bed and Breakfast, Waitsfield, Vermont

Ingredients

One 5-pound center cut boneless pork loin

1 Tablespoon freshly grated ginger root

2 Tablespoons olive oil

2 teaspoons ground ginger

2 teaspoons salt

honey

Run knife between fat and meat to form pockets on top of roast. Using a long-bladed knife, insert grated ginger into pockets. In small bowl, mix olive oil, ground ginger, and salt. Place pork in roasting pan and brush with oil, ginger, and salt mixture. Bake at 350 degrees, allowing 30 minutes per pound. About 15 minutes before roast is done, brush meat completely with honey. Allow roast to stand 15 to 20 minutes before slicing.

• You found this recipe on 1st Traveler's Choice Internet Cookbook. (www.virtualcities.com)

I did make a small change to the recipe myself. Instead of using a 5 lb center cut pork loin I used a 2.5 lb mini pork loin.  It took an hour and a half to roast.

 It was scrumptious. You pour honey over the pork once it comes out of the oven. It lends a nice sweet taste to the pork.

 Here it is on a plate. I know -- the vegetables are missing! I ate mixed vegetables on a different plate. I know how important it is to get those greens.


And have you tried salsa and chips from Trader Joe's?

Here is a closer look at the salsa.

What makes it even more appetizing is to see what it looks like in a bowl and with a chip.

 It is so good. I love the flavor of the peaches. I never knew peaches in salsa could be so heavenly until I tried it. It would serve as a wonderful appetizer for Thanksgiving.

Try something new, and whip something up in your kitchen.

Have You Tried Trader Joe's Apple Smoked Uncured Bacon?

On a couple of cooking television shows I have heard the chef's talk about uncured apple smoked bacon. When I found it at my local Trader Joe's I couldn't resist trying it.

 I cooked myself some breakfast and decided to have a couple of slices.

 As you can see I cooked the bacon on the stove.

 I decided to fix myself an egg. I love the over easy. Have you seen this pan in the store before? It is really quite handy and easy to clean.

 Here is the finished product--and if you haven't tried that apple smoked uncured bacon, you really should.


Cassandra

Grilled Pork for the Whole Family

Growing up I always liked to watch the Chefs in the kitchen preparing meals. I loved to watch two shows in particular, Martin Yan and The Frugal Gourmet -- Jeff Smith. I bought nearly all of the Frugal Gourmet cookbooks.

Cover via Amazon

The recipe I am sharing with you today comes from The Frugal Gourmet Whole Family Cookbook which came out in 1992.

Here is the recipe from page 183 of the cookbook. I should note that I do not have a grill, so in making this recipe I broiled the pork instead of grilling it.

I mixed all the ingredients in a small bowl and then trimmed the pork and put the pork in a glass pan so that I could marinate the meat.

You pour the ingredients you mixed in a bowl of the pork -- ground cumin, lemon, dry white wine, garlic cloves, salt and pepper.

Then you put the pork in the refrigerator for an hour -- don't forget to turn the pork every once in a while to pick up all that wonderful flavor.

This is the time you would preheat the grill of course, then I preheated the broiler in the oven.

Put it on the grill or broil like I did and baste frequently on both sides while it is cooking.

Here is the finished product - nice and juicy. If you are able to grill it - it will have those lovely grill lines that everyone likes to see.

It tastes really yummy!

Cassandra