Pan Cooked Pork Chop with Cannellini Bean Salsa

Light, clean, quick and easy is usually the route I take during the week. Combining a plain piece of meat such as pork, chicken, beef or fish with simple clean bright ingredients can make all the difference in the world. This Cannellini bean salsa gives this pork chop a swift kick and makes it a party in your mouth!

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 15oz can of Cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
2 large Roma tomatoes, diced
1/3 cup of red onion, minced
2 tbsp of Italian parsley, minced
1 tsp grated lemon zest
Juice of 1 lemon
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
Salt, pepper and red pepper flakes to taste
4 3/4in-1in boneless pork chops

In a large bowl mix first 8 ingredients together, taste for salt and set aside.

Pat the pork chops dry and sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper. In a large pan, preferably cast iron on high heat, add olive oil. Let the oil get hot. Cook the pork chops 2 at a time, 4-5 minutes on each side, remove from heat and let them rest for 5 minutes.

Plate each pork chop and top with a good amount of the Cannellini bean salsa and serve immediately.

Fresh Poached Salmon Rillettes

Poaching your fish instead of using can fish is 1 million times better, very simple to do and gives the fish a distinct flavor on its own. It's as easy as opening up that can, you just need the right ingredients. I used salmon in this recipe.

Rillettes is a French dish usually made with any meat such as pork, duck, chicken and fish. Traditionally its cooked in its own fat, then shredded or cubed and allowed to cool in its own fat until it solidifies. Its served at room temperature with crostini or crackers.

Rillettes is great for parties. I usually serve it with my crostini (small toast), but it's also great with crackers and veggies. Try it on a bagel, sandwich bread or lettuce wrap and have it for lunch! Fancy huh!

Serves 8-10

Ingredients

1 good sourdough baguette
2 cups water
1 cup dry white wine
1 small shallot, sliced
1 tsp whole black pepper corn
1 tsp whole coriander seeds
2 bay leaves
1 pound skinless salmon fillet, cut into 4 even pieces
3 green onions, chopped fine
1/4 cup Italian parsley, minced
1/4 cup good mayo such as Hellmanns or Best Foods
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp lemon zest
1-2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400.

For the crostini (small toast)..

Slice the baguette at a bias (diagonal slices) about 1/3 inch thick, place them on a sheet pan and drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake for about 6-8 minutes or until a light golden color then remove from oven and set aside.

For the Poached Salmon Mix..

In a large deep pan, add water, wine, shallot, pepper corns, coriander seed and about 1 tbsp of salt and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, add salmon and poach for about 5-6 minutes until it turns a pale pink on the outside. Gently transfer the salmon to a paper towel lined plate, let it cool. Remove the paper towel and put into the refrigerator until completely chilled, about 20-30 minutes.

In a bowl add poached salmon pieces, green onion, parsley, mayo, olive oil, lemon zest, lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste and gently mix the ingredients. Break up the salmon pieces while mixing, but be careful not to over mix or it will turn into a paste. Taste for salt.

Serve along with crostini. Spoon some of the mixture on the crostini and enjoy! :)

Fire Roasted Red Pepper Crostini

Now that it's grilling season, taking advantage of flame when cooking is a must. Like fire roasting peppers for a very simple yet bold flavored antipasti to put on crostini (little toast). I topped the crostini with the red pepper mix alone, but you can spread creamy brie, goat or cream cheese on the toast first then top it with the mix to give it a balance.

Serves 6-8

Ingredients

1 good sour dough baguette
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
2 red bell peppers, fire roasted on a grill, peeled, seeded and chopped
1/4 cup Italian parsley, minced
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400.

For the crostini (small toast)..

Slice the baguette at a bias (diagonal slices) about 1/3 inch thick, place them on a sheet pan and drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake for about 6-8 minutes or until a light golden color then remove from oven and set aside.

For the Red Pepper mix..

Combine the last 7 ingredients into a bowl and mix. Serve with crostini. Spoon some of the mix onto the crostini and place in mouth. :)

Pea and Arugula Crostini

Looking at this crostini reminds me spring is here, summer is coming and PICNICS! Fresh herbaceous arugula mixed with sweet peas, lemon and nutty cheese turn this spread into a vibrant pesto and the perfect topping to a crunchy crostini (small toast). I used peas, but you can substitute for fava beans or edamame.

Serves 6-10

Ingredients

1 good sour dough baguette
2 cups frozen green peas, thawed
2 cups baby arugula
1/3 cup plus 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano or Pecorino Romano cheese
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
Salt and pepper to taste
4 red radishes sliced thin

Preheat oven to 400.

For the toast..

Slice the baguette at a bias (diagonal slices) about 1/3 inch thick, place them on a sheet pan and drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake for about 6-8 minutes or until a light golden color then remove from oven and set aside.

For the spread...

In a food processor or blender, coarsely pulse the peas. Transfer half of the pulsed peas to a bowl and set aside. Add 1/3 cup olive oil, arugula, cheese, lemon zest and juice, salt and pepper to taste and blend until smooth. Add to the bowl with the rest of the pulsed peas, fold together and taste for salt. Drizzle the remaining olive oil over it an serve along with crostini

Spoon the mixture onto the crostini and garnish with 2 thin slices of radish.

Escabeche de Jalapeño

Escabeche...any cooked meat or vegetable that has been marinated in something acidic like any vinegar or citrus. I will be sharing a few different kinds of escabeche but one that I know at least a Mexican household can't go without a can/jar of is pickled jalapeños or Escabeche de Jalapeños. I know my household didn't. We went through 2 cans per week! Eating them alone, with your meal or adding a jalapeño to a salsa or dish to spice it up. Once I learned how to make this, I stopped buying the cans or jars. When you make them, you can pretty much use them right away. I like waiting a day or 2 after to let it marinate more. The flavor is fresh, crisp and delicious.. my mouth is watering just talking about it! I like making it in bulk and sharing them with my mom and friends. It's just too inexpensive and easy to not do yourself! Hope you enjoy this recipe

You will need about 5-32 oz Kerr self sealing mason jars to be safe. You may only use 4.

Ingredients

2 lbs of fresh jalapeño peppers, chopped anyway you like. Some sliced in half and some left whole, all sliced in half with the stem left on, or sliced in circles. What ever way you do it, do not seed them.

10 carrots, peeled and chopped 1/4 inch thick at a bias.
2 white onion, chopped in larger pieces
1/4 cup of olive oil
2 tbsp of Mexican oregano
3 cups of apple cider vinegar or white distilled vinegar
3 cups of water
5 bay leaves
3 tbsp of kosher salt or to taste
1 tbsp whole black pepper

In a large pot over medium-high heat add the oil. Once hot, add the chopped onions and cook until you can smell them, just a few seconds. Add the oregano, jalapeño and carrots and cook stirring often to cook evenly for about 5 minutes. Next add the vinegar, water, bay leaves, salt and pepper and cook for about 10 minutes..should come to a soft boil, then remove pot from flame. With a large slotted spoon, start filling the jars with the jalapeños, carrots and onions distributing them evenly between the jars. Let the cooking liquid cool just a bit but not all the way then pour it evenly to each jar making sure an even amount of spices go into each jar as well. Finally seal them. The Jars should seal themselves with the warmth. Refrigerate immediately.

You can eat them right away, but best if left to marinate for a day or 2.


Note:
You can do more carrots and onions or just more carrots versus jalapeños if you prefer it less spicy.

You can also add garlic to the mix.

Lomo de Puerco Enchilado (spicy pork loin)

If ever I am making a Lomo Enchilado (spicy loin), I'm usually making a Botana (snack/appetizer) with the loin which includes tomatoes, red onion and queso fresco or making a torta.. OR I'm making my favorite, tostadas!

My mom and entire family have made this spicy loin since I can remember. Usually when making tostadas. Each one is different but all extremely flavorful and spicy. I have taken my mothers recipe and tweaked it just a bit. Hope you enjoy.

Ingredients

1- 2 1/2 lb pork loin roast or 2 of the thinner loins
2 tbsp olive oil
1 cup of dried toasted chile de arbol (usually found in your local Mexican market or the international isle at your supermarket)
1 whole clove
2 garlic cloves
1/2 tsp while black pepper
1/2 tsp of Mexican oregano
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
Salt to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Have your loin patted dry and read in a large bowl.

In a small sauce pan, add the chili de arbol and water to just about cover them and bring them to boil on high heat. Once they boil vigorously, turn off the heat and let them sit for about 10 minutes. Take the chilies out, and set aside. Do not discard the water. In a small food processor or blender add the chilies along with the last 6 ingredients and add about 1/4 cup of the chilies cooking liquid and blend until smooth. Place a large strainer over a bowl and pour the blended chili mix inside. Let the liquid strain out. You can assist it by taking a spoon and pushing the liquid through the strainer until the blended chili becomes a paste. Taste for salt (should be more on the salty side since its being used to marinate meat) and place in a small bowl. Now time to marinate the meat...

Added 4-5 tbsp of the paste to the pork and the 2 tbsp of olive oil and coat the pork loin completely using your hands. Place the marinated pork loin on a roasting pan and cook for 45 minutes turning 1 time half way through. Once cooked, place the loin on a cutting board and let it stand and hold all it juices for about 10 minutes. Slice thin and serve!

Veggie Pita Tostada!

Today I was craving tostadas! Tostadas is a Mexican dish usually made with a fried corn tortilla, then can be topped with several different things. Later I'll get into the real Mexican tostadas, but as I was sitting obsessing about them, I started thinking of different ideas and twists on them.. One was a pita as the shell then everything else came to me instantly....

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Ingredients

4 wheat of regular round pita bread, left whole
Olive oil to brush on the pita

Brush each pita with a little olive oil and sprinkle with salt, place directly on the oven rack and bake for 8-10 minutes or until crisp but not burned. Set them aside to cool.

For the hummus, I've always used the simple recipe from the Joy of Cooking cookbook as my base. I kept it simple for this and only used 1 tbsp of tahini to lower the calories. It usually calls for 3 that's 600 calories alone!

Ingredients

1 15oz can of garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
1/3 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
2 garlic cloves
1 tbsp tahini
Salt to taste.
1/2 cup water

In a small food processor or blender add all of the above ingredients for the hummus and start blending. Pour water slowly through the pour spout until it blends smooth, you may not need the full 1/2 cup of water. Transfer it to a bowl, taste for salt and set aside.

Salad Ingredients

4 cups of baby arugula
3/4 cup of chopped cherry or baby heirloom tomatoes, each chopped in 4
1/4 cup res onion, thinly sliced
1 tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Crumbled feta

In a large bowl, add the last 3 of the above ingredients and whisk them together to make you dressing. Taste for salt. Then add the arugula, chopped tomatoes and onions and toss together.

Assemble the tostadas by taking one and spreading hummus on one side, then a handful of the salad on top, finally top with crumbled feta! Mmmmmmmm!! Now enjoy!