Pork and Brussel Sprouts

Tonight's dinner was quite autumnal and super tasty.  I am a bum blogger cuz I didn't take a photo and I'm not up for writing much more tonight.  Here are the two recipes I used and I give them both 2 thumbs up.  Especially the parsley shallot sauce.  That would be good on everything.

Guy Fieri's Brother Brussels

Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons salt
• 3/4 pound Brussels sprouts, ends trimmed, loose leaves removed
• 1/2 pound bacon, thinly cut into 1/4-inch pieces
• 1 1/2 cups diced yellow onion
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan, for garnish

Directions

Fill a large pot 3/4 of the way with water and add 1 teaspoon of salt and the Brussels sprouts. Put the pot over high heat and bring to a boil. Let boil until the Brussels sprouts are just fork tender about, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from the heat, drain the sprouts and transfer to an ice bath. Let cool completely, then drain and set aside.

Cut the Brussels sprouts into 1/4-inch lengthwise slices and set aside. Add the bacon to a medium saute pan, and cook until just crisp, then remove to a paper towel lined plate to drain. Adjust heat to medium-high, add the onions to the pan and saute until they are translucent and just beginning to caramelize, about 5 or 6 minutes. Add the butter to the pan, then add the Brussels sprouts and saute for 3 to 4 more minutes. Season with the remaining 1 teaspoon of salt and 1 teaspoon of pepper. Transfer to a serving bowl or platter and sprinkle with the reserved bacon and the cheese. Serve immediately.

Herb Roasted Pork Loin with Parsley Shallot Sauce

Ingredients

• 2 garlic cloves, minced (1 tablespoon)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh sage leaves or 1 teaspoon dried sage
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary leaves or 1 teaspoon dried rosemary, crumbled
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh thyme leaves or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 (2 1/2-pound) center cut boneless pork loin, trimmed of all visible fat
• 1/2 cup Parsley Shallot Sauce, recipe follows

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Mash the garlic and salt together with a fork until it forms a coarse paste. Transfer to a small bowl and stir in the oil, fresh herbs and freshly ground pepper. Rub the garlic-herb paste all over the pork. Transfer the pork to a roasting pan and roast for 1 1/4 hours or until the internal temperature reaches 155 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer. Transfer the roast to a carving board and let rest for 15 minutes. Carve the pork into slices and serve with the sauce.

Parsley Shallot Sauce:

1 1/2 cups lightly packed flat-leaf parsley leaves

2 tablespoons coarsely chopped shallot

3 tablespoons Dijon mustard

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons water

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Combine all ingredients in a blender and puree.

Yield: 1/2 cup

The List

Here is my list of Cleveland restaurants I need to eat at.  I am going to cap the list at 10 and obviously it excludes any places I have been to before.  Please leave suggestions!!

1.  Flying Fig

2.  L'Albatros

3.  Fire

4.  Osteria

5.  Happy Dog

6.  Blackbird

7.  Boulevard Blue

8.  Cafe Tandor

9.  Sokolowski's

10.  Sun Luck Garden

I think I can hit all of these in six months.  I will update as I go.

Cassoulet

The topic of today's blog comes via my mother. When I was home last week to get a new phone and re-join her family plan, she pulled out this article from the News Herald. It is about cassoulet, which I had never heard of, but this recipe describes it in mouthwatering detail. The article mentions two local restaurants that serve this dish, as well as an at home recipe that I will try sometime this winter. The first restaurant it mentions is L'Albatros in University Circle. I haven't been yet, but it just moved up on my list of Cleveland restaurants to try - Right behind Flying Fig, can you believe I haven't eaten there yet? Me. Neither. Anyways, the second restaurant it mentions is one of my old east side root favorites, Lure Bistro. When I was living at home in Chardon during my first year out of college, my girlfriends and I would go on a regular basis to get sushi and eat on their awesome patio. Well the sushi chef has since moved to his own place right up the street, Young's Sushi, which I haven't been to yet, but from what I hear it is the same great sushi at a much lower price. And that definitely puts it on my list of Cleveland restaurants to try. (Side note: that is the second reference to this "list" in one post. You would think an actual list existed somewhere. I think I need to write one down. Maybe an upcoming post?? If you have recommendations, please share.) Ok so back to Lure.

Tonight, Rachael (previously Rae Rae) and Theresa (previously Little Monster, I think? This is why I stopped using these crazy names, too hard to remember) and I had dinner at Lure and I of course, had to try the cassoulet. It is served with strings of sweet potato fries and has a ton of white beans. It was very tasty and filling and I would definitely get it again, it's a fantastic winter meal. Lure's atmosphere is wonderful, but our only complaint is that it gets really noisy. It must have been girls night out cuz there were several other tables of all girls and it got very loud. Rach had a lovely watercress salad with hazelnut vinaigrette and the Black Widow sushi roll and Theresa had the grouper which was awesome. I'm excited to try the cassoulet at L'Albatros to compare.

Tastefully Simple

Could you tell Chris wrote that last post?  Kind of cheating, but I was tired and he summed up what I had been chatting about pretty well.  Zumba was totally awesome and is definitely taking a place in my workout line-up.  And if you are trying to watch your weight, I highly suggest you check out fatsecret.com cuz it is my new obsession - easy to use and the exact tools I was looking for.  Plus if you have a blackberry with a 4.6 or higher operating system you can get an app for your phone.  Very convenient.

Tonight, Rachael (Rae Rae) had a Tastfully Simple party at her house.  Tastefully Simple is like a tupperware or jewelry or pampered chef type thing, but with food.  The food catalog is spices, mixes, and sauces that require only a few fresh ingredients to whip-up dips, drinks, baked goods, soup, dessert, you get the gist.  I'm not usually into this kind of thing, but the food was really tasty!  But the best part was how incredibly simple and fast it all was to make!  I arrived about an hour early and between 4 of use, we made 6 different kinds of dip, beer bread, apple cake (well we subbed canned peaches for the fresh apples cuz Rachie forgot to get apples), potato soup, and not part of the tastefully simple line-up: mulled cider, veggie pizza, shrimp cocktail, cheese plate, and olives in one short hour!  That is a fast feast.

My ordering strategy was to buy things that would be helpful to have around when I am in a pinch and need something to come together quickly.  I got a jar of caramel sauce cuz that makes a great dessert of just about anything, the beer bread mix and the wheat beer bread mix (big time crowd pleaser, especially with the preggo gals.  Maybe they are craving something they cant have...), the mix to make the onion onion dip since that is always helpful for unexpected entertaining, and a mix for parmesan biscuits.  It all arrives to my house sometime in the next 10 days, very cool.  So if someone invites you to a Tastefully Simple party, I would say go check it out.  I was pleasantly surprised.

Zumba

Tonight I took my first Zumba class and I now understand why it is such a craze.  It was so fun!  It was a one hour dance party without the alcohol.  I totally recommend it. Plus, don't tell CC, the instructor was really good looking. I'll be back:)  hahehaha. Ok enough of that.

Well since I've been on the topic of new things lately, I found a new website.  It's called fat secret. com   It's similar to weight watchers online, except it's free.  It gives you the opportunity to keep a log about what you ate, how many points you ate, calories, and tailors this information to a diet of goal you are trying to obtain. 

Pasta Puttanesca

This is a great weeknight meal because it comes together very quickly.  While the pasta is cooking, the rest of the ingredients go in a skillet and then combine.  It has huge flavor its an Ellie Krieger recipe so you know its healthy!  And I think the pictures that Chris (CC, did you figure that one out?) are better than the ones on the food network's website.

Ingredients

• 8 ounces whole-wheat thin spaghetti, vermicelli or angel hair
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/3 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 1/4 cup pitted chopped Spanish or Greek olives
• 2 tablespoons capers
• 1 teaspoon anchovy paste
• 1 tablespoon fresh oregano leaves or 1 teaspoon dried
• 1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 (14-ounce) can diced tomatoes, preferably "no salt added"
• 3/4 cup chopped fresh arugula
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan

Directions

Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add pasta and cook according to the directions on the package.

While the pasta is cooking, heat the oil in a large skillet over a medium flame. Add the garlic and saute until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the parsley, olives, capers, anchovy paste, oregano and crushed red pepper to the skillet, and saute for 2 minutes more. Add the tomatoes and simmer for about 5 minutes. Stir in the arugula and simmer for 1 minute more, until the greens wilt slightly.

When the pasta is done, drain it and add it to the skillet, tossing it with the sauce to combine. Top with grated cheese.

bruuuuce

This is the first ever post from my new phone. It is not ideal but I have to post and we just got out of the bruce springsteen concert. The man played for three hours straight I was very impressed! I jus wish I knew more of his songs. He has some serious die hard fans and they were having a blast. The highlights for me were the ten year old behind us who kept screaming "bruuuuce I love you!" And the older gentleman in front of who did some aerobic dance moves to pink cadillac. Let's just say we did not fit the overall demographic. It was an awesome show and this is coming from a girl who does not love concerts.