Category Archives: dinner

Maque Choux with Andouille and Shrimp

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So I have this friend.  Well, he was my boss.  He is a boss-friend, a friend-boss.

His name is Jerry.

Jerry is everything that is good about the South:  lively, big-hearted, warm, and filled with enthusiasm for great food, great friends, and the lazy summer days we bring them together.

Jerry and me at the MSLO Christmas party

Jerry and me at the MSLO Christmas party

I have always felt appreciation for the colorful, varied cuisines of the south.  This was affirmed for me two years ago while working on The Martha Stewart Show, and meeting Hugh Acheson, Virginia Willis, and other incredible southern chefs.  I vowed to start committing myself to learning and practicing more of it, but with the fleeting months of summer going by in a flash, I found myself entering fall without sufficient exploration behind me.

Jerry passed the original recipe from the famed Commander’s Palace in New Orleans on to me, encouraging me to make it my own.  I encourage you to do the same.  Upon his suggestion I added spices and some cream, punching up the flavor and creating a great sauce.  The result was five place settings with bowls practically licked clean.  Maque Choux is a traditional Cajun dish similar to a succotash, and it adapts so well to variations.

 

Last night’s menu was as follows:

Medjool dates stuffed with celery and parmesan

Pimento Cheese with crackers

Pickled Okra

Shaved Brussels Sprouts Salad with Roasted Pecans, Dijon Vinaigrette and Pickled Mustard Seeds

Maque Choux with Andouille and Shrimp

Peach Tart with Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

My Summer of Southern is off to a promising start.

 

Maque Choux with Andouille and Shrimp

Adapted from Commander’s Palace in New Orleans

SERVES 6

 

½ lb Andouille sausage, sliced in ½ inch pieces

1 tbsp. unsalted butter

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 shallot, finely chopped

1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded, and finely chopped

1 jalapeño, cored, seeded, and finely chopped

2 cups frozen lima beans

1 10 oz. package frozen corn kernels

4 scallions, thinly sliced

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon onion powder

¼ teaspoon cayenne

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

½ cup heavy cream

16 medium shrimp (about 8 oz.), peeled

2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

2 cups steamed white rice, for serving

 

In a medium-large skillet over medium-high heat, cook sausage, stirring occasionally, until nicely browned, about 7 minutes. Transfer sausage to a paper towel–lined plate; set aside. Melt 1 tbsp. butter in pan.  Add garlic powder, onion powder, garlic, shallots, peppers, and jalapeños and cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, about 5 minutes.

Increase heat to high; add lima beans and corn and cook, stirring occasionally, about 6 minutes. Stir in half of the scallions, cayenne, and cream and season with salt and pepper.  Stir for 2-3 minutes to allow everything to come together.   Set aside and keep warm.

Meanwhile, heat oven to broil.  Toss shrimp with oil in a large bowl and season with salt and pepper. Transfer shrimp in a single layer to an aluminum foil–lined baking sheet and broil, turning once using tongs, until pink and cooked through, about 4 minutes. Serve the maque choux and shrimp on top of a bed of rice; garnish with reserved reserved scallion.

 

*  My Two Cents:  Feel free to swap fava beans for the lima beans if you can find   them.

*  Bacon is a good substitute for the Andouille sausage if you prefer.

*  Leave out the shrimp, and make this as a flavorful side rather than main course.

Lemon Chicken Pot with Green Olives, Pomegranate, and Mint

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Colorful and comforting supper in, after a cold day out in NYC

Colorful and comforting supper in, after a cold day out in NYC

Last weekend my girlfriend Kate came in from Connecticut to get her city fix.  Since I knew we’d be out and about soaking up the busy streets of NYC, I planned to make us a casual dinner in on Saturday evening.  When you live here, sometimes the best part of city living is closing the door on it for a bit.

Kate and me wandering in the East Village

Kate and me wandering in the East Village

Bone-in chicken breasts take the leading role in this quick, healthy, and super flavorful main course.  Since white meat chicken has very little fat, it dries out easily (cue in the straw-like meat you find when you’ve left this lean poultry exposed to heat even a minute too long), and benefits enormously from having the breast bone left intact.  We all know that meat on the bone is more flavorful and tender than when it is taken off, so I cook them with bone 9 times out of ten.

Here I’ve added serious flavor with briny olives, sweet onions, smoky spices, and a fresh herb salad.  You’ll notice that the lemon rind is left on, and this is purposeful.  The skin hosts the most highly concentrated flavor of the lemon, and when sliced thinly and cooked like this, it melds with the lemon’s flesh in a most appealing way.  The clean flavor of the mint and juice from the pomegranate wake up the roasted chicken and vegetables and is such a great addition.  To top it off, it’s kind of gorgeous.

Serve this on top of fluffy quinoa or couscous to soak up the flavorful pan juices.

Done and done.

 

Lemon Chicken Pot with Green Olives, Smoked Paprika, and Pomegranate

Serves 2

2 large bone-in chicken breasts

1/3 cup all-purpose flour seasoned with 1 T each salt and fresh pepper

2 Tablespoons vegetable oil

1 large Vidalia onion, peeled, and sliced ¼ inch thick

1 whole lemon, cut into paper-thin slices

1 medium fennel bulb, sliced ¼ inch thick

8 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed

1/3 cup green olives, cut in half lengthwise

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

½ teaspoon cinnamon

½ cup dry white wine

1 small bunch fresh mint, coarsely chopped

1/3 cup pomegranate seeds

Preheat oven to 425 degrees

Pat chicken dry with paper towels.  Liberally season chicken pieces with salt and freshly cracked pepper on all sides, then dredge in the flour.  Heat oil in a large, heavy, oven safe pot over medium-high heat until very hot.  Place both chicken breasts skin side down into oil and cook for 6-8 minutes until skin is crisp and brown, swirling fat around the pot as the chicken cooks.  Turn chicken and cook for two minutes on second side and remove to a place.

Add the onion, fennel, olives, smoked paprika, lemon slices, and cinnamon to the pot and cook until soft, about 8 minutes.  Add the wine, bring to a boil, and place chicken breasts back into the pot.  Nestle the chicken snugly in the bed of vegetables, but leave most of the top chicken skin exposed.  Place pot in oven and cook for 25 minutes.

When finished, spoon some of the vegetable/olive/onion mixture onto each plate, top with the chicken breasts, and finished with the chopped mint and pomegranate seeds.

Serve.

 

**My Two Cents:  If you prefer dark meat, it’s an easy swap.  The chicken may need a few more minutes to cook through, but it’s comparable with this method.

**  If you can’t find pomegranates near you, simply omit them, or add dried cherries into the pot for the last 5 minutes of cooking

**  Cilantro is one herb that would be great in place of the mint

Crispy Pan Fried Shrimp with Soy, Citrus, and Orange Blossom Honey

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Some of my fellow culinary school grads have less than stellar opinions about wildly successful, high-end chain restaurants.  These would include all the hometown favorites:  Cheesecake Factory, Outback Steakhouse, PF Chang’s.  Are the salads sometimes uninspired?  Sure.  Can the single-digit steak special make you raise an eyebrow?  Yes.  Are the commercials unrealistic and annoying?  No doubt.

But these restaurants have one thing down to a science:  They know how to make people happy.  Period.

There’s a reason why they’re so successful, the food is dependable and comfortable (the positive connotation to “uninspired”).  They can afford to charge reasonable prices because of the reach of their resources and nightly volumes they pump out.  And while the commercials can be like a bad disco song you can’t get out of your head, they can afford to be on television.  That’s more than most fine establishments can say.

So where is this diatribe going?  Somewhere, I promise.

When I lived in South Florida, I loved a weeknight dinner at PF Chang’s.  It was never short on flavor, always high on satisfaction.  This dish is my recreation of the Orange Peel Shrimp that I so often ordered there.

Cornstarch is the secret to a crispy, crunchy exterior, and it plays dual roles as a sauce thickener in a flash.  The spicy ginger, bright citrus, salty soy, and sweet honey and marmalade come together to make a delicious glaze that coats the shrimp and grabs a hold of its jutting, fried edges.  Bonus?  This comes together in less than 20 minutes.

This one’s for you, PF Chang’s, Cheesecake Factory, and Outback.  You make people deliriously happy, and last time I checked that’s what cooking is all about.

Crispy Pan Fried Shrimp with Citrus, Soy, and Honey

SERVES 4

Canola oil, for frying

2 pounds large wild shrimp, peeled, deveined, patted dry

1 clove garlic, grated

1 inch piece fresh ginger, grated

¼ cup white onion, minced

½ teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 teaspoon orange zest

1 teaspoon lemon zest

2 Tablespoons orange marmalade

1 teaspoon orange blossom honey  (feel free to use whatever kind of honey you have)

½ cup soy sauce

2 Tablespoons fresh orange juice

1 teaspoon cornstarch

Heat 1 teaspoon canola oil in a small skillet over medium heat.  When hot, add garlic, ginger, onion, zests, and red pepper flakes.  Saute for 2 minutes.  Meanwhile, whisk orange juice and ½ of the cornstarch in a small bowl.  Set aside.

Add honey, soy sauce, and marmalade to pan.  Cook for 1 minute more.

Add cornstarch slurry to pan and whisk for 1 minute to combine and thicken.  Set aside.

Toss the shrimp with the remaining ½ teaspoon cornstarch and a pinch of salt.  In a separate pan, heat 1 Tablespoon canola oil over medium heat until very hot.  Fry shrimp in batches, taking care not to overcrowd the pan, until they’ve started to curl, crisp up, and take on an orange hue.  Flip the shrimp halfway into this 2-3 minute cooking time.  Drain shrimp on paper towel and repeat with remaining shrimp.

Toss hot shrimp with reserved sauce and serve over jasmine or brown rice, or Chinese long beans pictured here.  Garnish with extra citrus zest, or sesame seeds.

Serve.

Secret Ingredient Beef and Vegetable Stew

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Happy New Year, all!  If the frigid temperatures in the Northeast didn’t clue you in, it’s January.  As is the case each year at this time, I have given some thought to what changes and improvements I’d like to make for the coming year.  There are some that seem to be reoccurring (less shopping, more saving; less worrying, more meditating; less technology, more sleeping… ironic that I’m blogging about using less technology, right?)

But I find I’m more of a “decision” kind of a girl than a “resolution” one.  Decisions require action; resolutions require desire.  Action tends to yield far better results than willfully wishing for better days ahead.

The decisions I have made around food involve consuming less meat, a further dedication to seasonal eating, and a commitment to savoring the process as much as the result.  Seems fitting that I’d start the New Year with a lighter version of one of my favorite winter comfort foods.

Any time I see the words “Secret Ingredient,” my curiosity is peaked.  Sure, sometimes that secret ingredient is the ubiquitous use of espresso powder in brownies but often it is something I hadn’t thought of.

This stew’s secret ingredient is anchovy, which is melted into the base and lends a briny, buttery undertone to the dish.  Since I’ve made a decision to use less meat, I’ve scaled back on the portion, and doubled the amount of mushrooms and carrots.  Mushrooms add a meaty flavor and texture while keeping the stew light. With salty anchovies, rich tomato paste, bright tomatoes, and loads of vegetables, you wind up with a very flavorful stew that makes the most out of the caramelized beef and juices.  This is a comforting supper for your family, but glistening and showered with fresh parsley, elegant enough to serve for a dinner party (bonus:  it’s better made a day ahead of time).

This New Year, let’s resolve to make less resolutions, decide to make more decisions, and contemplate it all over a steaming bowl of beef and vegetable stew.IMG_2702

 

 

SECRET INGREDIENT BEEF AND VEGETABLE STEW

Adapted from Food 52

SERVES 8-10

 

3- 4lbs. beef stewing meat, cut into 2-3 inch pieces

1/3 cup mixed olive and canola oil

2 leeks, washed well and cut thinly

1 large onion, diced

6 cloves garlic, minced

4 carrots, diced

5 celery ribs, diced

8 ounces white mushrooms, quarted

¼ cup tomato paste

2 anchovies

1/2 cup red wine vinegar

1 cup red wine

3 cups beef broth

1 cup canned whole tomatoes with juices

3 bay leaves

3/4 teaspoons dried thyme

Kosher salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste

1/3 cup chopped parsley

 

Season the beef with salt and pepper on both sides. Brown the meat in batches in a 5-6 quart Dutch oven over high heat, adding more oil as needed. Remove to a plate.

Lower the heat and add all the vegetables. Cook for 5-10 minutes until softened. Stir in the tomato paste and anchovies and cook to melt the anchovies and distribute.

Add the beef back in, with its juices. Add the wine, vinegar, and tomatoes with juice (breaking them up against the side of the pot as you go) and bring to a boil. Add the stock to cover (you may need a bit more than 3 cups). Put in the salt, bay leaf, thyme, bring to a boil. Simmer, partially covered, for 2-3 hours until the meat is tender. Cool to room temperature. Refrigerate.

When cool, skim off much of the fat from the top. Reheat over low heat, letting the stew simmer 30-45 minutes before serving.

Mix in half of the parsley and garnish with the rest

Silken Cauliflower Soup with Seared Brussels Sprout Leaves and Crushed Almonds

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Take a look at the ingredients below.  Take a good, long look.

Okay, you’re probably done.

There are two ingredients in the soup itself:  cauliflower and onion.  I, too, was skeptical of how this soup could be as creamy and full-bodied as was promised with so few players.  I was skeptical, that is, until I saw that this was a recipe from Paul Bertolli.

Paul Bertolli spent over 20 years making culinary magic at Chez Pannise under Alice Waters, and Oliveto, both in California.  If there is anyone that can bring a humble vegetable to white-glove status, it is Chef Bertolli.

I learned of this soup in late September and have made it 6 times since.  The stewing technique used here softens the cauliflower in the most gentle way, coaxing rather than hammering the flavor out.  The result is a satin smooth texture and cauliflower that tastes like the most cauliflower-est cauliflower you’ve ever had.  (I’ve thought of how to describe the taste more articulately, other words sound more eloquent but none are more accurate.)

Another wonderful thing about this soup is that, like with most soups, it is even best made ahead of time and therefore ideal for entertaining.  On that note, the true exclamation point for this soup was when my friend Clare and I served this at a very elegant dinner party we were private chefs for.  Clare suggested adding Brussels sprout leaves and almonds for crunch and beauty, both of which these two simple garnishes provide.  We served many interesting courses that night, but the dish that may have been praised most was this silken soup.  We heard more grumbles of affection over cauliflower than salted caramel ice cream.

Need I say more?

 

 

Silken Cauliflower Soup with Seared Brussels Sprout Leaves and Crushed Almonds

Adapted from Paul Bertolli

Serves 8

 

For the soup:

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium onion (6 ounces), sliced thin

1 head very fresh cauliflower (about 1-1/2 pounds), broken into florets

5 1/2 cups water, divided

Salt, to taste

 

 

For garnish:

½ cup lightly sautéed Brussels sprout leaves

5 roasted almonds, chopped

 

Warm the olive oil in a heavy-bottomed pan. Sweat the onion in the olive oil over low heat without letting it brown for 15 minutes.

Add the cauliflower, salt to taste, and 1/2 cup water. Raise the heat slightly, cover the pot tightly and stew the cauliflower for 15 to 18 minutes, or until tender. Then add another 4 1/2 cups hot water, bring to a low simmer and cook an additional 20 minutes uncovered.

Working in batches, purée the soup in a blender to a very smooth, creamy consistency. Let the soup stand for 20 minutes. In this time it will thicken slightly.

Thin the soup with 1/2 cup hot water. Reheat the soup if necessary.

Serve hot, garnished with a few Brussels Sprout leaves and chopped almond pieces per serving.

 

*My Two Cents:  Feel free to leave off the suggested garnishes and simply drizzle with great extra virgin olive oil and shower with freshly cracked pepper.  This is, in fact, what Chef Bertolli does.

Other great garnishes would include frizzled shallots, garlicky croutons, or fried herbs

Weeknight Shrimp Sauté with Fennel, Tomatoes, and Greek Feta

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I have never been to Greece.  Well, I’ve never physically been to Greece.

I sometimes go to Greece when I’m jam packed on a crowded subway, drifting off to sleep, or my extra-friendly neighbor is telling me about her cat’s sleeping habits for the third time that week  (Let’s keep that last one between us).

This simple and delicious dish is a take on the Greek classic, Shrimp Saganaki.  It comes together in under 30 minutes and has all of the freshness and complexity you could ask for.  Juicy tomatoes, herbaceous fennel, and sweet shrimp are enveloped in a creamy sauce that appears instantly when salty feta hits the pan.

With such few ingredients, again, buy the best you can afford.  Wild shrimp and good Bulgarian or Greek feta make this dish what it is, so they are worth the slight investment.

A simple, lemony green salad and crusty bread round out this meal perfectly.  This is a healthy, flavorful dinner that you will return to again and again.

For today, as Greece remains a soul mate I have yet to meet… a destiny not yet fulfilled, I’ll settle for taking my Greece in my kitchen.

 

Weeknight Shrimp Sauté with Fennel, Tomatoes, and Greek Feta

Adapted from The Newlywed Cookbook, by Sarah Copeland

SERVES 2-4

 

1 ½ lb peeled, butterflied, and deveined large shrimp

1 Tablespoon olive oil

1 large bulb fennel, thinly sliced

6 plum tomatoes, chopped

3 oz. Bulgarian or Greek feta

Pinch of red pepper flakes

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

½ cup fresh parsley, chopped

 

Heat the olive oil in a large sauté pan until shimmering.  Add the fennel and cook over medium-high heat until soft, stirring occasionally, about 5-7 minutes.  Add the tomatoes, salt, and red pepper flakes and cook until the tomatoes are soft and start to release their juices, about 5 more minutes.  Add the shellfish and cook, storring occasionally until they are pink throughout, about 3 minutes.  Add most of the feta and stir to melt slightly, about 2 minutes.

 

Transfer to shallow bowls and top with the remaining feta and chopped parsley.  Season with freshly ground black pepper, and serve.

Pan Roasted Striped Bass with Sauce Verte and Tomatoes

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Chilean Sea Bass may be trendy, but it’s not for me.  It’s in danger of becoming extinct and frankly, there are too many great choices out there to make this variety even mildly appealing.  Striped bass is my pick.  It is a beautiful fish, with silvery mosaic skin and a mild, tender flesh.  I check the incredibly informative Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch often, and I always get the green light on Striped Bass.  This is my go-to source for current information regarding sustainable seafood and can be accessed by clicking  the above link, or downloading the app for your iPhone.  Genius!   I will soon post an extensive post on how this information has changed the way I shop and eat, but for now, let’s get to the tasty part…

I give striped bass a simple preparation with a medium-high pan sear to crisp up that gorgeous skin, a quick flip and a finish in a high heat oven.  As long as you buy the best quality fish you can afford and don’t overcook it, you will not be disappointed.  The first part is easy, buy wild and from a reputable market if you can, but the overcooking fish is an epidemic that most of us become a part of all too easily.  I learned in culinary school to ignore a lot of the things I was being told:  Salt is not bad for you.  Pork should be served slightly pink, and when fish flakes completely with a fork, it is not done, it is overcooked.  Cook white fish until it is just cooked through and just starts to flake, not a minute more.  The high oven temperature allows this to happen quickly, giving the fish less chance of drying out.  The attached skin also provides added lubrication in the process.

I serve this fish here with an herbed-flecked sauce verte.  Each region has its version of a green herb sauce:  Africa has chermoula, Italy has pesto, Spain has salsa verde and the French have sauce verte.  It is salty, bright, pungent and fresh and can be served with almost any fish, grilled chicken or steak.  Throw it on roasted potatoes or swirl into scrambled eggs.  It is a complex sauce that will wake up a multitude of dishes.

To serve, I make a bed of the tomatoes and draped the fish on top, accompanied by a drizzle of sauce verte on the side.  You do not want to cover up this beautifully marbled skin with any sauce.  This way, it looks a bit fashionable and there’s just something about stacking food on top of each other makes it look modern. I may not participate in consuming the last of our Chilean Sea Bass population, but there are plenty of other ways to be trendy.

 

PAN ROASTED STRIPED BASS WITH CHERRY TOMATOES AND SAUCE VERTE

SERVES 4

 

SAUCE VERTE:

YIELD:  1 ½ CUPS

1 ¼ cup flat-leaf parsley, chopped

¼ cup tarragon leaves, chopped

½ cup chives, chopped

1 clove garlic, peeled and chopped

1/2 teaspoon chopped anchovy

1/4 cup capers

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1 cup extra virgin olive oil

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

 

In a blender or food processor, combine parsley, tarragon, chives, garlic, anchovy, capers and lemon juice. Pulse to puree. With the motor running, very slowly add the oil until it is thoroughly incorporated. Transfer to a bowl. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

STRIPED BASS:

4 (6 oz.) skinless skin-on striped bass fillets

1 tablespoon canola oil, plus more for drizzling tomatoes

1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved

kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

 

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Pat fish fillets dry and season with salt and pepper. Heat a large, nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add canola oil. 30 seconds later, add fish skin side down, and cook without moving for about 3-4 minutes. When skin has crisped, turn fish over and transfer to a shallow, oiled baking dish.  Add halved tomatoes to the pan.  Drizzle tomatoes with oil, sprinkle the tomatoes with salt and immediately transfer to the oven.  Roast until just cooked through, 5-7 minutes.

To serve:  Put a small bed of roasted tomatoes in the center of the plate.  Place one fillet on the tomatoes, skin side up.  Spoon Sauce Verte in a half moon shape alongside the fish.  Serve.

 

*My Two Cents:  If halibut or grouper looks good at the market, swap it in.  Although types of these fish are endangered, Pacific Halibut and Grouper from the Gulf of Mexico are great, sustainable choices.  Become informed about where your seafood comes from and you will make more educated choices that will not only make you feel good, but will probably taste a lot better than the prepackaged stuff labeled with nothing more than a generic title and price.  Swordfish is also great with a pungent dressing such as the sauce verte.

This is a great dish for company because the sauce verte can be made the day before and the fish and tomatoes cook in minutes.

Pan Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Pickled Golden Raisins and Herbs

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In my view, pork screams to be married with a bit of sweetness.  Whether it’s a deep maple glaze, buttery spiced pears, or a fresh and tart cherry relish, it works beautifully in any season.  The key to any delicious sauce or accompaniment is to achieve balanced flavors, and a great way to keep the sweetness from being too pronounced is with the use of acid.

Here sweet, gummy golden raisins are plumped in an herby, pungent vinegar-based mixture.  This creates a superb flavor combination as well as a toothsome textural combination when combined with the toasted mustard seeds. Moist and agreeable roasted pork is a perfect supporting cast member to this unique compote.  This is a quick dinner to throw together on a weeknight but special enough for entertaining.

In May of 2011, the United States Department of Agriculture lowered its safe cooking temperature for pork from 160 degrees to 145 degrees, which gave chefs all over the country (who were doing that anyway) much excitement.  Finally, it was being acknowledged that lean meats like this cut of pork do not benefit from those dry-meat inducing 15 degrees, and the carryover temperature obtained by resting is sufficient.  The result is safely cooked meat that maintains it’s juicy, tender flesh.  A little bit of pink is okay, in fact it is preferable to my taste.  Dogmas change, and what was once thought of as unacceptable has now become accepted as eaters open their minds to new ideas and truths, just one of the million reasons why I’m increasingly more excited to be a cook.

For the Pickled Raisins:

Adapted from Sundays at Lucques by Suzanne Goin

2 teaspoons yellow mustard seeds

½ cup granulated sugar

3 tablespoons champagne vinegar

1/8 teaspoon cayenne

1 bay leaf

1/3 pound golden raisins

1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves, chopped

1-inch sprig rosemary

1 teaspoon kosher salt

Before you begin making the raisins, take the pork out of the refrigerator to let it come closer to room temperature.

Place the mustard seeds in a small pan over medium heat and toast a few minutes, shaking the pan often, until the seeds just start to pop.

Combine the mustard seeds with 1 cup water and the rest of the ingredients in a small nonaluminum pot.  Bring to a boil, and turn the heat down to a low simmer.  Cook 6 to 8 minutes, until the liquid has reduced by half.  Let the raisins cool, and store them in the liquid in the refrigerator.

For the Pork:

SERVES 4

2 pork tenderloins (about 1 1/2 pounds total), excess fat and silver skin removed

1 tablespoon fresh thyme, minced

1 tablespoon olive oil

kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper

Preheat oven to 475 degrees. Pat the pork dry and sprinkle with thyme, salt and pepper. Pat the seasonings into the pork to adhere.  In a large ovenproof skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add pork, and cook, turning occasionally, until golden brown on all sides, about 7-8 minutes.

Transfer to oven, and cook until an instant-read thermometer inserted in thickest part of pork registers 145 degrees, about 10-12 minutes. Transfer pork to a cutting board and let rest 10 minutes. Slice pork, and serve with Pickled Golden Raisins.

*My Two Cents:  If you don’t have mustard seeds, a tablespoon of whole grain mustard may be added in towards the end of cooking in its place.

Apple cider or white wine vinegar can be used instead of the champagne vinegar.

These raisins would go well with veal chops or roasted chicken as well.