Tag: gourmet

peppercorn vermouth pork roastYes, this heading is a mouthful. In so many ways.

Early November has been kind of slow, with Adam working on my computer, the holidays not quite underway, and school projects not quite ready for posting. My circle quilt is at a standstill until the zipper foot I had to order arrives. But I have a backlog of recipes waiting to go up, so I’m doing another Recipe-A-Day-Week like I had in May. First up is this roasted pork from the September 2009 issue of Gourmet. Next time I make this, I really need to remember to marinate it the day before I’m going to cook it. This was supposed to be last night’s dinner, but I forgot the whole 8-24 hours of marinating thing.

The pork was delicious and awesomely tender, but I didn’t dig the pepper. I’m not sure if a spice grinder would have helped, either. In the Gourmet photo the roast is black crusted with pepper. I would have preferred a simpler roast with some less sharp herbs, but I can’t deny that the pork itself came out amazing. I didn’t think I could make a tender pork roast, and this proved me wrong.

Peppercorn Roasted Pork With Vermouth Pan Sauce (adapted from 9/09 Gourmet)
This version is half of the original, so it’s a good size roast for 3-4 people (or 2 with lunch leftovers).

Read more on Recipe-A-Day Week Vol. II: Day One, Peppercorn Roasted Pork With Vermouth Pan Sauce…

skirt steakOMG, OMG, OMG. This dish was phenomenal, and I can’t believe it’s taken me this long to post about it. It’s probably been a month now since I made this, and it was delicious. It was in the June Gourmet‘s “Every Day Quick Kitchen” section, one of their 30 minute recipes. It really was that fast, and it was tender and so flavorful.

I couldn’t get my hands on hanger steak when I made it, so I used skirt steak on the butcher’s recommendation and loved it. The chutney is the ultimate summer greatness, so I’m thinking I may need to make this again in the next few days to take advantage of the heat and the melons. The recipe calls for cooking it on a grill, but I used my grill pan inside and again, this was fine.

I made the Toasted Orzo with Saffron and Fennel from that same issue as an accompaniment (that’s it on the dish next to the steak). Honestly, I wasn’t wild about it. I can’t remember now why that was exactly, I either undercooked the orzo or just didn’t quite like the flavors in the dish. But I’ll add the text for that recipe at the bottom of this post for anyone who wants to try it.

Grilled Lime-Curry-Rubbed Skirt Steak with Fresh Melon-Cucumber Chutney (adapted from the June 2009 Gourmet)
Serves: about 4 (I halved it, as always)

For Chutney:
2 cups chopped honeydew melon (about 10 oz)
1/3 seedless cucumber, peeled and chopped (about 3/4 cup)–I just bought regular cucumbers and cut out the seeds
1/2 cup red onion
3 Tbsp fresh lime juice
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1-2 tsp minced fresh jalapeno, including seeds
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp ground cumin

For Steak:
2 Tbsp fresh lime juice
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 Tbsp curry powder
2 lb (1″ thick) hanger steak or chuck blade steak (skirt steak worked just fine for me)

Read more on Grilled Lime-Curry-Rubbed Hanger Steak with Fresh Melon-Cucumber Chutney…

mozzarella in carrozzaI know it’s hard to imagine, but not everything I make is a triumph. I slip into a deep spiral when I spend hours trying some new recipe only to find that it’s really not that good. These fried mozzarella sandwiches, the only thing from the January ’09 Gourmet that wasn’t a runaway hit, were just odd. I followed all the directions, they came out looking just like the picture. But they didn’t have a whole lot of flavor, and they weren’t exciting enough to justify the calories involved. Most of this batch ended up uneaten. It was like savory french toast, filled with mozzarella and fried. I know it sounds like it should be heaven on a plate, but they were just not that thrilling. I did, however, come up with a pretty great tomato soup recipe to go with them. I’ll post that another day, but now here’s the sandwich recipe. Maybe others will have better luck than I did. 

Mozzarella in Carrozza with Anchovy Sauce

Read more on The Oddest Thing I’ve Ever Cooked…

sauteed beefThis was another amazing dish from the January ’09 issue of Gourmet. I’m wearing that magazine out. It was just unspeakably good, and fast enough to make on a weeknight. I made lemon pepper orzo and grilled asparagus (on a grill pan on the stove) to go with it. The orzo recipe was featured with this one for the beef in Gourmet, but it called for acini di pepe pasta that I couldn’t find. I’m still daydreaming about this meal.

Read more on Sauteed Beef with White Wine and Rosemary…

The March ’09 issue of Gourmet has a fantastic article by Barry Estabrook called “Politics of the Plate: The Price of Tomatoes.” The article addresses the working conditions of tomato pickers in southern Florida, who live in “virtual slavery” and work for huge tomato producers who stock restaurants and grocery stores during the winter months. This small area in Florida apparently produces 90% of all the tomatoes grown in the USA, year-round. So when no local tomatoes are available, chances are they’re coming from here if they’re domestic.

Read more on Eating Ethically…

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