Lechon Asado

Lechon is one of my favorite Cuban dishes. I love it plain or put into a sandwich, even drowned in beans and rice. The entire house smells wonderful when making. Just be aware of the long marinade time. The shortest you can marinade it is 4 hours.

Lechon Asado

1 (8 lb) fresh ham (pork leg or butt)
1 head garlic, broken into cloves, peeled and minced
1 tablespoon sea salt
1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup sour orange juice (seville) or orange juice
1/4 cup dry sherry or lime juice
2 large onions, thinly sliced

Make shallow slits all over the pork.Using the tip of a knife; mash the garlic, salt, oregano, cumin, pepper, bay leaf and olive oil to a paste in a mortar then rub this mixture all over the roast, forcing it into the slits. Combine the sour orange juice, sherry, and onions in a small bowl to the side.

Place the roast in a large, heavy plastic bag; add the sour OJ mixture, making sure that the whole roast gets covered with the mixture. Refrigerate and marinate the roast in the bag overnight, turning occasionally during the time.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Drain the roast, and pat dry, reserving the marinade; place it in a lightly oiled, nonreactive, heavy roasting pan; cook the roast for 1 hour, turning once or twice to brown it on all sides.

Reduce the heat to 325 degrees; pour the marinade and onions over the pork; tent the pan with heavy-duty aluminum foil; (tear off a piece that is 1 1/2 times the width of your pan; fold it in half and crease the top; open it up, and place over the pan like a tent, tightly crimping edges to seal). Continue roasting the pork, basting from time to time with the pan juices, until almost cooked, about 1 hour; add a little water or sherry if the pan dries out.

Uncover the roast and continue cooking until the internal temp reads*at least* 150 degrees F on a meat thermometer, about 30 minutes more; (most Cubans like the meat well done, so after sitting, it should be up to 180 degrees--it's safer, also).

Let the roast stand for 10 minutes before carving or pulling apart with your fork.

To reheat add a little olive oil to a fryingpan and cook shredded pork in it until moist and warm. Fresh lime juice sprinkled over it just before serving is excellant!

Kitty's Meatloaf

This is my mom in law's favorite meatloaf. She requests it as a special occasion dinner no matter what the occasion or options. It has a sweet flavor between the maple sausage and red bell pepper that even the kids like. Also a great way to sneak in veggies.

Kitty's Meatloaf

1 (10 ¾ oz.) cream of mushroom soup, divided
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 1/2 lb meat loaf mix meat (beef/pork)
1/2 lb Jimmy Dean Maple Sausage
1/2 cup finely chopped onion, divided
½ cup fine dry breadcrumbs with Romano Cheese
1/3 cup chicken broth
1 1/2 cup white mushrooms, diced, divided
1/8 cup diced sweet red bell pepper
2 tablespoons dry brown gravy mix
2 cloves garlic, minced, divided
2 green onions, chopped
1/2 teaspoon sage
pinch of basil
pinch of paprika
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt, divided
3/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper, divided
1 tablespoon olive oil

Preheat oven to 375°. Mix ½ cup soup, meats, breadcrumbs, egg, 1 cup of mushrooms and bell pepper, gravy mix, basil, 3/4 of the garlic and onion, half the salt and black pepper together and form into a loaf. Place in a loaf pan and press down firmly. Bake for 4o minutes.

In a small saucepan mix the remaining onions, garlic, green onions and mushrooms with the olive oil and sautee until tender. Set aside. Pour off the drippings from the meatloaf into the saucepan after 40 minutes. Return meatloaf to the oven and bake until golden brown on top or 10 minutes longer.

Mix the remaining soup with the drippings and the sauteed vegetables. Cook over medium low heat until warmed through, stirring often so the sauce doesn't seperate.

Pork Roast Avec des Herbes

I like a good flavorful pork roast. In my family the roast traditionally is just tossed in a roasting pan and left to cook down in only its own juices, maybe a tiny bit of garlic salt added. To me it's simply unnatural to not play with spices or marinades of some sort. And wasting broth that makes vegetables so flavorful should be a sin.

Pork Roast Avec des Herbes

1 boneless pork loin roast, about 3 to 4 pounds
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme
4 to 6 medium potatoes
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon thyme
2 teaspoon freeze-dried or fresh chives
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 325° F. Rub pork loin with 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon onion powder, 1 1/2 teaspoons thyme, then sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place pork loin in a shallow roasting pan. Roast for 50 to 55 minutes.

Peel and quarter potatoes; cook in boiling water for about 10 minutes. Drain, let cool, and place potatoes in a large bowl; toss with olive oil, 1 teaspoon dried thyme, chives, 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, and salt and pepper. Place potatoes around pork loin; roast an additional 45 to 60 minutes, or until pork registers at least 155° on a thermometer.

Cover roast pork loin with foil and let stand for about 15 minutes before slicing.

Dashi - Japanese Mother's Day Meal

I have 1 Asian grocery in the area. It's a pretty place with usually only one person working it sadly. And that one person speaks very little English. Most of the packages are also not in English so I do a lot of wandering around trying to figure out what ingredients are really what I'm looking for. Shirataki noodles come in two flavors as far as I've seen: tofu that's been shaped to look like a noodle and a traditional brown flour and yam noodle.

This recipe to me sounds very yummy. I haven't had a chance to try it yet, but the mirin tends to add a very sweet taste to most noodle dishes.

Dashi

1/2 lb thinly sliced beef loin, or pork loin, cut into 1 and 1/2 inch length pieces
4 potatoes, cut into quarters
1 onion, cut into wedges
1/4 lb carrot, cut into bite size chunks
1/2 package shirataki noodles
2 1/2 cups dashi soup (typically a fish stock. Vegetarian stock can be used)
2 tablespoon mirin
2 tablespoon sugar
4 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon of vegetable oil

Heat 1 tbsp of vegetable oil in a deep pot and saute beef quickly on high heat. Add onion, carrot, potato, and shirataki in the pan and saute together. Pour stock in and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat to low and skim off any foam or impurities that rise to the surface. Simmer until potatoes are softened. Add sugar and mirin and put a drop-lid. Simmer for about 5 minutes and add soy sauce. Simmer until the liquid are almost gone.

Makes 4 servings

Varkenshaas

A savory pork tenderloin in mustard sauce. Best if garnished with fresh chives. The sauce can be doubled for making gravy over rice or potatoes.

Varkenshaas

2 pork tenderloins (1 1/2 pounds total), trimmed
2 tablespoons olive oil
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon minced shallot
1/4 cup dry white wine
2/3 cup chicken broth
3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2/3 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh basil leaves
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh parsley leaves

Preheat oven to 400° F. Pat pork dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. In a large heavy kettle heat oil and 4 tablespoons butter over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking and brown pork on all sides. Reduce heat to moderate and cook pork, covered, turning occasionally, 10 minutes. Transfer pork to a shallow baking dish and roast in oven until a meat thermometer registers 155° F. for barely pink meat, 10 to 15 minutes.

While pork is roasting, add remaining tablespoon butter and shallot to kettle and cook over moderate heat until softened. Add wine, broth, and mustard and simmer, scraping up brown bits, until reduced by about half. Add cream and basil and simmer until thickened. Stir in parsley and salt and pepper to taste.

Cut pork into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Pour sauce over pork and serve.

Jack Pork Tenderloin

No, not my son Jack. Jack Daniels.

Jack Pork Tenderloin

1/4 cup Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whiskey
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup catsup
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
2 (1 lb) pork tenderloins

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Combine all ingredients except tenderloins in small saucepan. Bring to a boil and simmer until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. This sauce is sticky, so line a baking or roasting pan with foil for easy clean-up. Place tenderloins in foil lined pan. Brush with sauce. Place in the oven and roast for about 30 minutes, until internal temperature is 155 to 160 degrees. Remove from oven, let rest at least 15 minutes before slicing.

Rum and Cola Cured Pork Tenderloin

I haven't tried this one but it sounds good. It's from Cafe Tu Tu Tango.

Rum and Cola Cured Pork Tenderloin

1/2 cup kosher salt
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup rum
3 cups cola
1/2 cup honey
1 pork tenderloin

Combine the salt, sugar, rum, cola, and honey until they are completely dissolved. Then, add the pork tenderloin and marinate in the refrigerator for 48 hours. Preheat a grill. Cut into 2-inch medallions and grill for 5 to 7 minutes on each side.

Jagerschnitzle

It sounds like a drink, but no. It's not. I love schnitzle when it's cooked right- which is light, lean and melts on your tongue.

Jagerschnitzle

2 4-6 oz. Lean Pork or Veal slices
4 strips of Bacon - cut into small pieces
1/2 cup chopped onions
1 glove of garlic; minced
2 cups sliced mushrooms
2 cups beef broth
4 oz. white wine
4 oz. flour
Salt and Pepper
4 oz. sour cream
2 oz. lemon juice
Worcestershire Sauce
2 oz. oil
Parsley garnish

Take the sliced pork or veal and pound to equal thickness. Sprinkle salt and pepper on top and dip in flour. In a large skillet add the oil and put on high heat. After the pan and oil are hot, add the cutlet and cook until golden brown on both sides. Remove from the skillet and add bacon to the skillet: until crisp and add onions, heat until golden brown. Add garlic and stir for a minute. Add sliced mushrooms and stir for a few minutes more. Add the wine and stock then bring to a simmer; reduce to low heat.

In a mixing bowl, use a whisk to mix the sour cream with lemon juice and a teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce and the flour. Season with salt and pepper. Add to the mushroom mixture and continue to cook until it thickens. Pour the sauce over the cutlet and sprinkle with parsley.