Tag Archives: mustard

Cuban Pork Tenderloin

29 Jul

Have you ever tasted this super special, amazingly yummy sandwich called The Cuban? It’s a toasted sandwich with honey mustard, pickles, ham, pork loin and swiss. We have been to Miami and tried to source the best Cuban sandwich we could find…and we have also frequented Publix supermarket for its Cuban sub as a meal in a hurry–when we thought whole wheat bread and juice were healthy. Well….here is our version, sans bread and tons of sugar. We wanted to call this “Pork Three Way” since we’ve got a pork tenderloin stuffed with ham and seared in bacon fat…but we’ll just stick with Cuban to be P.C. We served this with sweet potatoes we had previously roasted, scooped out the insides and put in the freezer. Just add some cinnamon and orange zest and nuke in the microwave to re-heat.

Cuban Pork Tenderloin

Ingredients

  • 1 pork tenderloin, about 1 1/2 lbs.
  • 1/2 lb. thinly sliced deli ham
  • 1/4 lb. swiss cheese, optional
  • 1/2 c. dill pickles, sliced into long strips
  • 4 T yellow mustard
  • 2 T honey
  • S&P

Method

Get your oven to 450ºF. To prepare your pork, watch this video:

Please notice right around the 1:40 mark of the video he shows the front side of the pork. Here you can see, on the left side of the pork, what is called the “silver skin” …it should be removed with your knife. Don’t worry about all the fat, that will cook away, but DO DO DO remove the silver skin. Salt and pepper both sides of the pork.

Mix together the honey and mustard in a small bowl.

This is the easy part, in whatever fashion you’d like, layer the ham, cheese and honey mustard into the pork loin.  When you’ve gotten about half way through, add the pickle slices (going long ways). Make sure to put the pickles long ways so when you slice the meat, you get a little bit in every bite. I suggest putting the pickles in half way through the stuffing process because otherwise it’s likely to cause the pork loin to be over stuffed and not roll up properly. Once you’re finished, roll the pork up. Using about 4 pieces of butcher’s twine, tie the pork together–don’t worry about the ends.

Sear the pork loin over medium high heat (in an oven safe pan) in a bit of fat, until you see a nice brown crust on both sides.  Stick the pan in the oven and cook until the center of the pork loin measures 140ºF– about 25 minutes. Let it rest for around 10 minutes, then slice and serve. You may want to make another batch of honey mustard to serve as a dipping sauce.

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Hog Dog Chili with Jalapeno Slaw

26 Jun

Imagine eating a chili dog with slaw, onions and yellow mustard. Now imagine taking off the bun and eating it in a bowl with a fork and you’ve got the idea behind this recipe. Another way to look at it, we’ve taken off the sour cream, avocado and cheese from chili and added hot dog toppings.

Ingredients

Chili Ingredients

  • 1 lb. ground meat* (I used ground chicken, but anything would work)
  • 1 package hot dogs, chopped (I used sugar-free beef franks from U.S. Wellness Meats)
  • 1 can Rotel tomatoes, juice drained, chopped small
  • 1 c tomato sauce
  • 2 chipolte peppers in adobe sauce, chopped finely
  • 1 t garlic powder
  • 1 t cumin powder

Slaw Ingredients

  • 1 red cabbage, sliced thinly (The cabbage should quite small–weighing about 1 lb., you won’t need more than that)
  • 1/2 c mayo
  • 1/2 red onion, sliced
  • 3 T pickled jalapenos, finely chopped**
  • 5 T pickled jalapeno juice**
  • 1 T yellow mustard

Method

In a medium sauce pan, cook the ground meat all the way through and then add the cut up hot dogs. Throw the rest of the ingredients in the pot and let it simmer while you make the slaw.

For the slaw, get out a large bowl and add all the ingredients, except the cabbage, and whisk to combine. Add the cabbage to the slaw base and mix to combine.

To serve, place the chili on the bottom of the bowl, then add some slaw and top with whatever hot dog fixings you like. Yellow mustard is an absolute must!

*If you’re pinching pennies, you can definitely leave out the ground meat and just use hot dogs. Chop the hot dogs rather small so they go further.

**Don’t be afraid of the pickled jalapenos or the juice. It’s not nearly as spicy as fresh jalapeno…but as always, add a little at a time and taste as you go–because you can’t take it away after you’ve added it.

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Pepper Crusted Steak Salad

23 Jan

Ingredients

  • 1 lb. sirloin steak
  • 3 T fresh ground pepper
  • 3 T olive oil
  • 1 onion, sliced as thinly as possible
  • 1/2 t sugar
  • 2 c shitake mushrooms, stems removed and sliced
  • 1 T butter
  • 2 heads romaine lettuce, chopped
  • 3 green onions, sliced
  • 3 oz. raw blue cheese (I used Point Reyes)

Method

For the Steak:

Place the ground pepper on a plate and lay each side of the steak in the pepper. The harder you press the steak into the pepper, the more pepper will stick; therefore, the spicier the steak. Grill or saute the steak to your likeness. Once the steak has rested for at LEAST 5 minutes, slice it thinly against the grain for maximum tenderness.

For the Onions & Mushrooms:

Place 3T oil in a saute pan and turn the heat on medium-low. The secret to caramelized onions is patience–which I have very little of. Once the oil is warm, throw in the onions and sugar and toss around to get everyone coated. You don’t need to constantly stir the onions, but keep an eye on them and toss them around the pan every once in a while. You will eventually see the color start to change from white to yellow to gold. If the onions start to brown, you either have too little oil in the pan or the heat is too high–fix accordingly. The total process will take about 20 minutes. Be patient; or don’t be, and take the onions off the heat early–the result will still be sweet & tasty.

Once the onions are out, melt 2T butter in the pan and crank the heat to medium high. Toss in the mushrooms and let them saute for about 10 minutes. Make sure to scrape up all the onion bits that were left on the bottom of the pan.

Assembling the Salad:

While the onions are sauteing, chop, wash and dry the romaine lettuce. Place in a bowl, along with the green onions and some blue cheese crumbles, if you’re using it. Add the onions and mushrooms and top with the sliced steak.

For the Dressing:

2T      whole grain dijon mustard

4T      red wine vinegar

6T      olive oil

S & P

Place all the ingredients in a container with a screw top lid or into a bowl and shake/whisk the heck out of it until it comes together. Pour on top of the salad.

{Don’t pour the dressing directly into the serving bowl. If you end up having leftovers, the dressing will make the salad  disappointingly soggy and slimy.}


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Mustard, Rosemary Crusted Pork Loin

14 Jan

Tangy, sweet and salty. This recipe hits all my taste buds. Brandon probably tires of this, as I make it ALL THE TIME. Yum!

Ingredients

  • 1 pork tenderloin, trimmed of fat
  • 3 T rosemary, minced
  • 3 T EACH prepared horseradish, mayo & Dijon mustard
  • 1 t black pepper
  • 2 sweet potatoes
  • 2 tart apples, diced
  • 3 T coconut oil, melted
  • 1 orange, zested & juiced
  • 1 t cinnamon
  • 1/2 t nutmeg

Method

In a small bowl, combine the rosemary, mayo, mustard & horsy– mix until combined. Put 1/2 the sauce in a plastic storage bag and add the pork. Marinate in the fridge until ready to cook. Grill or bake the pork until it’s internal temp is a bit below 165F. Don’t overcook or it will for sure be dry as a bone. Let the loin rest for a couple minutes, then slice and top with the reserved mustard sauce.

For the Sweets & Apples

In a bowl combine all ingredients and mix well. Transfer to a baking sheet (make sure to add all the juices) and roast until the juices have turned syrupy and the potatoes have cooked through, about 20-30 minutes at 400F.

{The smaller you dice the sweet potatoes and apples, the faster they’ll cook through.}

{Make sure, while baking the sweets & apples, to toss everything around a few times to distribute the syrupy juices.}


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