Wow Your Parents!

Want to wow your parents? Or, anyone really. Except your veggie friends. And want to wow them while not killing yourself? Yes. Okay! I've got the recipes for you!

I made a herb crusted pork tenderloin, gorgonzola and porcini risotto, and roasted asparagus.

These are the recipes I used:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/herb-crusted-pork-tenderloin-recipe/index.html
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/gorgonzola-and-porcini-mushroom-risotto-recipe/index.html

For the pork, I used a 2lb tenderloin, rather than the 4lb. And I don't know what that recipe is talking about when it says that a 4lb tenderloin will only yield 6 servings. The 2lb tenderloin easily could have rendered 6 servings! Because I was using a smaller piece of meat, I changed the temperature and cook times. I did 15 minutes at 450, and 30 minutes at 375. I think could have done an additional 5 minutes at 375 to get it just right. But I didn't have a meat thermometer, so I was sort flying blind.

I used all fresh herbs, and used 3 teaspoons rather than 2. I used kosher salt. Kosher salt on roasted meat is awesome, and I happen to really enjoy it. But if you don't, then you might want to consider cutting down on the salt a little, because it was admittedly close to being too salty.

I had conveniently prepped the asparagus, using olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic and lemon juice. Made sure the asparagus was thoroughly covered, put it on a baking sheet, and as soon as I took the pork out I put the asparagus in for ten minutes at 400. Make sure you turn the asparagus, or shake it up a little, half way through. The pork should rest for ten minutes after coming out of the oven, so this was a good way to productively use my time and limited oven space.

On to the risotto. This was my first time making risotto, and it was more demanding that I expected. Not in a complicated way. In a stirstirstir way. For the first part of the recipe I followed everything exactly. My mom only had red onions, so I used a red onion. A yellow one probably would have been better. But oh well. Once you get this recipe going its going, and unless you have someone else in your kitchen who can help you stir, be prepared to be very busy for about 30 minutes. I actually used all of the original chicken stock and had to add an extra cup in order to get the risotto past super crunchy and to al dente.

Once I took the risotto off the burner, I added the cheese. I made substantial changes to the cheese. I did 3/4 cup of parmesan, and about 1/2 cup asiago. I only added about 1/3 a cup of gorgonzola. And I'm glad I did it that way, because it stopped the gorgonzola from taking over the flavor. It was nicely balanced, and tasted great.

My only other word of warning on the risotto is that you should definitely use low-sodium chicken stock. Otherwise it will be just a touch too salty.

Overall, the pork tenderloin was really easy to make, asparagus is always a hit, and the risotto looks and tastes a lot more difficult than it is. Your parents will think you're classy. And isn't that always the goal?

Fiesta fiesta!

Hola! I hosted a friend's birthday party, and we went with "Fiesta" as a theme. I decided to make fish tacos and mushroom enchiladas.

Here are the recipes I used:
www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/bobby-flay/fish-tacos-recipe/index.html
www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/aida-mollenkamp/veggie-cheese-enchiladas-recipe/index.html

So, for the enchilada recipe, I used a mix of portobello and button mushrooms. I added a teaspoon of diced garlic to the onions while they were sauteing. I also added about a teaspoon of ancho chili powder to the mushrooms mixture while it was on the stove top. I used small corn tortillas, but it probably would have been better and easier to use larger flour tortillas. If you insist on using corn, make sure you microwave them before you try to stuff and wrap them, otherwise the tortillas will just break and crumble and be generally non-cooperative. I also used a ton of cheese. I used a pico de gallo type salsa for the bottom of the pan, but I think more liquid on the bottom might have made them more moist. Not to say that I'd use a red sauce. Just a more thoroughly pureed mixture. Overall, they were really tasty, especially with a little guac and sour cream. Mmm.

For the fish tacos I started with tilapia (because it was on sale!) and cut it into small squares. I laid them on a baking sheet with a substantial lip on it. Instead of using oil, I used butter. Why? Because butter is delicious and makes everything better. I used two sticks of butter (I had 14 tilapia fillets), one salted and one unsalted. Then I added about a cup of lime juice, ancho chili powder, jalapeno, chopped garlic, and pepper. Poured it over the fish. Baked it at 350 for 15 minutes. Tasty tasty!

Special shout out to my awesome kitchen assistant Sarah. She did all the hard stuff! Thanks Sarah!