Pan Fried Pork Medallions with Apples

If you have been reading this blog for a while you know that I love savory and sweet foods together. This pork and apple recipe looked great on paper and tasted even better on the plate.




This recipe came from the Two at the Table book I have been loving lately.




This is a simple dish but it has some big flavors. You need some butter, brown sugar, pork, apples, cinnamon and some ground cloves. (I didn't have ground cloves so I just used allspice)




I used a couple of gadgets for prepping the apple. One is my Y peeler that I love and this simple apple corer my sister got me a long time ago. With those getting the apple ready takes no time at all.




After you've got the core out and the skin off, slice up the apple.




Slice up your pork tenderloin and get it seasoned with some salt and pepper.




Once that is ready get some butter in the pan. Look at that beautiful real butter, yum.




Get the pork in and get it browning in the butter. Once it starts cooking your kitchen is going to smell great.




You want to brown these about 10 minutes per side, or less depending on how thickly you've cut them.




Lower the heat to medium and stir in the brown sugar.




Once the pork is cooked with the brown sugar, add the apples, cinnamon and ground cloves. Cook for about 10 more minutes or less, depending on how firm you want your apples. Stir it every so often so it all incorporates together. When the apples are cooked to your liking get it out of the pan and on to a plate.




This simple dish was so good I should have made more for the next day. I can't get enough brown sugar and pork so I will definitely be making this again very soon.

Orzo with Greens and Garlic

I love Orzo and I love garlic so this dish called out my name from the pages of Two at the Table.




This is a great way to eat some greens but not feel like you are missing out by eating too healthy, I mean, we all need some bacon sometimes right??




First thing, get some water boiling.




Then we can gather our other ingredients. A lot of people comment about my great pink knife, well I recently discovered they sell them at Target. They are great knives for the price and they are super light weight. Plus, it's Pink! In addition to a good knife you need some greens, I used gorgeous rainbow chard, shallot or onion, olive oil, cooked bacon (I keep some of that pre-cooked stuff in my freezer so I can just nuke it for dishes like this), garlic, and some orzo.




Chop the garlic and shallots.




You only want the leafy part of the chard, not the stems, even though they are so pretty.




Once you separate the stem from the leaves, give them a good rinse. I just dump them in a colander and do it that way.




To cut the chard I used my mezzaluna, which is a great gadget for beginning cooks because it is nearly impossible to cut yourself while chopping, just don't drop it on your foot.




With the handy gadget the greens are chopped in no time. I like to use this for herbs, mushrooms, olives and other things that are hard to hold on to but you need to chop.




Once everything is prepped, we can cook. Get the orzo in the hot water and lets get cooking. Get the shallots in the pan with some oil.




Give your orzo a stir to be sure its not sticking.




After the shallots have cooked for about 2 minutes, get the greens and garlic in. These will rapidly shrink, don't worry.




Let this cook for just a couple of minutes and you will see the greens reduce in size dramatically.




Get the pan off the heat. Drain the pasta and get it in the pan, add in the bacon and give it a stir. Season with some salt and pepper and you are ready to eat!




I added a little bit of Parmesan cheese on the top for another layer of flavor. This was light and delicious and had lots of great textures and big flavors. If you can't find chard you can use spinach or kale as well and this would be just as tasty. Have a great weekend and thanks again for all the great comments and emails, you guys make my day.

Chicken and Rice Meatball Marsala

When I saw this recipe I knew I'd have to sacrifice and turn my oven on to make this meal. This recipe comes from the Two at the Table cookbook I recently picked up. Turn on the oven to 400 degrees and lets gather some ingredients.




You need, 10 ounces ground chicken, 1/4 cup finely chopped onion, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper, 1 egg beaten (at room temperature), 1 cup cooked rice, 2 tbs butter (divided), 1/4 lb sliced mushrooms, 1 tbs flour, 1/2 cup chicken stock and 1/4 cup Marsala wine.




Get the chicken in a bowl with the salt and pepper.




Chop up your onion.




Get it in the bowl with the chicken.




Beat the egg.




Add it to the chicken and onion along with the rice and get it all combined.




I use an ice cream scoop to make the meatballs, it goes so much faster this way.




Get them on a rack that you've sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. My meatballs sort of sagged over the rack, but thats ok, they still tasted great. Get those guys in the oven for 30-35 minutes.




While those get delicious in the oven, lets make the sauce. Combine the stock with the marsala and set aside.




In a skillet melt 1 tablespoon of the butter. mmm butter!




Add in the sliced mushrooms and let them cook for about 7 minutes.




When they are nice and cooked grab a dish to get them out of the heat.




Mine get to hang out in a cute little Pyrex bowl.




Add the rest of the butter and melt it over medium heat. Add the flour and stir to make a smooth paste.




Add the stock and marsala mixture.




Stir until it is smooth and slightly thickened.




Get the mushrooms back in and then grab your meatballs out of the oven.




YUM. I ended up having to scrape them off the rack but that is ok, I was the only one eating it and I didn't care what it looked like.




What matters was how it tasted and it was delicious. I love marsala sauce and this was a great variation on classic chicken marsala. Thanks again for all the great comments and emails you guys have sent me recently. I love hearing that this site helps people like me who like to cook, but sometimes get uninspired or don't have anyone else to cook for. So thank you for reading and thanks for taking the time to send me some feedback.