Balsamic Honey Reduction and Pork Medallions

Last Sunday I was in the mood for something a little different for dinner.  I'm not sure why but my family doesn't eat a whole lot of pork on any regular basis.  When we do, it's either BBQ'd or bacon.  I love bacon.  We have a freezer with a variety of pork and I pulled 4 pork chops out of the freezer and cubed into about 2 inch pieces.  You could use a pork loin or pork fillets instead of the pork chops.  Mix it up....whatever you like.

The recipe follows

Here's the link to the salad.

First let's make the reduction

• 1 Shallot - Minced
• 3 cloves of Minced Garlic ( I use the minced garlic in the jar...)
• 1 Cup of Balsamic Vinegar
• 3 Tsp of Honey
• 2 Tsp of Dijon Mustard
• 1 T of Sugar

In a Medium Saucepan heat up a few tablespoons of olive oil and over medium high heat soften the shallot and garlic.  After 2-3 minutes add the remaining ingredients and reduce heat and simmer the mixture until it has reduced by half.   Set aside for use with the pork medallions.

Season the Pork Medallions with Salt and Pepper.

In a large pan over medium high heat add a couple of tablespoons of olive oil.  When the pan is hot add the pork medallions and fry for about 2-3 minutes.  Proceed to add the reduction and finish cooking the pork medallions in the reduction until the internal temperature reaches 160.

Lettuce Salad with Red Quinoa, Almonds, and Apple

I think this picture says it all.  This is a great salad to impress anyone and tastes delicious.  Super easy to make and very healthy.  An added benefit is the quinoa!

Here goes.

Take 1/4 cup or so of red quinoa and add to boiling water for about 10 minutes.  When done rinse and spread on a baking sheet to cool.  I put paper towels in the bottom of my strainer and poured the quinoa into that and squeezed out excess water before transferring to a pan to cool

The dressing:

• 1/4 cu of olive oil
• 3-4 tsp of apple cider vinegar
• 2 tsp of honey
• Add some salt and pepper to taste.  
• Whisk away!

The Salad:

• Pick your favorite package of mixed lettuce.  For this I used the herb blend at the store but I'm sure any of your favorite lettuce will do.
• Core and slice a Granny Smith apple fairly thin.
• Add some Sliced Almonds  Approximately 1/4 Cup.
• Add the Red Quinoa.

In a large bowl add the above ingredients and coat the salad with the dressing.

Voila!  You are ready to go.  Enjoy!

Salami and Fontina Cheese Panini

Hello World!

My favorite christmas gift this year was a Panini maker from my wonderful wife Emily.   I have only just begun to explore the yummy sandwich options available.  I thought about purchasing a panini recipe cookbook (although that might make a great gift for a later time) but instead I have just looked around the internet for a few ideas and come up with some of my own.

She searched all over and ended up at a cooking store and the friendly customer service lady directed Emily to a Breville BGR200XL Panini Maker.  Here's the link.  I have only used it a handful of times so far but it works great.  It's easy to clean, does a nice sear, and has a locking handle.  


Salami and Fontina Cheese Panini Recipe

So here's my recipe.

We don't have a lot of options available for fancy bread on our area so I used an Italian Loaf.

• Italian loaf
• Salami (6 slices per sandwich)
• Fontina Cheese ( 3 slices per sandwich)
• Roasted Sweet Red Pepper (the kind that comes in the Jar) I cut into slices for the sandwich
• 1 Yellow Onion ( I sliced the onion and caramelized it on the Panini maker with some Olive Oil)
• Spinach Leaves
• Coarse Grain Mustard (here's a link to my favorite)

I started by caramelizing the onions on the panini maker.  While the onions were caramelizing I started to build the sandwich.  I put a fairly liberal spread of the mustard on one slice of bread and then added 6 slices of salami, spinach, three slices of Fontina Cheese.  I topped this with the roasted red peppers and caramelized onions and then the top bread.  I poured a little olive oil on the top of the bread and then proceeded to place the side of the sandwich with the olive oil on the bottom of the panini maker so I could pour some more on the other side of the sandwich.

A few minutes later you have the sandwich you see here.  I apologize for the picture... I took it with my cell phone and apparently didn't have it focused correctly. Hopefully you get the idea.  This meal was served for dinner and my three girls 13,11, and 9 ate it up and loved it.

Enjoy!