Toasted Barley & Orzo Pilaf

From October 2009 Cuisine at Home Magazine. Serve with Rosemary & Orange-Glazed Pork Tenderloin and Apple-Cherry Relish.


Makes 4 Servings (3 cups); Total time: 15 minutes

- 1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
- 1 Tbsp. minced garlic
- 1/2 cup quick-cooking barley
- 1/4 cup orzo pasta
- 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 Tbsp. minced fresh sage leaves or 1 tsp. dried leaf sage
- Kosher salt and black pepper to taste

Heat oil in a sauce pan over medium-high heat. Add garlic; saute until golden, 2-3 minutes. Stir in barley and orzo; saute until orzo begins to brown, 2-3 minutes.
Add broth; bring mixture to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer until most of the liquid is absorbed, about ten minutes. Uncover barley-orzo mixture and let it stand for 1 minute.
Stir in sage; season with kosher salt and black pepper.

Rosemary & Orange-Glazed Pork Tenderloin with Apple-Cherry Relish

And I Quote: "This hearty dish highlights a combination of sweet, sour, and savory flavors."

I found this recipe in the October 2009 issue of Cuisine at Home Magazine. They recommend serving the pork with a toasted barley and orzo pilaf, which I did when I made it the first time. It is delicious together, it comes together very quickly, and eating it all provided me an out of body experience. Better than the best restaurant.

For the relish:

- 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
- 2/3 cup dried tart cherries
- 1/2 cup diced tart apple such as Braeburn or Granny Smith
- 1 Tbsp. minced shallot
- 1 Tbsp. minced sage leaves
- 1 tsp. sugar
- 1 tsp. extra-virgin olive oil
- Kosher salt and black pepper to taste

For the Tenderloin:

- 1/4 cup sweet orange marmalade
- 1 Tbsp. frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed
- 1 Tbsp. minced fresh rosemary leaves
- Dash of red pepper flakes
- Kosher salt to taste
- 1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
- 1 pork tenderloin, trimmed (18 oz)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil.
Heat vinegar in a small saucepan until vinegar boils. Pour vinegar over cherries in a bowl; let stand 5 minutes. Stir in apple, shallot, sage, sugar, and olive oil; season with salt and pepper. Done! Set relish aside.
Melt marmalade in a bowl in the microwave oven. Add orange juice concentrate; stir to combine. Stir in rosemary, pepper flakes, and salt.
Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Season tenderloin with salt and pepper. Place pork in skillet; brown on all sides, about 5 minutes. Remove pork from skillet and place on the prepared baking sheet. Baste pork with marmalade mixture.
Roast pork for 5 minutes; baste again with marmalade mixture. Roast until an instant read thermometer registers 150 degrees when inserted in the thickest part of pork, about 5 minutes. Remove pork from baking sheet, tent with foil, and let meat rest 5 minutes (tenting meat and allowing it to rest will give it opportunity to reach necessary internal temp of 160 degrees). Serve pork with relish.

Another Delicious Pumpkin Bread Recipe

I begged my friend Adriana sent me this recipe. She gave me some the other day and I couldn't stop eating it. I'm not sure where the recipe came from, but she changed it a bit so I'm giving her the credit. This bread is the best if you make a simple frosting (of milk and powdered sugar) and pour it over the top of the bread while bread is still warm. The frosting will harden and add a delicious sweet crunch to the yummy bread.


Ingredients:

-1 cup butter or margarine, softened
-2 cups granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
-3 eggs
-3 cups all-purpose flour
-1 tablespoon baking powder
-1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
-1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
-1 teaspoon ground cloves
-1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
-1 (16 ounce) can solid pack pumpkin

Directions:
In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add eggs; mix well. Combine dry ingredients; stir into creamed mixture just until moistened. Stir in pumpkin. Pour into two greased 9-in. x 5-in. x 3-in. loaf pans. Bake at 350 degrees F for 1 hour or until bread tests done.

Freezing Herbs

Did you just spend a fortune on herbs for a new recipe you wanna try? Does the recipe only call for a small amount of each one?! Travesty!

No, no, no, everything will be ok. You can freeze your leftovers! Grab some Dixie cups, or whatever you have, really, and place in your herbs. Cover your herbs with water and allow to freeze. Once frozen you can free up your cups by storing your herb-sicle in a Ziploc bag!

Tentacle Pot Pie

Ok, I love Be Different...Act Normal! I always get the coolest ideas from this blog, and I have to pass this one along:


The idea originated HERE. How cool! And you could even do this atop your next pumpkin or apple pie!

Razzmatazz

Like every good scene-ster ought, my husband Jacob put in his time working for Jamba Juice. I'm not a smoothie fan in general. The exception to the rule for me is the Razzmatazz, sans banana. When pregnant and nauseous (these two things go hand in hand for me) I find this smoothie to be a life saver. If there is a smoothie you love let me know. I'll get the recipe from Jacob and pass it along.

Yields about 24 oz. of smoothie

You will need:

- 12 oz Raspberry Juice (hard to find, I sub Raspberry Lemonade)
- 2 ice cream scooper scoops of orange sherbet
- 5 frozen strawberries and 1/2 cup frozen raspberries
- 3/4 cup crushed ice

Place all ingredients in the blender and mix it up, honey!


You're welcome!

Santa Barbara

When I go to California, I go to Santa Barbara. When I am in Santa Barbara, I go here (Santa Barbara Pier, see arrow for restaurant):


Which, close up, looks like this:

And where I eat this, on the pier, outside in the sunshine:

And it it the greatest! As far as I'm concerned it's the only thing to do in Santa Barbara that matters.

Muffuletta Sandwich

Jacob and I were road trippin' it on Friday, making the long drive from Salt Lake City to Newburry Park, California. I hate fast food. (Not really, but if I say it enough I am hoping to make it true.) In order to avoid the usual multiple fast food stops I planned ahead. It wasn't just about buying all of our favorite snacks at the grocery store the night before, though I did that. I also wanted to make something that would be so delicious and filling that there wouldn't even be room left for a small order of french fries. Muffuletta Sandwich, mission accomplished. And after I ate my half I had so much energy! Usually I am so tiered the entire drive, and Jacob always makes me drive the second shift.

Recipe by: The Neely's (Foodnetwork.com)Ingredients:

- 3/4 cup mayonnaise

- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 red onion, diced(I used half, and that was PLENTY)
- 1 cup diced carrot
- 1 cup diced black olives
- 1 cup diced green olives
- 1/2 cup diced marinated artichoke hearts
- 1 cup diced piquillo peppers(I used a half cup of pepperoncini peppers, it was yummy)
- 1/2 cup diced celery
- 1/3 cup freshly chopped flat-leaf parsley
- Kosher salt
- 1 muffuletta or round Italian loaf (10 to 12 inches in diameter)
- 2 ounces each thinly sliced Genoa salami, hot sopressata, mortadella, and smoked turkey
- 2 ounces each thinly sliced imported Swiss cheese and aged provolone

Directions:

Whisk together the mayonnaise, olive oil, vinegar, honey, lime juice, red pepper flakes, oregano, and 1 teaspoon black pepper in a large bowl. Add the onion, carrot, olives, artichoke hearts, peppers, celery, and parsley; toss, and season to taste with salt. Cover with plastic wrap and allow the salad to marinate in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.

Slice the bread in half, and pull some of the interior from the middle of the roll to make room for the other ingredients.

Spread a generous amount of the olive oil salad on each half. (You will probably have some salad leftover; it holds for 2 or 3 days in the refrigerator.)

Layer the meat and cheese on the bottom half, alternating layers of each meat with thin layers of cheese. Cover with the top half of bread, press gently, slice into wedges, and serve.