New Pork recipe

Hi everyone;
Sandy found a new recipe and it happen to coincide with a very good price per pound on Whole Pork Loins so we splurged and got a couple. 
The recipe calls for using Dried Cherries, Cherry Juice and Preserves but we made a slight alteration and changed the fruit to Dried Cranberries, Cranberry Juice and Apricot Preserves.  Really pretty simple "Crock Pot" recipe.. Here Goes:

1 3-3 1/2 # Pork Loin
4 oz Dried Cranberries
1/2 cup Apricot or Peach or Pear Preserves

1/2 cup Cranberry Juice
2 T Red Wine Vinegar
2-3 T Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper to taste.

Combine Dried fruit, preserves, juice and vinegar in your Crock Pot.  Stir to combine and turn on High.
While liquids are warming, take a 3-3 1/2 # pork loin dry and season liberally with Salt and cracked black pepper on all sides.
Heat Olive Oil in Large Skillet to just short of smoking (This will splatter so perhaps a splatter shield would be in order) and brown all side of Loin (don't forget the ends too).  Now I didn't do this but perhaps you could leave a little of the Juice back and deglaze the pan for the fond - I didn't and wish I did.... Or even add a little extra juice - the flavor will be worth it.
Once Loin is Browned on all sides remove from pan and place in Crock Pot on top of the Berries, preserves and juice.

Place on lid and cook on high until Pork registers 145* on Instant read thermometer.  (should take about 4 hours or so)

When Pork is done, remove to plate or carving board, tent with foil and let rest for at least 10 minutes (or until your sauce gets reduced).
Remove liquid from crock pot and place in Sauce pan and on high heat reduce by 1/3.  At this time I also made a corn starch and water slurry of 2 T corn starch and 1/3 cup water.  I shook to combine and added it as necessary to thicken the sauce...  (You may not want or need to do that - I am just saying I did)..

Slice Pork after it has rested, and serve with vegetable and starch of your choice ... ( I used my "Crashed Potatoes" again here)
It was very tasty...The fruit re hydrated nicely and Sandy gave it a 12 out of 10 and compared the sauce to a "Sweet and Sour" sauce and that makes sense with the sweetness of the fruit and the Red Wine vinegar..
Hope it turns out well for you - After the browning it really is a set and forget recipe for the next 4 hours...
Sorry got to go now Ike is snoring in the chair...

Happy New Year

It has been quite a quite a while since my last post - been busy at work and sick for the past 3 weeks. But I have quite a few images of different meals and items. I won't go into all the recipes but wanted to show you a few of the outcomes..


Peanut Free Streusel Crunch Cake (secret ingredient Sour Cream)

This was done for my family's Christmas celebration - We have a peanut allergy in the house and all the foods (especially deserts) that you don't really know about makes it easier to make from scratch... Just did a google search for Peanut Free desert recipes and WOW there are lots of options.




Crescent roll mini taco bowls before cooking

These next two were necessity is the mother of invention - Football games - and snacks - and the pop tubes of crescent rolls about to expire...  Well we had some taco meat left over and thought, "why not...???"


 








After cooking Great little snack

They puff up pretty well and the dough was sweet and made a nice counter point to the heat of the taco seasoning














Maple syrup/brown sugar Acorn Squash with Mustard sauces Pork tenderloin 

This was a recipe my wife found in one of her magazines (for the pork) and I wanted to try the Acorn Squash   - while it took a little coordination to get it all to come together at one time it really worked well.   The incorporation of apples and apple juice or cider in the sauce ties the flavors together. Pork Tenderloin is so versatile and is like a blank canvas ready to paint with what ever seasoning you like.







Chicken Cactatore -  

This one is one of my favorites - While the McCormick recipe card (that comes along with all the herbs and seasoning you need) recommends cubed Chicken breasts I am partial to thighs - while it adds a little more time to the cooking process - the silky texture of the sauce provided by the breakdown of the collagen was worth the wait....  I highly recommend it.
 .








Pheasant Pot Pie Before

I saved the best for last - at least from Ike's perspective - We went hunting yesterday and Ike really did well- he was finding birds,  and even retrieved a few to hand for me.  I was very proud of him.  So in honor of his effort I wanted to make a pheasant pot pie.  So I boned the pheasant, checked for shot, cubed the meat and browned in the skillet.  Removed from skillet and then cooked some lardons of bacon to render out the fat so I could sweat out the carrots, celery and onions for about 5 minutes.  I then added a clove of finely chopped garlic and about 12 oz of sliced mushrooms.  I let those go for about another 5 minutes and then added one can of Cream of celery soup.  I added 1/2 can of milk and about 4 oz of Chicken stock.   I then added about 3 small potatoes I had cubed in 1/2 in cubes and parboiled  earlier.  I added a little (about 3 tablespoons) of the potato water to add a little more thickener.  Added about 1/2 cup each frozen peas and corn and tightened up the sauce a little bit and transferred it to two pre greased pie pans (or in my case one pie pan and one 8x8 casserole dish) and sprinkled a little shredded cheese on them.  I made a Bisquick crust - (pretty much right off the box with two little additions - added some poultry seasoning to the  mix and also sprinkled some more cheese on the top...  Baked at 400* for about 30 minutes or until golden brown and delicious... And it was - Perhaps a little more spice could be added but don't want to hide the taste of the pheasant... 

Pheasant Pot Pie  - After - Bisquick crust

Thanks Ikey - You did "Go find that Bird"!!!