Guava, Lime, and Mango Pork Tenderloin

OK, I'm back and going to try again!  I promise one day I'll get tons of post-up and you will have something to read every day.  I've had a lot of great cooking adventures over the past few months, so I have lots of great recipes to share!  The one today turned out to be REALLY GOOD!

I had some left over red and orange peppers in my fridge.  I'm not a huge fan of any type of bell peppers, but I hated to see them go to waste.  I also had some limes left over from a party where there were Corona's.  So, I went to the store to see what I could figure out.  They had these BEAUTIFUL Mangoes and it hit me......Mango Salsa on a Pork Tenderloin.  I've always had a strange obsession with Guava.  I'm not sure why, but its there.  So, I decided to throw that into the mix as well.  Here's what I came up with:

1 Pork Tenderloin
2 Mangos
1 Red Pepper
1 Orange Bell Pepper
1 Can of Guava Juice
3 Lime
Lime Pepper  (I LOVE Jane's)















In a small roasting pan place your tenderloin sprinkle all sides with Lime Pepper.  Squeeze one Lime on top of tenderloin.  Pour 1/2 the can of Guave Juice in pan.  Cut 1/2 of each pepper into strips and place around the tenderloin.   1 lime into slices and mango into chunks.   Place on top of tenderloin   - limes first. 

Bake for about 45 minutes on 350 covered and then 10-15 uncovered.

Mango, Guava, Lime Salsa

Finely chop the left over peppers and mango. Mix together.  Add about 1/2 of what's left of the Guava Juice into bowl and the juice of 1 lime.  Add some fresh cilantro, lime pepper, and maybe a little salt.  Place in Fridge.  

Once the Tenderloin is done, slice into thin pieces, placing 3-5 pieces on a plate.  Spoon Salsa on top of the pieces.  Use Veggies and Mangoes from the pan as a side.   I served some plantains and Jazmin rice on the side as well.  There is so much more where this came from!  Stay Tuned and Happy Cooking!!!

Sunday Dinner....

I missed you all yesterday, I hope that you saw my guest blog spot at Maryland Pink and Green.  I had a recipe for one of my favorite soups for fall.  There's not a lot I like about fall, but soup would be an exception to that rule.  I love a good soup in the fall.

When I was a child, Sunday Dinner took place at my granny's house and involved lots and lots and lots of food, even though there was only 6 of us most of the time.  No matter if was 6 or 60, granny made too much food to feed the masses. I loved those Sunday afternoons, that were filled with dinner, and playing in the sun.  We always stayed dressed for dinner, but had play clothes for the afternoon.  I feel like those were magical times in my life. 

Now that I'm a pastor, Sunday Dinners consist of naps most of the time.  I am so tired by the end of Sunday Service the last thing I want to do is cook.  So, Sunday Dinner has become snack time.  Here is my favorite Sunday Snack:

Hummus
Olives
Feta Cheese

And....

These 7 grain Deli Flats are so delicious!  I like them better than Pita and I think they are better for you.  You Sunday may not be snack day, but pick some of these us for the next time you need a snack.  Some other ideas for them:

Mini-Pizza
Peanutbutter on Toast
Toasted Veggies and Cheese
Grilled Chicken Melt (With avocados)
Cream Cheese with cucumber

The possibilities are endless.....

Happy Sunday!

River Roads: Cookbook of the Week

Since this week was all about Cajun Cooking, I though it was only appropriate to feature a Cajun Cookbook!  River Roads is the Junior League of Baton Rouge's Cookbook Empire.  They currently have  4 different, but very Cajun volumes of the cookbook.  It is the #1 best selling community cookbook series in the nation and has some amazing recipes.  I've include one of my favorites and one of the ones that is most unique in my opinion, Spinach Madeleine.

Here's a Little History on Spinach Madeleine:

Madeline Wright developed the original recipe for Spinach Madeleine as a way to use a roll of jalapeño cheese about to go bad in her refrigerator. “I had a two-table bridge club, so I served them the dish,’’ she said. “It made a hit.”

Wright was a young active member of the Junior League when members were compiling recipes for “River Road Recipes.”

“I had to submit three recipes, so I decided to submit the spinach,’’ she said. “I knew the name was important.”

She thought a French-sounding name would work best in a south Louisiana cookbook, so she came up with the name Spinach Madeleine, named not for herself but in the style of the famous French dish Veal Madeleine. “I spelled it with an extra ‘e’ because I was embarrassed that people would think I was naming it for myself,’’ she said.

Spinach Madeleine has become world-famous. “I’m surprised that 50 years later, people are still talking about the recipe,’’ Wright said. “I Googled it once and was shocked to see how many times it came up.” 

Spinach Madeleine

Spinach Madeleine, the most famous recipe from the River Road Recipes cookbook series, has undergone a makeover! Kraft Foods has discontinued making its jalapeno cheese roll which is an important ingredient in the original Spinach Madeleine recipe. As a result, River Road Recipes has developed a substitute for the jalapeno cheese roll. We believe your family will never know the difference!

Ingredients:

2 packages frozen chopped spinach
3/4 teaspoon celery salt
4 tablespoons butter
3/4 teaspoon garlic salt
2 tablespoons flour
Salt to taste
2 tablespoons chopped onion
6 ounces Kraft Velveeta
1/2 cup evaporated milk
2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh jalapeno peppers
1/2 cup vegetable liquor
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
Red pepper to taste

Cook spinach according to directions on package. Drain and reserve liquor. Melt butter in saucepan over low heat.

Add flour, stirring until blended and smooth, but not brown. Add onion and cook until soft but not brown. Add liquid slowly, stirring constantly to avoid lumps.

Cook until smooth and thick; continue stirring. Add seasonings, peppers and cheese which has been cut into small pieces. Stir until melted. Combine with cooked spinach.

This may be served immediately or put into a casserole and topped with buttered bread crumbs. The flavor is improved if the latter is done and kept in refrigerator overnight. This may also be frozen.

Serves 5 to 6.
Spinach Madeleine is an extremely versatile dish. It can be served with crackers as an appetizer, as a side dish or even as a main course when stuffed in a tomato!

•  

We created the original River Road Recipes cookbook.  Share in the secrets of fine Creole and Cajun cooking with the Junior League of Baton Rouge’s award winning cookbook series, River Road Recipes. Since 1959, our award-winning cookbooks have captured the essence of Louisiana cooking and have delighted chefs and guests alike with their delicious recipes. With over 1.9 million books in print, River Road recipes speaks for itself. After all, it is the all-time #1 best selling community cookbook series in the nation. So, delight yourself or someone you know with the gift of River Road Recipes.
Road Recipes I, is The Textbook of Louisiana Cuisine with 650 recipes. It has sold over 1.3 million copies since 1959 and is considered by most to be the textbook of Creole cooking. In fact, The New York Times said, “If there were community cookbook awards, the Oscar for best performance would go hands down to RIVER ROAD RECIPES.” River Road Recipes II, A Second Helping, builds on the success of River Road Recipes I by offering 606 triple tested recipes. 

River Road Recipes III, A Healthy Collection, brings Louisiana cooking into the eating-better, health conscious age by providing reduced fat versions of old recipe favorites. It delights with 341 lower fat and calorie recipes while still retaining the great flavor Cajun cooking is known for. All recipes include a complete nutritional analysis.

River Road Recipes IV, Warm Welcomes, our newest addition, illustrates how we cook, eat and live in Baton Rouge. It features 48 menus, with over 300 innovative recipes, and color photographs to assist with all of your entertaining needs. A USA Book News "Best Books 2005" Award Finalist, Cookbook Category.
River Road Recipes I, II and III are all included in the Walter S. McIlhenny Community Cookbook Hall of Fame. The real winner, however, is the Baton Rouge community, which has benefited from more than $3 million derived from cookbook sales and donated by the Junior League of Baton Rouge to local charitable and educational projects. 

So Enjoy Some Cajun Food This Weekend!

Tzatziki Time!

My favorite food in the world, is Greek!  I love my southern fried tradition, I love my crazy cajun spice, but Greek....Greek is a way of life and taste of life, I wish I had every day!  Maybe if I was Greek, I would get tired of it, but not being Greek, I love it!  On Monday I gave you the recipe for my favorite Greek dish, spanakopita.  For me, you cannot have spanakopita without tzatziki.  Tzatziki is a great dip/sauce that I think is good on almost anything, except maybe chocolate chip cookies (I once got caught having to eat Tabasco sauce on cookies because I said it was good on anything).  I love it on just plain pita, spanakopita, chicken, fish, beef, veggies.  It is just plain good!  So, make you up a batch and experiment!  Some of the great meals come from experimenting! 

Ingredients

• 2 (8 ounce) containers plain yogurt -- some use Greek, normal US is OK as well
• 2 cucumbers - seeded and diced -- I like the peeling so I leave it on, but some people like it better without the peeling
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 lemon, juiced
• sea salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped. 

In a large bowl, combine, well everything! Stir until well blended.  Cover and refrigerate overnight flavor. OK, so I always have to have a little right away and in a couple more hours, and a few after that....it is good right away, but only gets better with time!!!

My TV Debut!!!

In the side bar, you will see my friend Ed and I in our first TV appearance on the Hampton Roads Show!  It was so much fun and they LOVED US and THE FOOD!!!  So much, that in October/November, we may be back. We're going to take Chef Bob from Farm Fresh fishing and then cook with him the next day on the show!!!

Before the Show!

So here's the long awaited recipe:  Crawfish Etuoffee!

Ingredients:

1 cup each (finely chopped) White Onion, Celery, Green Bellpepper, Cherry Tomatoes, Green Onions, Parsley

2 tablespoons fresh chopped garlic

2 sticks salted sweet cream butter

2/3 cup flour

16 oz chicken stock

White rice

1 pound peeled and deveined crawfish tails

Salt, Black Pepper, Red (cayenne) Pepper, Paprika

******************************

**********************************

Season to taste with above,  crawfish tails and set aside.

Blonde Roux:  In heavy iron skillet melt all butter over medium heat.  Sift in flour gradually, constantly stirring with wooden spoon.  After flour is incorporated simmer over med heat approx 5 mins until "blonde" or light brown in color.  Increase heat to med high and add crawfish tails.  Saute for 2 mins then add onion, garlic, celery, tomatoes and bell pepper.  Saute approx 5 mins or until tender.  Gradually add chicken stock (which is already up to temperature) constantly stirring until desired consistency is acheived.  Simmer for 5 mins over low heat. Add green onion, parsley and season to taste with above mentioned seasonings.  Simmer approx 20 minutes over low heat, stirring occasionally.

*************************************************************

Service:

On a white plate, spoon about 2/3 cup etouffee' onto plate.  Place a rounded scoop of rice on top of etouffee in middle of plate.  Garnish with parsley and serve with garlic french bread.

Spanakopita

I know that I promised this last week, but here is my Spanakopita recipe.  At first glance it is pretty darn easy, but let me warn you about phyllo.   You must let the phyllo thaw to room temperature naturally, if you really want to be able to work with it.  You cannot nuke it, or heat it in any way.  you simply have to let it warm up.  So, if you are going to be working with phyllo sheets, you have to plan ahead.  You cannot say, I'm going to make Spanakopita when I get home, if you do not have thawed phyllo.  This is my favorite dish ever, so enjoy!!  I like it best with Taziki Sauce.  I'll post that recipe soon!  Happy Cooking! 

Spanakopita!

• 1 stick (1/2 cup) plus 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1 lb baby spinach
• 1/2 lb feta, crumbled (scant 2 cups)
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 10 (17- by 12-inch) phyllo sheets, thawed if frozen

Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat, then cook spinach, stirring, until wilted and tender, about 4 minutes. Remove from heat and cool, about 10 minutes. Squeeze handfuls of spinach to remove as much liquid as possible, then coarsely chop. Transfer to a bowl and stir in feta, nutmeg, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. 

Preheat oven to 375°F.

Melt remaining 1 stick butter in a small saucepan, then cool.

Cover phyllo stack with 2 overlapping sheets of plastic wrap and then a dampened kitchen towel.

Take 1 phyllo sheet from stack and arrange on a work surface with a long side nearest you (keeping remaining sheets covered) and brush with some butter. Top with another phyllo sheet and brush with more butter. Cut buttered phyllo stack crosswise into 6 (roughly 12- by 2 3/4-inch) strips.

Put a heaping teaspoon of filling near 1 corner of a strip on end nearest you, then fold corner of phyllo over to enclose filling and form a triangle. Continue folding strip (like a flag), maintaining triangle shape. Put triangle, seam side down, on a large baking sheet and brush top with butter. Make more triangles in same manner, using all of phyllo.

Bake triangles in middle of oven until browned, 20 to 25 minutes.  

Deep Fried Pepsi

Deep Fried Pepsi

Being from the deep south, I come from the camp, that anything can be fried.  My favorite fried foods are chicken and okra.  Anything, however, if it is still long enough and close enough to the badder, it can and will be fried.  My family had made deep friend cookies and cookie dough since I was a little bit.  Now, you can find deep fried Oreos (my favorite) and chocolate chip cookies at almost every street fair.  A few weeks ago, a friend of mine was at the Kentucky State Fair and they had something, I didn't think was possible, Deep Fried Pepsi!  Well, being that I am convinced that I can cook anything, I decided to try.  I found this recipe online, got out my deep fryer, and went for it. It was, can I say, interesting.  However, in the future, I'll stick to things that were meant to be fried, like Oreos and Snickers :)

1 1/2 cups of Pepsi
1 1/2 cups of Flour
5 large eggs
1 cup of real butter
pinch of salt
peanut oil

Step 1  Combine the Pepsi and the butter in a melting pot and bring to a boil. Once at a boil add the flour and the salt and whisk together over med/low heat until it is smooth and all incorporated.

Step 2  Pour the batter into an electric blender and let cool for 30 seconds or so. Mix on medium speed and add the eggs one at a time. DO NOT add all the eggs at once, this will ruin the product. Once the eggs have been added beat until the batter holds stiff peaks.

Step 3 Place the mixture into a small pouring bowl and heat peanut oil in a deep fryer to 375F. Make sure the peanut oil is at least 5 inches deep. Create small balls out of the mixture and add to the deep fryer. Fry until the balls rise to the surface and turn golden brown in color.

Step 4 Remove the fried Pepsi from the oil and place on a draining rack. Sprinkle with sugar or powder sugar. Let cool for 5 minutes and serve.