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Fresh
Mozzarella, Tomatoes and Basil
Roast
Pork Tenderloins with Cranberry-Port Sauce
Potaotes
Au Gratin
Pear
Cake with Grappa Sauce
Roast
Pork Tenderloins with Cranberry-Port Sauce
3
1-pound pork tenderloins, excess fat trimmed
3
tablespoons vegetable oil
3
tablespoons butter
2
cups chopped onions
4
garlic cloves, minced
3
teaspoons grated orange peel
1-½
teaspoons dried sage leaves
5-½
teaspoons dried thyme
2
cups canned low-salt chicken broth
1-½
cups cranberry juice cocktail
2
cups fresh or frozen (unthawed) cranberries (about 8 ounces)
½
cup sugar
¼
cup tawny Port
1
tablespoon cornstarch
Salt
and pepper, to taste
Melt
butter in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions;
sauté until golden, about 8 minutes. Add garlic, 1-½
teaspoons orange peel, sage, and 1 teaspoon thyme; stir 1
minute. Add broth and cranberry juice; simmer until mixture
is reduced to 2-½cups, about 8 minutes. Strain sauce
into heavy medium saucepan, pressing on solids with back of
spoon. Add cranberries and sugar; boil just until berries
pop, about 5 minutes. Mix Port and cornstarch in small bowl
to blend. Add to sauce; boil until sauce thickens, about 1
minute. Season to taste with salt and pepper. (Cranberry sauce
can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)
Mix
remaining 4-½teaspoons thyme, 1-½teaspoons salt,
and 1-½teaspoons pepper in small bowl. Place pork in
large baking dish. Pat dry with paper towel. Brush with 2
tablespoons oil. Rub thyme mixture over pork. (Can be prepared
1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)
Preheat
oven to 400°F. Heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil in heavy
large ovenproof skillet over high heat. Add pork and cook
until brown, turning frequently, about 5 minutes. Transfer
skillet to oven and roast pork until instant-read thermometer
inserted into thickest part of pork registers 150°F, about
20 minutes. Transfer pork to platter; cover to keep warm.
Add cranberry sauce and remaining 1-½ teaspoons orange
peel to same skillet and bring to simmer, stirring frequently.
Cut
pork into 1/2-inch-thick diagonal slices. Divide slices among
8 plates. Drizzle sauce over and serve.
Potatoes
Au Gratin
5
pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and sliced ¼ inch
thick
6
onions, thinly sliced
3
cloves, garlic minced
1
quart heavy cream
1
pound Gruyere cheese, grated
1
stick butter
Salt
and pepper, to taste
Preheat
oven to 350 degrees. In a large sauté, cook onions
slowly over medium heat in 1/3 stick of butter until translucent.
Do not brown. Set aside. In a small saucepan, melt another
1/3 stick of butter and cook garlic until softened but not
browned. Brush the butter into a large baking dish (10” by
14”) making sure to cover the bottom and sides.
To
assemble the dish, cover the bottom of the baking dish with
a layer of overlapping potatoes. Sprinkle with 1/3 of the
onions and then 1/3 of the cheese. Season with salt and pepper.
Repeat process twice more with remaining potatoes, onions
and cheese. Make sure to season each layer. Finish with heavy
cream. The cream should come to just below the last layer
of cheese. You may not need the entire quart.
Bake
for approximately 1 hour or until potatoes are tender and
top is golden brown. If after an hour the potatoes are finished
but the top is not browned you can put them under a broiler
until done.
Pear
Cake with Grappa Sauce
1-¼
cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1
teaspoon cinnamon
1
teaspoon baking powder
1
stick (½ cup) unsalted butter, softened
1-¼
cups plus 1 tablespoon sugar
3
large eggs
1/3
cup milk
1
tablespoon grappa
1
firm-ripe Bosch pears
½
cup raisins
½
cup pine nuts, toasted lightly and cooled
For
grappa sauce:
2 large eggs
¾ cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 stick (½ cup) unsalted butter
¼ cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon grappa
P
reheat oven to 350°F and lightly butter and flour
an 8 1/2-inch springform pan, knocking out excess flour.
In
a bowl whisk together flour, cinnamon, and baking powder.
In another bowl with an electric mixer beat together butter
and 1-¼ cups sugar until light and fluffy and beat
in eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat
in flour mixture and milk alternately in batches, beginning
and ending with flour mixture and beating until just combined
after each addition, and stir in grappa. Peel and core pears
and cut into 1/2-inch dice. Fold pears into batter with raisins
and pine nuts.
Pour
batter into prepared pan and sprinkle top with remaining tablespoon
sugar. Bake cake in middle of oven until a tester comes out
with crumbs adhering to it, 45 to 50 minutes. Cool cake in
pan on rack and remove side of pan.
To
make grappa sauce: In a bowl with an electric mixer
beat together eggs, sugar, and cinnamon until thick and pale.
In a metal bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water melt
butter and stir in egg mixture. Cook sauce, stirring constantly,
until thickened and it registers 165°F on a candy thermometer,
about 7 minutes. Remove bowl from pan and stir in cream and
grappa.
Serve
cake with warm sauce.
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