Ingredient: fresh sage leaves, finely chopped

Pepper-Peach Glazed Pork Tenderloin

There’s something very complex about the taste of sweet and spicy. Have you ever used hot pepper jelly? If not, its a preserve in a jelly form …. somewhere between jam and jelly. The main ingredients are peppers, sugar and vinegar which are combined with pectin to form a preserve.

Hot pepper jelly is such a versatile product, that there is no limit of different ways you can use it, depending on your taste preference.

I was thinking that if this recipe appeals to you and you purchase some of this jelly, here are a few other ways you could make use of it.

  • Ham & Turkey Sandwich – use jelly instead of mustard
  • Cocktail Meatball Glaze
  • Serve on Cornbread – with or without butter!
  • Dip for Egg rolls
  • On a Bagel with Cream Cheese
  • Sauce for Hot Wings or Chicken Tenders
  • Topping for Baked Brie Cheese
  • Glaze for Baked Ham

One thing about pork tenderloin is it will never disappoint when it comes to tenderness and flavor.

Print Recipe
 Savory Pork Wellington w/ Pepper-Peach Glaze
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
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Course Main Dish
Cuisine American
Keyword savory pork wellington w/ pepper-peach glaze
Servings
Ingredients
Course Main Dish
Cuisine American
Keyword savory pork wellington w/ pepper-peach glaze
Servings
Ingredients
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
You:
Rate this recipe!
Instructions
Tenderloin
  1. Remove silver skin from tenderloin by sliding the knife tip under one end of the silver skin. Keep the blade flat (parallel to the meat) & slide the knife between the meat & the silver skin, pulling up on the sliver skin as you go. Discard silver skin. Remove any excess fat if any.
Glaze
  1. In a small saucepan, heat jelly, preserves, vinegar, mustard, brown sugar & sage to simmering over medium heat; stirring occasionally. Remove saucepan from heat.
  2. Preheat oven to 425 F.
  3. After trimming the meat, brush it all over with a generous amount of olive oil. Place the tenderloin in a skillet that has been heated to a hot temperature previously. Sear tenderloin about 1 1/2 minutes on each quarter turn.
  4. Place meat on a piece of foil paper in a roasting pan. Lightly coat the meat with some of the glaze using a brush so it will spread evenly. Roast tenderloin for about 25-35 minutes depending on the size of your tenderloin.
  5. Insert a probe thermometer into the thickest part of your meat & check the temperature. The pork will continue to cook for about 10 more degrees outside of the oven & then will stop cooking after that. Once out of the oven, Generously brush meat with remaining glaze. Allow to rest between 5 & 10 minutes before slicing.
Recipe Notes
  • I had actually doubled the glaze recipe so we would have some extra since we both enjoy pepper jelly. Strangely enough, it tasted real good not only on the meat but the mashed potatoes we had with it. 

Roasted Turkey Breast Roulade Baked in Squash

Whether you celebrate Christmas culturally, religiously or not at all, it seems a good time to evaluate your priorities to make sure you are truly doing what matters to you most. Christmas comes and goes each year during which the ‘Christmas Spirit’ is alive and well. Wouldn’t it be nice if that same spirit was applied to our daily lives all year long.

Today, December 25th, we celebrate my sister Rita’s birthday as well as Christmas Day. Our family’s Christmas eve birthday ‘parties’ hold many fond memories for me. After attending Christmas eve church service, upon returning home, we would be joined by family friends to have birthday cake and some homemade root beer. It was very important to my parents that a special birthday acknowledgement was made to Rita apart from the Christmas festivities.

Christmas is a nostalgic time of year for many of us — recalling simple family traditions. When it comes to holiday decorations, the thing I remember most were the ‘multitudes’ of Christmas cards that our family received in the mail. My mother would fasten string between doorways and windows to hang them all on each time we would receive another one. There was a limited amount of other Christmas decorations. We used the same ones year after year and that was what made them so special. They all had their own special place where they belonged, and once they were out, it truly felt like Christmas.

Probably, the most cherished item was a Christmas Manger set. This cardboard tabletop Nativity was published by Concordia Publishing House in early 1940’s from illustrations first produced by artist George Hinke. A base was provided with special tabs to hold the 17 lithographed figures upright; each tab being carefully labeled making it easy to assemble.

George Hinke was born in 1883 in Berlin, Germany where he studied as a painter. He immigrated to the United States in 1923.

I remember this Nativity scene vividly as the cardboard figures were so beautiful and accurately painted. It was sold in a cardboard box that contained assembly instructions. One of the trips Brion and I made to Italy was just after Christmas one year in early January. Thanks to the European mindset, the outdoor Christmas decor had not been tucked away for the season. The detail in some of the Nativity scenes was incredible. They brought back memories of that little ‘Christmas Manger’ set from many years ago.

For our Christmas dinner this year we are having something a little different from the traditional roast turkey. Turkey roulade lets you have all the traditional flavors of Christmas without having to go through the whole turkey cooking episode. Not only is it mouthwatering and tender, it’s easy to make, cooks quicker, a breeze to carve and looks super elegant. Now, there’s the matter of the stuffing. Equally essential to the holiday table, it’s a far more expressive medium than the turkey itself. You could say, it is the personality with countless options. 

Today’s recipe is a turkey breast that has been flattened and stuffed with herbs, cranberries and hazelnuts. The roulade is wrapped with bacon to keep it moist and tucked into a half of a spaghetti squash. The drippings from the bacon and turkey flavor the squash perfectly as it bakes giving a tasty, earthy, vegetable side dish. Brion and I preferred some cranberry sauce and a traditional gravy with this meal but if you want to kick it up a notch you could serve a thin apple cider gravy instead.

                                         HAPPY BIRTHDAY, RITA!                                                                              ENJOY YOUR DAY AS WE CELEBRATE YOU WITH LOVE

        SEASON’S GREETINGS TO EVERYONE FOLLOWING MY BLOG


Print Recipe


Roasted Turkey Breast Roulade Baked in Squash

Votes: 1
Rating: 5
You:
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Course Main Dish
Cuisine American, European, French, German

Servings


Ingredients
Turkey, Stuffing & Squash

Apple Cider Gravy

Course Main Dish
Cuisine American, European, French, German

Servings


Ingredients
Turkey, Stuffing & Squash

Apple Cider Gravy

Votes: 1
Rating: 5
You:
Rate this recipe!


Instructions
Stuffing
  1. In a medium saucepan, heat 2 T. butter. Saute onion, garlic & sage leaves, stirring occasionally, for about 8 minutes. Add bread crumbs, toasted hazelnuts, cranberries, chicken broth, Italian seasoning, salt & pepper; cook for another minute or so. Remove from heat & cool completely.

Turkey Breasts
  1. Using a sharp knife, 'butterfly' turkey breasts. Cover with plastic wrap, flatten them slightly with a meat tenderizer. Divide stuffing between the two breasts & spread it out evenly. Roll breasts up, place cut side down onto work surface. Wrap each roulade with 6 slices of bacon, tucking the ends under the turkey rolls.

Squash
  1. Preheat oven to 400 F. Slice the spaghetti squash in half & scoop out the seeds. Place both haves on a large roasting pan & drizzle with olive oil. Roast 30 minutes. Remove squash from oven & place the bacon wrapped roulades into the cavity of the squash. Return turkey/squash roulade to oven, lower oven temperature to 350 F. & roast until the internal temperature of the turkey roulade is 155 F., ABOUT 1 1/2 hours. Remove from oven & allow to stand about 10 minutes. Slice & place on serving platter.

Apple Cider Gravy
  1. In a medium saucepan, combine turkey stock, apple cider & sage leaves; bring to a boil. Gently boil, stirring occasionally, for about 15 minutes until sauce is reduced & thickened slightly. Remove sage leaves & discard. Drop in butter cubes; whisk to incorporate, add pepper & remove from heat. Serve hot over turkey roulade.

Baked Glazed Ham

EASTER GREETINGS!

The meat traditionally associated with Easter in America is ham, while in many other parts of the world, the arrival of spring is celebrated with lamb. Eating ham at Easter dates back to at least the 6th century in Germany. Pigs thrived in northern Europe, being forest-adapted animals. They were let to roam the abundant woodlands to forage for acorns and roots. Slaughtered and hung in the autumn of the year, pigs were one of the few meats available to eat in early spring. As Christianity spread northward, it merged with the Pagan spring celebration of ‘Eostre’. A convenient uniting of traditions was born, with ham at the center of the Easter feast.

Even though, adding ‘glaze’ while baking a ham seems like a ‘modern’ idea, raw honey was being used in much earlier times.

A glaze that is both sweet and savory has been one of my favorites for many years. Brion & I are looking forward to enjoying some glazed ham for our Easter meal. 

                                                    HAPPY EASTER TO EVERYONE                                                                          THANKS FOR YOUR  INTEREST  IN FOLLOWING MY BLOGS!

Print Recipe
 Baked Glazed Ham
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
You:
Rate this recipe!
Course Brunch, Lunch, Main Dish
Cuisine American, European, German
Servings
Ingredients
Course Brunch, Lunch, Main Dish
Cuisine American, European, German
Servings
Ingredients
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
You:
Rate this recipe!
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 325 F. Place ham, cut side down, on rack in a roasting pan. Bake about 30 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 90 F.
  2. In a small saucepan, simmer jelly, preserves, vinegar, mustard, brown sugar & sage stirring occasionally. Remove from heat.
  3. Remove ham from oven. With a sharp knife, lightly score outside of ham, making parallel 1/4" deep cuts in crosshatch pattern. Brush ham with some of the glaze & return ham to oven. Bake until internal temperature reaches 130 F., brushing ham with glaze during baking.
  4. Carefully place ham on a serving platter. Cover loosely with foil & let stand 10 minutes before serving. Internal temperature will rise to 140 F. upon standing.