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.

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Savory Pork Wellington w/ Pepper-Peach Glaze
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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. 

Peach Cookies or Pesche

It’s that wonderful time of year when there is an abundance of fresh fruit available so why not make the most of it?! Peaches are a favorite of mine, not only because of their great taste but they have such versatility in their uses. Just for something different today, I want to take the peach idea in a whole different direction. These beautiful, old fashioned pastries were very popular in the 1980’s. They are known for their unique look that resembles a fresh peach with a flavor that is delicately sweet and buttery. Traditionally served at Italian wedding showers, Pesche (or peach), are now served at any celebration and may be found throughout many countries in Europe.

Peach cookies are two cookie domes, carved on the inside and paired together to hold a dollop of custard. Once assembled, they are dipped in Alchermes, a crimson colored liqueur infused with a blend of anise flowers, cinnamon, cloves, coriander, jasmine, mace, nutmeg, orange peel, sugar and vanilla. These ingredients are stepped in alcohol, which is then flavored with rose water. Alchermes gives these pastries a vibrant pink hue and a unique, light alcohol flavor that combines custard and cookie beautifully. To further enhance the peach resemblance, they are rolled in a sanding sugar.

Alchermes is a very ancient liqueur of Arabic origin. It’s main feature is an unmistakable scarlet color, which was originally acquired by adding ‘kermes’, a scale insect that eat oak trees. Modern alchermes liqueurs no longer use the kermes insect. Alchermes was created in the Frati’ Convent at Santa Maria Novella in Florence, Italy.

These peach cookies are an impressive dessert, perfect for special summer occasions. You can use any filling you choose such as a pastry cream, lemon curd, limoncello or just plain nutella spread. Since it is almost impossible to find the alchermes liqueur in Canada, I’ve listed a few substitutes that can be used instead.

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Peach Cookies or Pesche
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Ingredients
Coating
Servings
Ingredients
Coating
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Instructions
Filling
  1. In a small bowl, combine filling ingredients; stir in reserved crumbs. Spoon into center holes of cookies & press together to form a peach.
Coating
  1. In a shallow bowl, combine lemon & peach gelatin powder. Place package of strawberry gelatin in another bowl. Place sugar in a third bowl.
Assembling
  1. Working with one cookie at a time, spritz cookie with a bit of water. Dip in lemon mixture, then in strawberry gelatin & then in sugar. Spritz with additional water & add more gelatin as needed to create desired 'peach blush' effect. Place on a wire rack to dry for an hour. Attach mint leaves to top of each cookie with additional preserves. Store in refrigerator.
Recipe Notes
  • Alchermes can be substituted for a peach liqueur or Chambord raspberry liqueur. For my peach cookies, I kept it simple & used a combination of jello powders to replicate the traditional idea.

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!


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Baked Glazed Ham

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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.

Brunch in St.Thibery, France

Brunch! The word evokes thoughts of a lazy week-end morning, sleeping late, eating ‘brunch’ while sipping a glass of sangria in the late morning or early afternoon.

In the food industry, brunch was a fun meal to prepare. Being a combination of both breakfast & lunch means the options are endless. If you are serving a large amount of people, generally eight food groups make up the menu along with beverages. I always enjoyed the visual beauty of a large brunch presentation all carefully prepared and set out.

At our house, Brion and I have always been early risers so brunch isn’t a meal that really works for us. That being said, I do have some special memories of a time when we enjoyed brunch.

It was in the south of France. In 2001, after we had left Paris, we drove 613 km (380 miles) south to the sleepy village of St. Thibery. This little medieval village, population of 2481, can be traced back more than 4000 years of known history.

As I had mentioned in an earlier blog, my sister Loretta had joined Brion and I on this French vacation. For this segment of the trip we had rented an apartment in St Thibery to use as ‘home base’ during our time there. Many of these houses are from the 14th, 15th and 17th century. The apartment was quaint but adequate even having a roof top patio. What’s not to love, amidst the beautiful French vineyards, close to that blue Mediterranean. 

We spent about a week in St Thibery and it was there that the three of us made some special memories enjoying our leisure French brunches. In view of all the world crisis we are experiencing today, I cherish the many memories we have from our world travels in more peaceful times.

A few brunch options that I think are noteworthy and would like to share with you today are Bacon & Egg Croissants with Lime-Ginger Fresh Fruit, Peaches & Cream French Toast as well as Asparagus Cordon Bleu Crepes.

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Bacon & Egg Croissants/Lime-Ginger Fresh Fruit * Peaches & Cream French Toast * Asparagus Cordon Bleu Crepes
Instructions
Cheese Sauce
  1. In a small saucepan, melt butter. Stir in flour, dry mustard salt & pepper. Add milk. Stir constantly over medium heat until mixture thickens & bubbles. Reduce heat to low & stir in cheese. Cook, stirring constantly, until cheese is melted. Keep warm.
Lime-Ginger Fresh Fruit
  1. In a saucepan, mix sugar & cornstarch. Stir in water. Heat to boiling over medium-high heat, stirring constantly. Cook & stir until thickened. Remove from heat. Stir in lime peel, lime juice & gingerroot. In a large bowl, gently toss prepared fruit. Pour lime mixture over fruit; gently toss. Cover & refrigerate until ready to serve.
Bacon & Egg Croissants
  1. Cook bacon until crisp. Drain on paper towels. Split croissants, lay on a barely warm griddle to warm. In a saucepan, pour water to a 3" depth & bring to boiling. Reduce to simmering. Break an egg into a shallow dish; gently slip into water. Repeat with the remaining 3 eggs. Cook 2 -3 minutes. Remove eggs from water with a slotted spoon.
  2. Place 2 bacon slices on bottom half of each croissant then top with a poached egg. Ladle some cheese sauce over egg, placing croissant top on the side. Serve with side dishes of Lime-Ginger Fresh Fruit.
Peaches & Cream French Toast
  1. In a small bowl, whisk eggs & 3 Tbsp peach preserves. Beat in half & half. Place a single layer of bread slices in a 9 x 13-inch baking dish. Pour egg mixture over bread. Cover & refrigerate a few hours or overnight until most of the liquid is absorbed. In a small bowl, beat 1/3 cup peach preserves & 4 Tbsp softened margarine with an electric mixer on high until fluffy; set aside until ready to serve.
  2. At serving time, Heat griddle to medium-high heat; melt 2 Tbsp margarine. Add bread slices & cook until lightly browned, turning once. Serve French Toast topped with peach butter & fresh peach slices. Sprinkle with toasted almonds & powdered sugar.
Asparagus Cordon Bleu Crepes
  1. Prepare crepes (see recipe on 'French Crepe' blog from July 25/16). Trim asparagus spears. In a large saucepan, cook asparagus spears in boiling salted water just until tender-crisp; drain. Place a slice of ham on each crepe. Spread ham slice with mustard. Top with a slice of cheese, asparagus spears & tomatoes. Sprinkle with parsley & tarragon, as desired.
  2. Roll up crepes. In a 13 x 9-inch baking dish, place crepes seam-side down. Preheat oven to 375 F. In a medium saucepan, melt margarine; blend in flour, 1/2 tsp tarragon, salt & pepper. Whisk in half & half, stirring constantly over medium-high heat until mixture thickens & bubbles. Stir in sliced mushrooms. Pour sauce over crepes in baking dish. Bake 25 minutes or until heated through.
Recipe Notes
  • Lime-Ginger Fresh Fruit adapted from from pillsbury. com
  • Brunch ideas adapted from Pat Jester's Brunch Cookery (1979)