Shrimp and Grits

 

 
Dinner-time is approaching, you're in Charleston, SC (or you wish you were) and you're thinking of shrimp and grits. No dish is more quintessential Low Country cuisine, nothing is more Charleston. But where would a native go for shrimp and grits? First off, you're about 12 hours late. Historically, shrimp and grits was breakfast for fishermen and their families during shrimp season (May to December). It makes sense also when you think of how true shrimp and grits is started, not in olive oil, not in butter, but in the fat of cooked bacon. A basic preparation might follow with softening onion, green bell pepper, some garlic, a handful of scallion, saute the shrimp, add a dash of lemon juice, a splash of Tabasco and you're done.

Of course, a host of dining experiences have risen in Charleston with locals and visitors alike ready for a fancier shrimp and grits. You can hardly see a fisherman deglazing his breakfast pan with white wine, or adding chicken stock to make a broth, but both are fine additions. At Husk, a Bon Appetit Best New Restaurant, they cook the shrimp with artisan sausage and ladle roasted tomato broth over the mixture to make more of a soup. Rachel Ray and Anthony Bourdain helped highlight Jestine's Kitchen, which features their own soupy recipe over grits. Southend Brewery will serve you something closer to cheese soup and Poogan's Porch will add a blue crab gravy to its shrimp mixture. The last frequent option is adding mushrooms, found at Hominy Grill and in many recipes you'll see. 

Me? I'm neither a fisherman nor a purist. I'm not even from the South, so I suppose that gives me plenty of room for my own style. I do like things a little saucy, but soupy seems wrong for shrimp and grits. While I like to keep things simple, I also like to take opportunities to capture and enhance flavors. Like any dish, make it your own with your own combination of ingredients and flavors.
   
A note on the grits, this recipe assumes 4 cups of liquid for 1 cup of grits. Instant grits might call for a different proportion of liquid to grits. Make the grits with the volume of liquid directed, and adjust the water, cream and stock mixture accordingly, feeling free to drop any of these ingredients as long as the liquid total is as recommended. Many also add cheese to their grits, but you won't find that here. Serves 4.
   
Ingredients:
2 cups water
1 cup cream
1 cup stock (shrimp, chicken or vegetable)
1 cup quick-cook grits
1 lb shrimp
2 tbsp lemon juice
salt/pepper
6 bacon slices
1 onion, diced
1/2 a green bell pepper, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tbsp flour
1/4 cup white wine
1 cup chicken stock
1/2 cup scallions, chopped white and light green parts
dash of Tabasco 
    
In a large sauce pan over medium-high heat, combine the water, cream and stock. Bring to a boil and slowly stir in the grits. Stir to combine, turn down the heat to a simmer and cover. Cook for the length of time directed, stirring occasionally.
Meanwhile, combine the shrimp and lemon juice in a bowl, seasoning with salt and pepper, and set aside.
In a large saute pan over medium heat, cook the bacon until crisp. Remove the bacon and and drain on a plate with paper towels. Break up the bacon into pieces when cool enough to handle. In the retained bacon fat, add the onion and bell pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 to 7 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 30 seconds further. Sprinkle in the flour and stir, cooking another minute to allow the flour taste to cook off. Add the white wine and scrape the bottom of the pan, deglazing and loosening the cooked bits. Cook down the wine somewhat and then whisk in the chicken stock.  Bring the sauce to a simmer to thicken. 
When the grits are cooked, add the shrimp and scallions to the sauce mixture. Cook the shrimp until opaque, about 3 to 5 minutes. Mix in the cooked bacon, a dash of Tabasco, if desired, adjust the salt and pepper seasoning, and serve immediately over the grits.
    

Sausage & Fennel Ziti with Pernod Cream Sauce

 

"Absinthe, I adore you truly! 
It seems when I drink you,

I inhale the young forest's soul,
During the beautiful green season."

                                                Raul Ponchon, 1848-1937

These words on the "green fairy," as absinthe is known, are some of the tamer tributes by poets, French or otherwise. Absinthe is an anise-flavoured spirit derived from botanics including the flowers and leaves of the wormwood tree along with anise, fennel and other herbs. Banned during prohibition and for many decades afterwards, it was thought to offer hallucinogenic powers. In reality, it was little more than a highly alcoholic spirit favored by the likes of Gaugin to Hemingway in the late 1800s and early 1900s. This association with Bohemian culture attracted the attention of prohibitionists and absinthe remained banned until its reputed effects were disproved in the latter half of the 20th century. Still, it carries with it that air of counter-culture. One can imagine the poets and painters of Paris sipping away the Belle Epoque in search of the next great work.    

With absinthe banned, Pernod, also anise flavored but without controversial wormwood oil, stepped in to fill the niche. Ouzo, Ojen, Pernod and other anise or licorice flavored liquors also make good additions to recipes, adding an anise flavor and deglazing a pan at the same time. In this recipe, Pernod compliments the fennel, both in its basic form and through the seeds in sausage. That sausage, chicken stock and cream tone down the anise flavoring, and altogether make this an easy dish to prepare and like. This meal may not have been enjoyed in the cafes of Paris, but its fun and fresh use of fennel and Pernod will liven up any evening. Serves 4.

    

Ingredients:

3/4 lb mild Italian sausage

1 cup beef stock

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 pinch red pepper flakes

1/4 cup Pernod

1 fennel bulb, sliced

salt/pepper

1/2 lb ziti pasta

1/4 cup cream

    

Directions:

Remove the sausage from its casings and fry in a large skillet over medium heat. Break up the meat into pieces, stirring frequently about 10 minutes. In a separate small sauce pan over high heat, reduce the beef stock to 1/2 cup. When the sausage is browned, add the garlic and red pepper flakes and cook for 30 seconds, then remove both to a bowl. Add the Pernod to the pan, scraping up any brown bits. Add the fennel and stock, bring to a simmer and cook until the fennel is tender, about 10 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. 

Meanwhile, cook the pasta in a large pot of salted boiling water until al dente, about 10 minutes. Reserve a little of the cooking water, drain the pasta and stir into the fennel sauce. Add the cream, stir and adjust the seasoning. Add additional pasta cooking liquid if desired. Serve.

    

Lamb and Orange Tagine

 

 
Timbuktu, fabled caravan city, across the dunes and sands of time. Nothing like news of an Islamic insurgency and colonial power-backed interdiction to remind us of exotic locales. Long before there was a war on the West, long before there really even was a West, there was culture in Timbuktu. Scholarly learning, writing and literature, trading, salt, gold, they say two-thirds of medieval gold traveled through Timbuktu to North Africa and on to Europe. 
  
The culinary history, not so much. The current day cuisine of surrounding Mali is based on cereal grains, rice and millet, grown in the flood plains of the seasonal Niger River and supplemented with edible leaves, tomato or peanut sauces and accompanied by grilled meat. However, at the other end of the caravan route is another area of ancient mystery, also held in the West as an exotic locale.
   
Morocco today retains much of our exotic imaginations. The caravans from Timbuktu would travel north across the Sahara, through the Kasbahs of the Atlas Mountains, and into the ancient Moroccan cities of Marrakech, Fez and Meknes. This is the land of the tagine, a meat stew cooked in a conical clay vessel. This is the land of 100 ways to cook chicken tagine, of cumin, coriander and cardamon, where cinnamon mixes with savory meats, the land of couscous. 
  
I love to make tagines, and often make a chicken tagine with apricots and almonds. But tonight, I wanted something different. Lamb, but also something brighter. Winter still holds its grip on us, and so I wanted something to brighten the dark nights. This lamb tagine features oranges in the main, but also honey, ginger, golden raisins, savory and sweet, exotic and comforting all at once. That is the wonderful thing about a tagine, it can remind you of far away, but make you feel safe and at home. Try this lamb tagine recipe, it is sublime. Serves 2.
    
Ingredients:
2 tbsp olive oil
1 lb lamb, cut into 1/2" cubes
1 onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp powdered ginger
1/4 tsp cardamon
1 stick cinnamon
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes (if desired)
3 cups chicken stock
1/2 can diced tomatoes, drained
zest of one orange
1 tbsp honey
1/4 cup golden raisins
slices of 1 orange
1/4 cup toasted almonds
salt/pepper
1 cup couscous
juice of 1 orange
   
Directions:
In a tagine, or dutch oven, over medium high heat, warm the oil, season the lamb with salt and pepper, add lamb to the pan and brown on all sides, in batches if necessary, for 5 minutes. Remove the lamb, set aside, and reduce the heat to medium. Add the onion and soften for 5 minutes. Add the garlic, cook for 30 seconds to release the flavor, then add the cumin, coriander, ginger, cardamon, cinnamon stick and red pepper flakes (if desired). Stir and allow the flavors to release for 1 minute. Add 2 cups of stock and scrape up the cooked bits on the bottom of the pan. Add the browned lamb and any juices, tomatoes, orange zest and honey and bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat as necessary to maintain a simmer. Cook for 30 minutes.
In a separate small sauce pan, bring the orange juice and remaining 1 cup of chicken stock to a boil. Remove from the heat and stir in the couscous. Cover and let sit for at least 5 minutes. 
Meanwhile, add the golden raisins and orange slices to the tagine. Cover and let cook 5 minutes while the couscous sits. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper as desired.
To serve, spoon couscous into a bowl. Top with lamb tagine and toasted almonds. Enjoy.
   

Scallops with Viet Cauliflower Puree

 

In most cases the best way to do something takes a great deal of effort. Have you ever looked at recipes for pho broth? They usually involve marrow bones and hours of simmering, something I just haven't yet been willing to do myself. But there are some things you can do in an instant, like a thunderclap, that will totally transform a dish.  For example, some stores now carry pre-made pho broth. No, I'm not trying to say just make pho with pre-made pho broth. That would be heresy, although I do prepare sauces regularly with pre-made chicken and veal broths. But the addition of pho broth to other things, such as purees, can impart all of the delicate, exotic flavors we love in pho.

I like to serve scallops with a puree. Sometimes I make a pea puree, other times cauliflower. The recipe is simple and quick, involving softened onions, garlic, stock, and cauliflower. This evening, however, I wanted something more delicate, something more interesting, something to float my senses away. Isn't that the purpose of an Asian water garden, to gather senses in the middle of a beautiful space: a gurgling of water, the scent of a blossom, the occasional flutter of a fish or croak of a frog, flickers from a lantern. That is what I sought this evening for my puree: less savory, more seductive. By using pho broth, in one simple step I produced the scents of star anise, clove, coriander, cilantro, all of the things that enter your conscious through your sense of smell before your sense of taste. Combine with a chive oil and simply sauteed scallops will transport you away. Serves 2.

   

Ingredients:

5 tbsp vegetable oil
2 shallots, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 head of cauliflower florets
2 cups chicken pho broth
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 bunch chives, chopped with 4 stalks reserved
salt/pepper
10 scallops
    
Directions:
In a medium sauce pan over medium-low heat, add 1 tbsp vegetable and soften the shallots. After a few minutes, add the garlic to release the flavor. Increase the heat to high, add the cauliflower florets and cook for one minute. Add the pho broth and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook 10 minutes or until the cauliflower is soft when stuck with a fork.
In a small sauce pan over medium-high heat, heat the extra virgin olive oil until shimmering. Add the chive, stir and turn off the heat. 

Heat 2 tbsp of vegetable oil in a large nonstick pan over medium-high heat. When just about to smoke, season the scallops with salt and pepper and add 5 to the pan. Allow to sear on one side for a few minutes and then turn. Cook 2 to 3 minutes more and then remove to a covered plate to keep warm. If needed, add the remaining 2 tbsp of vegetable oil to the pan and heat. Cook the remaining scallops the same way. Meanwhile, remove the cauliflower with a slotted spoon to a food processor and puree. Add enough of the broth if needed to loosen to a desired consistency. Spoon the puree to plates, rinse, and puree the chive oil. Plate the cooked scallops and then drizzle with the chive oil and top with reserved  chive stalks. 

Prosciutto wrapped Salmon with Lentils

   

   

I have to admit, I don't like salmon.  It's just a basic taste preference.  I know plenty of people who do, and it's certainly a perennial favorite, but it's not for me.  That does create a dilemma though when you should cook salmon.  Cooking, of course, can and many times should be for the other person.  The person who is to receive your craft, your efforts, your creation. And if you're doing something special for them, it should be something they like. That can get me into predicaments like Brussels sprouts, asparagus and salmon. None of them my favorite, but all of them popular.

    

In times like this, I reach for bacon. If you don't like the way something tastes, make it taste like something else, like bacon. So, you'll find bacon bits in my Brussels sprouts, with perhaps walnuts or pecans for crunch.  And salmon, wrap it up and cover it up.  Now, bacon is too thick to coat many things.  I hate those bacon wrapped scallops and shrimp, but that's because the bacon doesn't have enough time to cook without overcooking the seafood. To the rescue comes prosciutto.  The absence of smokey flavor won't overpower like bacon, and its thinness will allow it to cook in the same time the fish is cooked. I paired this dish with lentils, both as a hearty combination, but also admittedly as a further distraction for me. The result, something loved by all. Serves 2.

    

Ingredients:

2 tbsp olive oil

1/2 carrot, diced

1/2 onion

1 clove garlic, minced

1 cup lentils

2 cups chicken stock

1 bouquet garni

1 bay leaf

1/4 tsp dried dill

salt/pepper

2 salmon filets (preferably thick cut)

4 slices thin-sliced prosciutto

    

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. For the lentil soup, add the oil to a medium pot over medium heat and soften the carrot and onion for 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook a minute more. Add the lentils, stock, bouquet garni and bay leaf.  Bring to a boil, turn down to simmer, and cook for 15-20 minutes.

For the salmon, season with dill and salt and pepper. Wrap the filets with the prosciutto, tucking the ends under the salmon laid in a baking pan.  Roast in the oven for 10 minutes.

Remove the bouquet garni and bay leaf from the soup, and serve the lentils without too much liquid in a shallow bowl topped with the salmon. 

    

Pork with Pears and Shallots

   

   

Ever wonder why you love French Fries?  Yes, I know, because they are good.  But why are they good to us?  Are our tastes programmed to love salt and fat?  The answer many would say is yes.  Our prehistoric ancestors who won the climb up the evolutionary ladder did so because of the benefits of their love for fat and salt.  Storing body fat got us through lean times in the ancient world, and so those with a taste for it survived. Of course, too much of a good thing is bad, and we have modern waistlines and health conditions as a result. 

   

My question is, did we ever love meat and fruit? I personally love what we would now call savory and sweet. Savory goes to our love of fat, but is so much more.  Ever wonder why just about every Mediterranean dish starts with onion and garlic?  And sweet, only the truly odd do not have a sweet tooth for something.  But some people really don't like pairing meat and fruit. If there was anything available to our Cave Man ancestors to make their meals interesting, it was game over the fire with fruit from a nearby tree.  I personally love to combine fruit and meat.  I make a chicken and apricot tagine that is good year round.  Summers see fish and tropical fruits.  But Fall is my favorite, when roasts and game predominate.  This is the season for roasted meat, and of course fruit.  Apples with pork, cherries with duck, and this recipe for pears.  I love pears, most especially the juicy kind that drips from your mouth.  Mouthwatering is what I think of for savory, luscious dishes like this.  You have to love a recipe that calls for nectar of any kind.  And experienced cooks will know that cooking an onion brings out its sweetness.  Thanks to Bon Appetit for this recipe pairing shallots, pears and pork tenderloin.  Not only is it easy, but it is relatively quick, as well.  Good thing if you were a Cave Man roasting on a spit near an orchard and attracting meat-eaters bigger than you!

    

Ingredients:

3 tbsp olive oil

2 garlic cloves, chopped

1 tbsp chopped fresh thyme

salt/pepper

1 pork tenderloin

3 large shallots peeled and cut into wedges length-wise

3 unpeeled pears, quartered and cored

4 tbsp butter

2 tsp flour

1 1/2 cup low-salt chicken broth

3/4 cup pear nectar or juice

    

Directions:

Preheat oven to 475 degrees F.  Mix oil, garlic and chopped thyme in a bowl.  Season tenderloin with salt and pepper and then toss tenderloin, shallots and pears with garlic, thyme mixture. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add pork and shallots, browning on all sides, about 7 minutes.  Transfer shallots to a platter and pork to a baking sheet.  Roast pork in oven until thermometer inserted into center reads 145 degrees F, about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, add pears to same skillet and cook over medium-high heat until brown on cut side, about 4 minutes.  Transfer pears to platter.  Add butter to the pan and melt.  Whisk in flower and allow roux to cook for a minute.  Add broth and pear mixture to skillet, scrapping up bits and whisking to combine.  Boil until sauce thickens.  About 5 minutes.  Return pears and shallots to sauce to reheat.  Slice pork and serve with pears and shallots.

     

Chicken in Riesling

    

    
These days, we all want to be special, do something special or feel special.  Perhaps we're insecure, or bored, or in need of a thrill.  In cooking, it's that special ingredient, say a Southwestern chili powder, an indulgent ingredient like pork fat, or maybe a decadent ingredient, such as foie gras.  Perhaps it's a special preparation - remember sous vide? Or ingredients from a special place, on a farm, organically raised, cage free, locally grown, any more stereotypes I'm forgetting?
   
This recipe is special for what's not in it.  And, by that, I don't mean fat, or sugar, or gluten, antibiotics, processed this or refined that.  No, this recipe has bad, as in good, things like wine, butter, carbohydrates and cream.  But really, there's not much more beyond meat and vegetables.  That seems to cover the main food groups: meat, vegetables, dairy and wine.  Yes, from this simplicity, true greatness is formed, greatness through simple goodness.  Refined comfort food maybe, simple certainly, even quick and easy.  One pot too if you are into that.  Through this recipe you learn how to create beautiful flavor without beautiful people from beautiful places - it's caramelizing, deglazing, wine, and braising, seasoning and herbs.  There's not a lot more to good cooking then that.
    
Ingredients:
1 chicken cut into pieces
salt, pepper
1 tbsp vegetable oil
3 tbsp butter
1 leek, diced
2 shallot, diced
1 carrot, cut into 1 inch pieces 
1 cup dry white wine
1 lb small red potatoes, peeled
2 tbsp flat leaf parsley, chopped
1/2 cup heavy cream
     
Directions:
Rinse and dry the chicken pieces.  Season with salt and pepper.  Heat oil with 1 tbsp butter in dutch oven over medium-high heat.  Brown chicken, in batches if needed.  Remove to plate.
Poor off fat from pot, then add remaining 2 tbsp of butter.  Add leeks, shallot, and season, cooking 5 minutes until soft.  Add chicken, skin side up, any juices from the plate and wine.  Simmer until liquid is reduced by half, about 3 minutes.  Cover and braise the chicken, about 20 minutes.  
While the chicken braises, add potatoes to a pot of water with salt, bring to a boil and cook until just tender, about 15 minutes.  Drain the potatoes in a colander and then top with parsley, turning over the potatoes to coat.  When the chicken is done, stir in the cream, warm and adjust the seasoning.  Add the potatoes and serve.
     

Not Momofuku Cod with Miso Sauce

 

   
Momofuku...MomoFUku...MomoFUKU...MOMOFUKU!!!  I just like saying that word, Momofuku.  The owner of the eponymous group of restaurants chose it because of another bad word it sounds like, and that word rolls of the tongue too.  I like to say it as would a B movie samurrai: short, clipped, strong - MomoFUKU!  The restaurants by that name are Momofuku Noodle Bar, Momofuku Ssiam, and Momofuku Ko.  Apparently, there are more, but I don't follow that scene closely enough. Those I do follow hold the chef David Chang and his craft in high regard, and on that basis I purchased his cookbook.  
   
On this night, I thought of preparing a meal with his cookbook, hoping to use some cod I had in the fridge.  Unfortunately, the name Momofuku was also chosen in honor of Momofuku Ando, the Taiwanese-Japanese inventor of instant Ramen noodles.  So, while David Chang's noodle-based recipes are world-class, they offer little hope for my cod filets I want to saute with a nice sauce. And, thus, a common dilemma is confronted.  We aspire to fashionable dishes and restaurants, but they may not fit our ingredients list, patience or skill-level.  

Still, that is no reason to prepare another chicken breast.  Searching further for a way to marry my cod with Asian fusion, I was saved by celebrity chef Nobuyuki "Nobu" Matsuhisa.  His signature dish is black cod in miso.  Simple, elegant, flavorful, this was a dish I could do.  Its zen simplicity relied almost solely on cod, miso and sake.  Elegant in the preparation it suggested and I accomplished with ease.  Flavorful as I found at a sublime level, savory, unctuous, perhaps even that mystical flavor of unami.  

The original recipe from Nobu: The Cookbook displays just the piece of fish and dots of marinade.  I needed more than that for my special meal.  I chose a side of shiitake mushrooms, simmered in sake, as well as a bed of sauteed leeks, which I already had and needed to use.  Again, I also sauteed these in a little sake, and their color expressed well in the overall pallet of this meal.  Lastly, I kicked up the cod a little with a top crust of black sesame seeds.  Am I guilty of leaving the zen and embracing the bling?  I don't know, but that doesn't really matter.  I made it my own.  I do know that this meal tasted fabulous, the miso marinade reduced provided a perfect complement to the fish.  Momofuku will save for another day. Serves 2.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup sake
1/4 cup mirin (a sweeter and less alcoholic version of saki available in most Asian sections)
2 packets of miso soup mix
3 tbsp sugar
2 filets cod
1 tbsp black sesame seeds
1 leek, white and light green parts sliced into thin rounds
2 cups shiitake mushrooms
1 garlic clove, minced
4 tbsp butter
2 tbsp vegetable oil
salt/pepper
    
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.  Mix 1/4 cup of sake, the mirin, miso soup mix and sugar together to make a marinade.  Place it and the cod filets in a plastic Ziploc bag and marinate 30 minutes. Towards the end of the marinating time, warm 2 tbsp of butter in a medium pot over medium-low heat.  When melted, add the leak, 2 tbsp of sake and a little salt and pepper. Cover and soften the leeks, taking care not to allow them to brown.  Similarly, add the other 2 tbsp of butter to a medium saute pan and melt over medium heat.  Add the mushrooms, garlic, remaining 2 tbsp of sake and a little salt and pepper.  Cook the mushrooms allowing them to soak up the sake.  
   
Heat an ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat.  Remove the filets and pat dry, reserving the marinade.  Sprinkle the sesame seeds over one side and press in to adhere.  Add the vegetable oil to the hot pan and when smoking, add the cod filets.  Allow the filets to saute for a few minutes and then put into the oven to roast.  Meanwhile, add the marinade to a small sauce pan over high heat and reduce to the consistency of a thick sauce. Check the filets in 5 or 10 minutes using a meat thermometer stuck into the fish for a few seconds and then held up to your tongue.  If it feels nice and warm, the filets are done.  Plate by placing the leeks down first and cod on top.  Spoon out the sauce and add the mushrooms on the side.  
   

Grilled Cuban Pork Tenderloin

   

 
Sometimes I just feel Cuban.  Do I actually know what that means?  No, not really.  But it's not about what I know.  It's about what I feel.  And tonight, I feel the night sounds of mambo echoing in the neighborhood.  I feel an open shirt searching for a cool breeze.  I feel the sweat on the side of my drink, dripping like the small of my back. 
  
And the smell, the smell is pork, grilling, caramelizing the lime and orange, the cumin, the oregano.  A Cuban pork recipe has all of these elements. Rice and beans goes on the side. The important thing is what's inside.  Not the pork, you.  Feel good, and it will taste good.  Feel like a Cuban by eating like a Cuban.  Serves 2
    
Ingredients:
1 pork tenderloin
1 onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 cup lime juice
1 tbsp dried oregano
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp salt
    
Directions:
Trim any fat or silver tendon from the tenderloin.  Mix all of the ingredients in a Ziploc bag and add the tenderloin.  Seal and allow to marinate, from 30 minutes to overnight.  Heat a grill to medium-high.  Remove the tenderloin from the marinade and reserve.  Pat the pork dry.  Brush with 1 tbsp of canola oil and place on the grill.  Brown on 2 sides, a few minutes each, and then turn to an uncooked side.  Cover and turn the heat down to medium or 450 degrees if measurable.  Roast the tenderloin for approximately 10 minutes, longer if needed, until a meat thermometer shows the roast at 155 to 160 degrees.  Remove the roast and cover with foil, allowing the meat to rest and lose any remaining pinkness while still remaining juicy.  Meanwhile, bring the reserved marinade to a boil in a small pan over high heat.  Reduce by half or more to thicken to a glaze.  Add some sugar if desired to sweeten.  Slice into medallions and serve, topped with the glaze.
    

Turkey Meatballs and Pasta in Cream Sauce

     
 

    

What do our meatballs say about us?  Seriously, can you tell a person by their meatballs?  How many of us even admit we like meatballs?  Are they for kids, or low brow?  It's like meatloaf, the ultimate comfort food, and literally, little round meatloafs.  Are you a person that likes a traditional American meatloaf, you know the kind with ketchup?  Do you use beef, or have you graduated to a beef, veal, pork combination?  Do you grind this yourself or were you happy to discover that many meat cases are now carrying this pre-made?  Have you ever bought those Swedish meatballs at Ikea?  Have you ever actually eaten them?  Have you ever bought those gross turkey meatballs in the frozen section?  Do you feed those to your kids?

My choices reflects the person I want to be.  A beef meatloaf is good, but something I long ago abandoned in search of something healthier, and not as rich.  The Italians already knew this, and thus their lighter beef, veal, pork combination, but that can be a hassle.  I've tried turkey meatloaf, but have yet to overcome the blandness in taste and lack of fat.  I've tried herb combinations, traditional Worcestershire sauce-based and Italian with cheese.  Never been able to wrap my meatloaf in bacon, all that fat is why I don't do a beef meatloaf, and besides, I like my bacon crispy.  This recipe, from Cottage Living 2008 has it all:  turkey for health and convenience, garlic and onion for savoriness, Parmesan for that Italian feel, not just mushrooms, but shiitake mushrooms for a little sophistication, a cream sauce for a little indulgence, and my personal favorite, fusili bucatini, or what I call phone cord pasta.  So, whatever this may mean about me, know that my meatballs taste good.  Serves 4.

    

Ingredients:

1/4 cup breadcrumbs

1/3 cup milk

4 tbsp olive oil

1 cup scallions, minced

1 1/4 tsp salt

3/4 tsp ground pepper

8 oz shiitake mushrooms, sliced

2 tbsp flour

2 1/2 cups chicken broth

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 large egg

1 lb ground turkey

2 garlic cloves, minced

3 tbsp minced fresh flat-leaf parsley

2/3 cup heavy cream

1 lb dried pasta, such as fusili bucatini, cooked according to package directions

    

Directions:

Combine the breadcrumbs and milk in a small bowl and let soak 10 minutes.  Heat 2 tbsp of oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add 1/2 cup scallions, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper and the mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes.  Add the flour, stir in and cook for 2 minutes.  Add the broth, whisk to combine, bring to a boil, cover, lower the heat and simmer 10 minutes.  Meanwhile, combine 1/2 cup of the Parmesan, 1/2 cup scallions, 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper, egg, turkey, garlic and parsley in a bowl.  Add the breadcrumb mixture and mix together, ideally with your hands and fingers, to combine.  Heat 2 tbsp of oil in a large fry pan over medium-high heat.  Form the meat mixture into 1 1/2-inch meatballs and fry in the pan.  After browning the meatballs on a couple of sides, transfer to the simmering stock mixture.  Cover and simmer another 10 minutes.  Add the cream and stir in 1/2 cup of Parmesan.  Add the cooked pasta and toss to combine, simmering a couple of minutes if needed to reheat.  Serve.