Sunday, November 2, 2014

Its inevitable . . .

Winter has arrived once again.
The storm that hit the eastern states down south a day ago is now upon us.
Outside temps are just under 37 degrees F
And its spitting snow outside.
As it rained all day yesterday chores were limited to those indoors. Had a few very much under sized bell peppers that finally ripened about 3 weeks after I picked them that I had to do something with.
Chopped them up along with a large potato. Tossed in olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic powder and in to a hot skillet.
While rummaging through the freezer in the basement a day ago I found a long forgotten package with two pork tenderloins. Liberally dusted with Goya Adobo they go on top of my mix.
And the whole mess goes in to a 500 degree F oven for about 30 to 35 minutes
When the tenderloins are just about done and still tender to the touch take them out and let them rest for about 5 minutes while we make up a gravy.
Set the pepper and potatoes aside in a bowl and de-glaze the pan with a cup of orange juice a splash of brandy, a pat or two of butter and a spoonful of orange marmalade, and reduce the whole mess to a nice gravy.
Slice up the tenderloins and serve . . . mmmm... mmmm good!!
Along with other long forgotten freezer findings were a dozen chunks of vacuum sealed cold smoked salmon. I had made this batch up two years ago and stored it as they had been a bit over salted. Well, two years in freezer has made the saltiness mellow nicely and the results are nothing short of exquisite. Good thing I found all that smoked salmon in the freezer, as this year I only made one batch that did not last too long.
Sliced on a toasted buttered English muffin ... breakfast of champions.

13 comments:

  1. A touch cooler with you now... Some good looking grub there too..
    Our weather has been crazy 15c the other morning at 6.30 very very mild!!
    It's about to change so they say.... ;b

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    1. Hi Brian, in a couple of days this wet sloppy cold weather will be headed your way.

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  2. That looks pretty good. I like pork, not too hot on fish though. That storm gave us a good pasting here. The temperature dropped like a stone when the cold air got here, and the snow was really flying. I hope it's not a precursor of things to come this winter.

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  3. Hi Harry. Its been brutal here all day. Wet, cold, sloppy and windy. Seems all my insulating in the basement is helping though. Nice and cozy inside. Its is supposed to warm in to the 60s this week though.
    Funny thing with the fish is as a kid I hated it so bad I'd gag on it. Now I can't get enough. The key with fish is it has to be fresh. Living inland you just can't get good, under 12 hours from swimming to plate fish. Freeze raw fish and it just looses all its flavor and winds up tasting like bait. Here we get stuff that has been swimming only a couple of hours before you buy it. What really makes this stuff good is the curing and smoking. Coated with 50/50 salt and sugar, pepper and dill, then weighted down in the fridge for about 16 to 20 hours. Draws all the fishy juices out of it and then rinsed and cold smoked for about 4 hours in apple wood. Most delicious lox you could have.

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    1. There is a guy in town who has fresh fish and other seafood frozen and driven here from the coast. About a year ago some of it was bad, and a bunch of people got sick. But , contrary to what you would expect, he didn't get shut down and if anything, got more business because there was a story in the paper about it and everybody in the county learned where his little shop was that way.

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  4. Hi Michael, damn, that looks good enough to eat, lol. Actually, I have a pork loin sitting in the freezer being bored. Think I'll spice its life up a bit, lol. Thanks

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    1. Hi John, Hot and quick is how I cook my tenderloins. Those skinny ones took about 33 minutes at 500 deg F. Don't let them get hard. They got to give about 3/8 inch when you press them with a thumb. The orange juice gravy is what really made it perfect. You got to eat so you might as well make it fun.

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  5. Damn that looks good….the food not the weather.

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  6. I like the change in the weather, mule deer season opens late this month, looking forward to getting out with friends, stay warm and safe.
    Suerte

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    1. Sr Suerte, I hope you put up some photos of the hunt and the spoils. White tail season is on up here in Maine right now. Though with the yahoos that shoot at any twig that wiggles in the breeze there is no way I am risking my neck in the woods this time of year. Blaze orange or not, they tag two or three of the two legged variety every season. Last few Bambies I got were from the roadkill list the town runs.

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