Category: Recipes

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Stuffed pork tenderloin

5 slices bacon chopped

2 apples peeled and finely diced

1 shallot finely diced

2 garlic cloves minced

1 tsp dry rosemary

¼ cup pecans, chopped

2 pork tenderloins

Salt and pepper

Dijon mustard

Preheat over to 325. Cook bacon and drain all but 1 tbsp of fat. Add apples and shallots and cook for 4 minutes until softened. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, 1 minute. Add rosemary and pecans and season to taste.

Butterfly tenderloins by using a sharp knife to ‘unroll’ muscle into a sort of rectangle. Place tenderloins side by side with an overlap. Season pork with salt and pepper and top with the filling. Roll up the tenderloin and secure roast with kitchen twine. Rub all over with mustard and place in roasting pan, bake until internal temperature is 155F, approximately an hour and 30 minutes. Serve with mashed potatoes or a cold potato salad and your favorite vegetables.

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Argentinian Carbonada Criolla

  • 1/3 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 1 yellow pepper
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 packages beef cubes (or try lamb or llama !)
  • 1 big can good quality crushed tomatoes
  • 1.5 cups beef broth
  • 3 large sweet potatoes in big cubes
  • 2 russet potatoes in big cubes
  • 1.5 tbsp sugar
  • 1 butternut squash peeled and cubed
  • 1 cup green beans, cut
  • 1 cup dried apricots, chopped
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • Corn optional

In a Dutch oven, heat oil and sauté onions, bell pepper and garlic until soft. Add meat and cook on medium high while browning all sides. Add tomato can, broth, all potatoes, sugar, squash, apricots and beans and lower to simmer. Cover and simmer for 1-2 hours until beef is tender. Stir now and then to prevent sticking to bottom. If adding corn, throw in at last minute and simmer for 5 minutes more. Serve with chunky bread slices.

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Best meatloaf

We made it with beef and deer and we loved it!

–          2 lb ground beef (or a mix of ground meat)

–          1 onion, finely chopped

–          2 eggs

–          3 garlic cloves, minced

–          3 tbsp ketchup

–          3 tbsp parsley, chopped

–          1 cup panko

–          1/3 cup milk

–          1 ½ tsp salt

–          1 ½ tsp oregano

–          ½ tsp ground pepper

–          ½ tsp paprika

Glaze

–          ¾ cup ketchup

–          1 ½ tsp vinegar

–          2 tbsp brown sugar

–          1 tsp garlic powder

–          ½ tsp onion powder

–          ½ tsp pepper

–          ¼ tsp salt

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. If using a loaf pan, line with parchment paper. If using a cookie sheet, line with parchment. Add all ingredients together (except for glaze), mix well and either place in loaf pan or form a loaf shape on cookie sheet. Bake for 50 minutes. In a medium bowl, mix the glaze together. Spread over the meatloaf and return to oven for another 20 minutes (or until internal temp reaches 160F). Let meatloaf rest for 10 minutes before serving. Serve with mashed potatoes and green beans.

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Irish lamb stew

An ideal recipe for a cold winter day!

  • 4 strips bacon
  • 2 lbs lamb- stewing cubes or shoulder, cut into 1 inch pieces
  • salt
  • pepper
  • ¼ cup flour
  • 1 large onion, diced
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 ½ cup red wine
  • 1 lb mushrooms, sliced
  • 4 cups beef broth
  • 1 tbsp tomato paste
  • 2 bay leaves
  • ½ tsp thyme
  • 1 ½ yellow potatoes, quartered
  • 4 medium carrots, peeled and cut into ½ in pieces
  • ¼ cup parsley to garnish

Season lamb with ½ tbsp salt and 1 tsp pepper. Sprinkle with flour and toss to coat.

In a Dutch oven, sauté chopped bacon until browned. Remove bacon with slotted spoon. Brown lamb on all sides in a few batches in the bacon grease then transfer to plate with bacon.

Add onion and sauté for 2 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the wine, deglazing while stirring. Add mushrooms, bring to simmer and cook for 10 minutes. Preheat oven to 325F.

Return lamb and bacon to pot and add broth, tomato paste, 1 tsp salt, ½ tsp pepper, ½ tsp thyme and bay leaves. Add potatoes and carrots, bring to a boil and cover. Place in oven and leave for 1h45 minutes. Sprinkle chopped parsley over dish and serve.

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Chicken saltimbocca

This recipe for jump-in-your-mouth-chicken is perfect for a quick weekday dinner and fancy enough to serve to guests at a dinner party. We use chicken but this recipe is traditionnally made with veal.

I dare say, it is just as good as in Trattoria Lilli, a quintessential Roman eatery where tourists rarely venture.

–          4 Chicken breasts or 2 packages of thighs (juicier with thighs)- pound them with a mallet or rolling pin while still in package to thin them out.

–          2-3 packages of prosciutto

–          Bunch of fresh sage leaves

–          ¼ cup of white wine

–          3 garlic cloves, finely grated

–          Zest and juice of 1 lemon

–          1 cup chicken broth

–          Unsalted butter

–          Tbsp flour

–          Pepper to taste

Pepper chicken on all sides (no need for salt, the prosciutto will do the trick). Place two sage leaves on each piece of chicken and tap with rolling pin/mallet to make it stick. Wrap prosciutto around chicken (Or just place pieces on one full side to cover leaves and meat. Melt a knob of butter in pan and add chicken pieces sage and prosciutto side down. Cook for about 3 minutes, prosciutto will crisp up and hold the sage in place. Flip and brown the other side for a few minutes, making sure you don’t let it burn. Set aside under foil. In same pan, add garlic and fry until golden. Deglaze with wine and let alcohol cook down. Add lemon juice, zest and the cup of broth and let reduce on low. Add 2 tbsp of unsalted butter to make sauce glossy. Place chicken back in sauce and let it finish cooking and sauce reducing. Don’t cover chicken with sauce (should be about half submerged). If not thick enough mix a spoonful of butter to a tbsp of flour and add to pan while stirring. Serve with silky mashed potatoes.

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Pizza Bresaola, Rucola e Parmigiano

The most famous pizza restaurant in Rome, di Baffetto, is a well-oiled machine that produced 4 delicious roman pizzas every 3 minutes. Pizza Romana is thin crust pizza.  Here is Sarah’s favorite pizza: Pizza Bresaola, Rucola e Parmigiano. If at all possible, bake the pizza at 500-600 degrees C.

-1 package of ferme d’orée Bresaola

-a handful or two of arugula

-a handful or two of parmesan shavings

-a simple tomato sauce made from either fresh tomatoes or a high quality tomato can, some good olive oil, salt and pepper.

-fresh mozzarella

-pizza dough

Make a simple Margherita pizza with the tomato sauce and mozzarella, bake in hot oven until ready. Layer your bresaola, parmesan and handfuls of arugula over the baked pizza, grind some pepper over it and enjoy!

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Trippa alla Romana

Tripe is not for everyone, but this is a very special recipe, close to what chef Federico Sisti serves in restaurant Frangente in Milan. If you cannot go there, try it at home!

  • 1 package tripe, sliced into ¼ inch strips, 1-1.5 inches long approx.
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • ½ red onion, chopped
  • 3 celery ribs, thinly sliced
  • A handful of celery leaves, chopped
  • 3 garlic cloves crushed
  • ¼ cup white wine
  • 1 to 2 cups tomato sauce
  • 1 tsp chili flakes
  • ¼ cup pecorino cheese, grated
  • ¼ cup parmesan cheese grated
  • 1 tbsp finely chopped fresh mint

Boil tripe strips in water and some coarse salt for 1 to 2 hours, covered. Drain.  Meanwhile, sauté onion, garlic and chili flakes in olive oil until a slight change in color. Add celery and leaves and cook for 5 minutes. Remove from heat. When tripe is tender, add to the pan with celery, stir and heat to medium high. Add wine and reduce. Add tomato sauce and simmer for 30 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.  In a separate bowl combine cheeses and mint. Plate tripe and sprinkle mixture over it. Enjoy!

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Stuffed skirt steak

  • Skirt steak
  • Salt and pepper
  • Garlic powder
  • 2 jalapeno peppers sliced thin
  • 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
  • ½ cup cooked bacon in small pieces
  • 3 Russet potatoes
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp pepper
  • Olive oil
  • ¼ cup unsalted butter
  • 1 tbsp minced garlic
  • 1 tbsp Parmesan cheese, grated
  • 1 tbsp chopped parsley

Preheat oven to 425F. Cut potatoes into wedges, toss in oil, salt, and pepper. Bake for 35-40 minutes, flipping wedges over halfway. Butterfly open the skirt steak in half and using a mallet or rolling pin flatten them some more. Lather with oil and season with salt, garlic, and pepper. Add cheese, jalapenos and bacon to one side leaving a ½ inch wide edge and fold closed. Use mallet to flatten the edges to seal. Set in fridge for 30 minutes.

Heat the grill to 400F and barbecue your skirt steak for 7-8 minutes on each side, until 130F internal temperature. Remove from heat and let rest for 10 minutes. While you wait, melt the butter in a small pan, add garlic, parmesan and parsley and cook for 5 minutes.

Slice steak against grain, drizzle butter oven potato wedges and enjoy with a crisp green salad.

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Chili Colorado

  • 3 dried Guajillo chilis
  • 2 dried ancho chilis
  • 4 dried New Mexico chilis (if you can’t find any omit)
  • 4 cups chicken broth
  • 1 roasted tomato ( heat cast iron skillet over high heat, add tomato and cook turning often until charred)
  • 4 packages beef stewing cubes
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 onion diced
  • 6 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 tbsp ground cumin
  • 2 tsp dried oregano
  • ¼ tsp ground allspice
  • 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
  • 2 tbsp corn starch

To make sauce, remove stems and seeds from chilis. Place chilis in microwave oven and microwave for 2 intervals of 15 seconds. Heat 2 cups of chicken broth until hot, submerge chiles and cook for 2 minutes.  Place chiles, tomato and broth with chilis in blender and process until smooth.

For the stew, season beef with salt and pepper, in Dutch oven heat oil over medium high heat and add beef in a single layer, searing all sides until golden brown. Remove and repeat with the remaining cubes. When done searing, remove cubes and set aside. Add onions to pot and sauté for 4 minutes. Add garlic and cook for another minute, then add spices and stir for 1 minute. Return beef and juices back to Dutch oven, add sauce and broth and bring to boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 2-3 hours until beef is tender.  Make a slurry of corn starch and a bit of water, stir slurry in stew to thicken sauce. Simmer for 10 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.  Enjoy with some rice, tortillas and pico de gallo.

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Gordon Ramsay inspired rack of lamb

Crust

-1/2 cup basil leaves

-1/4 cup parsley

-1 tbsp salt

-1/2 cup parmesan

Lamb

-1 rack of lamb

-2 tbsp olive oil

– salt and pepper

-2 garlic cloves crushed

-1 bunch thyme

-2 tbsp butter, cubed

-4 tbsp Dijon

Glazed carrots

-8 small carrots whole or 4 big ones, cut in ½ inch slices

-3 star anise

-2 cinnamon sticks

-2 tbsp honey

-3 tbsp unsalted butter, cubed

-1/2 cup panko

-1/4 cup chicken stock

-salt

Potatoes

-fingerlings or small potatoes

-olive oil

-2 tbsp butter unsalted cubed

-salt and pepper

Crust:

Pulse all of the crust ingredients in a food processor until nice and green, taste and add salt if required.

For rack of lamb, preheat oven to 375 degrees. Season all sides of rack with salt and pepper. Heat a cast iron pan over medium high. Add oil and let pan begin to smoke. Add rack to pan bone side up and sear all sides for 60 seconds (until browned). Add thyme, butter and garlic to pan and baste for a minute. Transfer to oven and roast for 5-15 minutes until lamb is rare (125F internal)

Remove from oven and pan. Using a pastry brush, spread mustard on meat, wait two minutes and brush once more with mustard. Pour basil crust in a plate and dip the lamb rack into the crust mix, turning to coat.

For carrots and potatoes

Boil water with salt (enough salt you taste it). Cook carrots for 2-3 minutes. Transfer to an ice bath to stop cooking process. Drain. Heat olive oil in a pan on medium heat and add cinnamon and star anise, honey and a pinch of salt. Once honey is bubbling, add carrots and toss to coat. Cook for 3 minutes, turning frequently. Add butter and stir. Let butter begin to froth and deglaze pan with chicken stock. Cook for 3 minutes until liquid has evaporated and carrots are cooked.

For potatoes, boil in salty water, drain and slice in half. Heat oil in pan and place potatoes cut side down, season with salt and pepper. Cook for 3-5 minutes until they brown, flip them and add butter. Reduce heat to med-low and cook for another 3-5 minutes.

Enjoy!