Orange Pork Tenderloin Recipe

Winter is citrus season. I had a bounty of blood oranges and tangerines harvested from various backyards, so I made a mixed citrus marmalade. It’s a little soft and fairly bitter which is the way I like it. In addtion to being good on toast, scones or biscuits. Marmalade, whether you make it or buy it, is a great ingredients to have on hand. It can be used in many different recipes.

Orange marmalade is particularly versatile. It works in both sweet and savory dishes. You can use it flavor plain yogurt, whipped cream, cream cheese, vanilla ice cream or even with a mild goat cheese. It’s featured in quite a number of cake recipes and as a glaze on sticky buns. Mixed with a bit of lemon juice it makes the perfect dressing for a fruit salad. I recently wrote about marmalade cocktails for OpenTable. It also pairs particularly well with chicken, ham or pork.

A few weeks ago I was contacted by Napa Grass Farmer, a locally based, “beyond organic” meat farm located in both Napa and Suisun counties. Currently they offer delivery to Napa, Solano, Contra Costa, Sonoma, Marin and San Francisco. They serve hundreds of families and wanted to begin featuring custom recipes in their monthly CSA boxes and in their newsletter. I received a whole chicken and a pork tenderloin in exchange for a recipe for each. Call it an example of the barter economy. Here is the pork tenderloin recipe which just happens to use citrus marmalade.

Orange Pork Tenderloin

Serves about 4 entree portions

Ingredients

Pork tenderloin, about 1 pound

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon olive or canola oil

1/4 cup orange marmalade, or mixed citrus marmalade

1/4 cup orange juice

1 Tablespoon honey

1 teaspoon dry mustard such as Colman's

Fresh herbs and slices of lemons or oranges, optional

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400°F and pat the pork tenderloin dry. Combine the kosher salt, pepper and garlic powder in a small bowl, then rub it over the tenderloin.

In a saucepan combine the marmalade, orange juice, honey and mustard. Whisk and heat just until thoroughly combined.

Heat a large, heavy oven-proof skillet (preferably cast iron) over medium-high heat, add the oil, then sear the tenderloin, turning until brown on all sides, about 2 minutes.

Pour the sauce over the tenderloin and transfer the skillet to the oven. Roast the tenderloin for 15 to 20 minutes, turning once and basting with the sauce in the pan, until the internal temperature reads 145ºF.

Remove the tenderloin to a cutting board and let it sit for 10 minutes before slicing it into medallions. Can be served as a main dish or on top of baguette slices for a crostini appetizer. Garnish with fresh herbs and citrus, if desired.

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: My thanks to Napa Grass Farmer for providing the pork tenderloin. I was not compensated monetarily for this or any other post on Cooking with Amy.

Bak Kwa for Chinese New Year

Are you celebrating Chinese New Year? It’s typical to celebrate the holiday for a full week. I am still learning about this most important holiday which comes with so many traditions relating to food. There are many symbolic foods that ensure good fortune. There are also foods which are served to friends, family and guests and given as a gift. Bak Kwa is one such food. It might resemble beef jerky, but it’s much tastier and is much more than just a snack and considered a must-have for Chinese New Year celebrations in Malaysia.

I recently tried locally made Bak Kwa from Little Red Dot for the first time at the Fancy Food Show where it was a big hit. The Singaporean founders of the company missed eating it so much, that after unsuccessfully trying to get their parents to send them some from Singapore—it never made it out of customs—they set out to make it themselves. Several years later the product is finally showing up in stores. Because it’s something that is eaten as a snack but also at holidays I asked Chef Alex Ong who grew up in Malaysia, about his recollection of Bak Kwa and this is what he told me.

“Bak Kwa is definitely one of my favorite childhood eats. Traditionally my mom would only buy it during Chinese New Year for guests who come and visit us as part of the Chinese New Year celebrations. I remember helping my mom cut it into little squares with a pair of scissors so she can arrange it in a little bowl to be presented along with other Chinese sweets, cookies and snacks for our guests. Of course it usually ended up me with cutting one piece and eating two pieces.

Nowadays it is readily available throughout the year and people buy them for special occasions or as a business gift for business associates. There is a street in Kuala Lumpur where there are a group of vendors grilling these pork Bak Kwa over charcoal fires out in the open and you can smell the amazing aroma of sweet grilled meat from blocks away.

Of course, everyone has their favorite stores. Some like theirs super tender, some look for a nice chew, some not too sweet, some insist on only using ground pork but they can all agree that life is definitely better when you are chewing on a piece.”

Linda Susanto and Lyndel Soon from Little Red Dot told me their Malaysian version differs from the Chinese version which typically uses preservatives and coloring. Little Red Dot makes a healthier and much more tender, softer product, using better meats from suppliers like American Homestead Natural Meats and Diestel Turkey. It’s also less oily and lower in sodium, made in a USDA certified facility ensuring quality.

The meat is marinated in their own spice blends for flavor and preservation, then slow roasted and slowly grilled which gives a little bit of smokiness. It also comes in different flavors. Susanto and Soons told me that both the turkey and pork are traditional Asian recipes, similar to what they had growing up. The spicy chipotle beef and hickory smoked uncured spicy candied bacon were developed to cater to the tastes of a broader audiences. So far the beef is the most popular, and the candied bacon second most popular. You can purchase it online or at select retailers.

Savory Yogurt Recipes

I enjoy Greek yogurt and have been eating a lot of it lately. But I’ve also been cutting back on sugar. While fruit, granola, jam or honey are classic toppings for yogurt, I’ve been wanting to take yogurt in another direction. Since I tend to favor savory breaktasts rather than sweet ones I decided to try some savory Greek yogurt toppings, something I've seen around the web recently.

I brainstormed some ideas and was inspired by flavors from Korea, the Mediterranean, Scandinavia and Morocco--and everything I tried turned out really well. I imagine that the variations are really endless, I just stopped at four. That said, a little flaky salt really helps to marry the flavors. Use kosher salt or your favorite flaky sea salt for added crunch. While I choose to eat these for breakfast, they are also very good as an afternoon snack or as part of a light lunch. I recommend using 1/2 cup of yogurt as the base, but you could use more if you prefer. Greek yogurt is thicker than regular yogurt so it holds the toppings particularly well. I use 2% but any Greek yogurt should be fine so you use whichever you prefer. I also suggest not serving the yogurt straight from the fridge, but letting it warm up slightly and approach room temperature.

The recipes I’ve created are really just guidelines, try one out and then experiment! Consider shredded raw or roasted vegetables, nuts or seeds and any favorite condiments to be fair game. I'm thinking raw or cooked beets, thinly sliced celery, cooked greens and roasted winter squash would all be tasty with yogurt. If you come up with your own variation, please do leave a comment and share it.

Yogurt with Kimchi & Sesame

1/2 cup Greek yogurt

1 Tablespoon roughly chopped kimchi, mild or spicy
1/4 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

1/4 teaspoon sesame seeds

Flaky salt

Top the yogurt with the kimchi, drizzle with sesame oil, sprinkle with sesame seeds and a pinch of salt.

Yogurt with Peppers, Olives & Capers

1/2 cup Greek yogurt

2 sliced peppadew or roasted peppers

4 sliced kalamata olives (or other olive of your choosing)

1/4 teaspoon capers

1/2 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil

Place the peppers, olives and capers on top of the yogurt. Drizzle with olive oil.

Yogurt with Carrot Salad

1/2 cup Greek yogurt

2 Tablespoons shredded carrots

1/4 teaspoon harissa

1/2 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil

1 slice or wedge lemon

Flaky salt

Mix the carrots, harissa and olive oil and spoon onto the yogurt. Top with a squeeze of lemon and pinch of salt.

Yogurt with Cucumber, Radish & Dill

1/2 cup Greek yogurt

1 Tablespoon diced cucumber

1 Tablespoon diced radish

1/4 teaspoon minced fresh dill

Flaky salt

1/2 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil

Top the yogurt with the cucumber and radish. Sprinkle with dill, a pinch of flaky salt and finish with a drizzle of olive oil.

Enjoy!

Fancy Food Show Winter 2016 Favorites: Part 2

I've written about the overall food trends, my favorite sweet and savory finds and now the final post about the show, with the rest of my picks.

SWEET

I’ve long been a fan of Oregon Growers' great fruit jams and butters. Now they’ve collaborated with Dragonfly Chai and the result is luscious apple butter and pumpkin butter with tinged with chai spices. They are both really good, not too sweet with warm spices like cardamom, ginger and black pepper to complement the flavors or apple and pumpkin. Perfect to swirl into yogurt, oatmeal or slather on toast.

I’m a complete honey fanatic and love the way honey reflects the aroma and flavor of flowers. I also enjoy the way honey combines beautifully with lots of other ingredients such as nuts, fruits and spices. While I love truffle honey, this saffron honey from KL Keller Foodways really made me swoon. Saffron with honey makes perfect sense, since saffron comes from the stigma from the crocus flower. In this case orange blossom honey combines with powdered saffron to create something very rich and exotic. Use it on cheese, roast chicken or pork, or to sweeten ice cream, yogurt, or whipped cream. It should be available from Market Hall Foods.

Making caramel out of coconut is becoming a thing. The product that impressed me the most in this category were the coconut caramel candies from Hey Boo, known for making delectable coconut jams. Cristina Widjaja is a bit of a kitchen ninja and her soon to be introduced coconut caramels come in flavors like Ginger Rum, Thai Iced Tea and Sea Salt, but my favorite was the Vietnamese Coffee which seemed the least sweet to me and had a very pleasant and rich coffee flavor.

I was excited to try Treehouse Chocolate Company’s hot chocolate and it did not disappoint. This product was part of the Food Fete event which takes places concurrently with the show. Aaron Koch imports organic cacao and makes a truly luxurious and yet convenient hot chocolate. It comes in various flavors including one with a pinch of cherrywood salt and another with coffee. It’s everything you want hot chocolate to be, rich, creamy and very chocolate-y. It would be a great thing to include in a gift basket.

Purple power! I had no idea there was a whole company dedicated to beets. Love Beets makes a number of interesting and delicious beet based foods. While the panel chose the Smoky BBQ Shredded Beets for the trend report, I was even more impressed with their beet bars which come in apple, blueberry and cherry. They have an interesting mix of ingredients including beet juice concentrate, fruit, chicory root fiber, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, whole grain protein powder and orange pulp. They are nut free, gluten-free and a good source of fiber. Most importantly, they are really tasty!

Dried fruit usually has a chewy texture but the fruit from California Crisps is crunchy and true to the name, crisp. Paper thin slices of fruit are dehydrated to create a perfect snack or garnish for dessert or a cheese plate. I would definitely buy these and hope they find greater distribution since they are mostly available in Southern California at the moment.

CREAMY

KL Keller is now importing the most succulent cod fillets in olive oil from the Basque region. Bacalaos Alkorta cooks the cod gently in olive oil, so that the result is much like confit--tender, flavorful and rich. A perfect pantry staple for dinners on the fly. Find the cod at Market Hall Foods.

This was my first time trying the products from Miyoko’s Kitchen. They produce a variety of vegan creamery products. I liked the various “cheeses” it but was most impressed with her European style Cultured VeganButter. It’s made from organic coconut oil, safflower or sunflower oil, organic cashews, soy lecithin, sea salt and cultures. it was amazing how much it tasted like butter! I’m not giving up butter but I would certainly recommend this product to anyone who is interested in a plant-based diet.

OTHER

I love using tortillas, rice paper and even sheets of nori to make wraps instead of traditional sandwiches. Now there’s another option, from Pure Wraps, made from coconut. It’s mild and very flexible. I hope this product becomes more widely available soon.

A few years ago I wrote about some elegant charcoal crackers I discovered at the Fancy Food Show. I expected to see more products with charcoal but I really haven’t see that much. This year The Republic of Tea launced new matcha tea with charcoal. It’s part of their U-Matcha line. I didn’t try all the teas, but the charcoal version was particlarly gentle and light with none of the bitterness I sometimes associate with matcha. The green tea and activated bamboo carcoal is supposed to be supportive as part of a “detox” program. I’m not so sure about detoxing, but am I sure this is a lovely new tea.

Fancy Food Show Winter 2016 Favorites: Part 1

While it’s interesting to identify trends at the Fancy Food Show, it’s even more gratifying to discover delicious things you've never seen before. As I was trying to decide how to organize my finds, I realized the vast majority of my favorite products had something common. They were both sweet and savory. Without further ado, here they are.

CRUNCHY THINGS

You have probably tried Dang Foods addictive coconut chips. Now they have introduced onion chips that are equally dangerous. The crisp pieces of onion are available plain or in a variety of flavors. A colleague of mine who doesn't even like onions was won over by these treats

In a section of the show dedicated to emerging businesses was Kaleidoscope kale chips. While this business of kale chips flavored with ingredients like bone broth, miso and pesto might seem like something straight out of Portlandia, the truth is, the products are delicious! Lemon, miso, ginger kale chips and sweet potato bone broth kale chips have lots more flavor than plain kale chips and according to company founder Alexandra Hudson, they also have rejuvenating properties.

I wrote about Dan Fruin's Genuine Grub pickles last year. This year he is introducing a new flavor, Turmeric Radish, made with fresh turmeric, ginger, daikon and apple. These zesty and crunchy pickles don't have heat but a funky sweet edge. Look for the product at Whole Foods in February.

There is a category of biscuits that falls in between cookies and crackers. I particularly like Effie's Homemade. I don't believe they are new, but they were new to me. Their blend of sweet and savory make them very intriguing and versatile. They can pair with cheese or ice cream, or fruit. I'd love to try them with charcuterie or smoked salmon. Depending upon the flavor, they go pair well with ice cold milk, coffee, beer or even whisky. Flavors include rye, oat, cocoa and nut, each with their own slightly different personality.

MEAT & FISH

There was a lot of buzz about bakkwa. What is bakkwa? It's a Chinese style of jerky that's sweet and soft. Little Red Dot makes their Singapore style version by a combination of marinating, grilling and roasting. It's hard to explain how ridiculously good it is. Their version is made with different meats and some different flavors like lemongrass ginger and chipotle. But the name "uncured spicy candied bacon" might just be the most apt description of their best seller. Curious about the name Little Red Dot? It's a nickname for Singapore.

Dear North (love the name!) has introduced Alaska Salmon Bites from wild Coho salmon. It's tender yet chewy with really interesting flavors like sea kelp and sesame and my favorite, salted rhubarb and raspberry. It's a very unexpected combination but somehow works.

SAUCES & CONDIMENTS

I noticed more new high quality Latin American products at the show this year and one notable new line of Mexican sauces came from Salsaology. They have wonderful flavors like Chile Negro & Hibiscus and Ancho Chile & Tamarind, my favorite is the soon-to-be-launched Tres Chiles & Mezcal. It's a simmer sauce but can be used as a marinade or even for dipping. It was the most complex with layers of flavor and had the right balance of heat. It will be available this Spring, mostly from retailers around LA but also from Hatchery.co

Another favorite of mine was the line from Gran Luchito. Fergus Chamberlain might not be a name you associate with Mexican food, but you'd be wrong. Though born in Scotland he fell in love with the Oaxacan Pasilla chile while spending time in Oaxaca. He worked with local farmers and adapted recipes to develop a modern line of smoky yet not too hot spicy sauces and condiments using non-traditional ingredients like balsamic vinegar. My favorites were the smoked chili pickle and the smoked chili paste. Both can be used as a spread, in rubs or smeared onto anything you want to imbue with smoky heat and are available on Amazon.

I've written about The Preservatory at Visa d'Oro before and their wild and wonderful preserves that combine fruit with unexpected ingredients that range from garam masala to Pinot Noir. Their latest flavor, Moroccan Spiced Sour Cherry has those surprising savory elements that elevate a simple cherry jam into something both familiar and exotic, that is as good on toast as it is with cheese. Sadly these are not easy to find though some are available online.

Coco aminos are nothing new, just new to me. They are made from coconut sap and serve in place of soy sauce for people with soy or gluten allergies. But I found the salty sweet flavor particularly compelling. It has a fruitiness missing from soy sauce. It's more expensive than soy sauce but could be a fun condiment for experimenting with in the kitchen. The coco aminos I tried were from Big Tree Farms who also offer a number of coconut sugar products which are lower on the glycemic index.

A winner of a Good Food award, Wei Kitchen shallot oil is a nice option for creating vinaigrettes with an Asian accent. It has that very distinct mildly savory and sweet oniony flavor of shallots. Despite the sweetness, I would only use it with savory dishes like greens or noodles. There's a spicy version of the oil as well.