Stuffed and Rolled Pork Tenderloin

 I devised this recipe myself and it is one of my favorites to serve guests. It looks nice on the plate and goes well with Creamy Rosemary and Sage Polenta.

Make a lengthwise cut about 2/3 through a pork tenderloin and then separate the halves as if you are opening a book. Flatten with a heavy mallet. Then make another lengthwise cut through each of the two "pages" of the book and open and flatten those. You will be left with a fairly large flat piece of tenderloin. 

Brush the top of the flattened meat with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, 1 clove of minced garlic, a handful of coarsely grated Romano cheese, a small handful of coarsely chopped herbs (I sometimes use a parsley and basil mixture, especially in the summer when I can get it fresh from my garden. I also often use just Rosemary. It is up to your tastes.)  Roll the meat along its long side so you have a long log. Tie kitchen twine around it in a few places along the length to hold the log together. Dredge in flour. 

Pour a little olive oil in a flameproof roasting pan and set on medium-high heat. Brown the meat on both sides and then remove from the flame. Pour 1/2 C. chicken broth and 1/2 C. dry white wine over the meat. Roast at 350 for 30-40 minutes until meat thermometer indicates it is done. Let rest on cutting board. While the meat rests, prepare the gravy (below). Then cut the meat at a slight diagonal so that you have nice-sized pinwheels of meat. Arrange them on a platter so each pinwheel slightly overlaps the one before it. Pour the gravy through a sieve on top of the meat. 

Gravy: Whisk 1 T. flour into the pan drippings, place over flame to thicken, stirring often. When thick, taste for salt, and then strain over the meat. 

White Lasagna

I came up with this recipe for a friend who can not eat tomatoes. She said she was thrilled to eat "really good " lasagna again.

Sauce:

Heat 5 cups of milk until it just begins to bubble at the edge.

Meanwhile, melt 1 stick of butter over low heat.

Blend in ½ cup flour, stirring vigorously.

Remove the pan from the heat, and stir in the hot milk ¼ cup at a time, allowing   

               it to be completely absorbed each time.

When all the milk has been absorbed, return the pan to the heat.

Season with 1-2 tsp salt, ¼ tsp white pepper, ½ - 1 tsp nutmeg.

Bring to a boil; reduce heat to low, cook for 10 minutes, stirring constantly.

Filling:

32 ounces ricotta

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1 cup grated parmesan

3 Tbsp parsley

Salt and pepper to taste

In addition, you need approximately1 pound lasagna noodles (I use Barilla non-curly-edge and do not pre-cook them); ½ pound prosciutto, thinly sliced; and 1/2 -3/4  pound smoky provolone, thinly sliced.

In a 9x13 pan:

Spread some sauce that has been thinned with a little milk to cover the bottom of the pan.

Place one layer lasagna noodles over sauce. Cover with ½ the slices of prosciutto, ½ of the ricotta mixture, and a little bit less than ½ the provolone, so that you have some for the top.

Cover all with sauce and repeat layer.

Cover the second layer with sauce, then one layer of noodles, sauce and provolone.

Cover loosely with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Uncover and cook 10 more minutes, or until cheese starts to brown.

Marinated Pork Tenderloins

I got this recipe from Bim, who I believe originally got it from Aunt Jean.

2 pork tenderloins, 12 oz. each

1/4 cup soy sauce

2 Tbsp dry red wine

1 Tbsp brown sugar

1 Tbsp honey

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 clove garlic, crushed

1 green onion, cut in 1/2

Mix soy sauce, wine, brown sugar, honey, and cinnamon in a bowl large enough to hold the meat. Add the cut green onion and the pork. Marinate for several hours or overnight.

Preheat oven to 350. Remove meat from marinade and reserve marinade for basting. Place meat on wire rack in roasting pan. Bake for 45 minutes, basting frequently with marinade.

Sausage and Peppers

Pauli's favorite. Definitely not Annie's.

1/4 c. oil
1 lb. Italian sausage
2 large green peppers, sliced
1 large onion, sliced
16 oz. tomato sauce
1/4 tsp. garlic

Brown sausage in oil, remove to a platter. Brown pepper and onion slightly in the oil. Drain oil and discard.

In another pan, heat tomato sauce and garlic. Add sausage, cover and simmer 15 minutes. Add peppers and onion, simmer 15 minutes more. Serve in sausage rolls.

Ham

Just ham? Yes, but even this has the loving touch.

Spread a mixture of mustard and brown sugar over the ham. Top with cloves and pineapple slices. Pour 1/4-1/2 can of beer in the baking pan. Drink the rest. And get one for Manny.

Bake at 325° for 18-24 minutes per lb.

For gravy, add 1 tsp. cornstarch and cold water to the pan drippings. Simmer, adding salt and pepper to taste. Strain and serve.

Nana Stella's Genovese Risotto

Risotto requires ingredients saved from two prior nights' dinners. Don't ask, just do it.

On the first night, make pasta and set aside about 3 cups of the tomato sauce. On the second night, make chicken soup and set aside about 3 cups of the broth. On the third night, you can make risotto.

1 lb bulk Italian sausage
1/4 lb butter, melted
2 c Arborio rice, uncooked
3 c tomato sauce
3 c chicken broth

Brown sausage and set aside. Put rice in melted butter (off burner). Combine rice and sausage and begin heating and stirring. Add each liquid (alternating sauce and broth) by the scoopful. Heat should be high enough so that it's "lively" (Bim's term for bubbling and absorbing the liquid). As the liquid disappears, add more of each. After cooking about 20 minutes, taste the rice to make sure it is soft. Then you are done, even if you have liquid leftover (you can serve the extra sauce on the side). Pour into a 13x9 pan and bake 5-10 minutes at 350 degrees.