Here we are at the last post of June. What better way to end the month but with a wonderful cilantro and jalapeno rubbed pork tenderloin, sweet potato and goat cheese quesadilla? You see, we were in a pork rut. Pork loin, pork chops, pork tenderloin — I wanted something different to do with pork.

This original recipe is from Emeril and while reading through it, it really appealed to me. It spoke to me, if you will. And the flavors? Wow. They were excellent. The pork and the sweet potato tasted so good together with the goat cheese and all of the accompaniments and what-nots. I also made an apple-chipolte dipping sauce that I made for an earlier pork dish. The recipe can be found at the link above and it went wonderfully with this dish.

What I did, was I used one pork tenderloin (the original recipe called for two) but made the same amount of the cilantro paste. I used half for the roast pork and the other half I mixed with some plain yogurt to make a dipping sauce.

Mojo Roasted Pork Tenderloin and Sweet Potato Quesadillas
1 jalapeno, stemmed, seeded, and coarsely chopped
1/4 cup coarsely chopped onions
1/4 cup chopped green onions
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 tbsp canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 pork tenderloin, around 1 pound total
2 sweet potatoes, cooked until tender and peeled
2 (12-inch) flour tortillas
1/2 cup goat cheese

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and line a baking pan with aluminum foil.

Start by combining the first six ingredients in a food processor and pulse several times to make a smooth paste. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt and pulse to combine. Set paste aside.

Place the tenderloin in a baking pan and season evenly with 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Spread the cilantro mojo paste mixture on each side of the tenderloin (reserving the extra paste).

Bake uncovered 30 to 40 minutes, or until and instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part reads 145-150 degrees. I actually let mine go to 155, because at 150, the juices weren’t quite clear yet. I let it sit for about 15-20 minutes and it was very moist and juicy so it seemed to work out well. So, start checking after 30 minutes and just shoot for 145-155, removing it when you feel comfortable about its doneness. Let it rest covered with aluminum foil for at least 10 minutes.

Reserve the pan juices, including any of the paste mixture that ran off the tenderloins. After the pork has rested, slice into 1/4-inch thick, diagonal pieces.

Place the warm sweet potatoes in a medium bowl and mash until smooth. Season with the pan juices and about a tablespoon of the reserved cilantro paste. Stir well to combine.

Now comes the fun part

If you are using large, 12-inch tortillas just lay the filling on half of the tortillas, as you will be folding it over. If you are using smaller, 8-inch tortillas, cover the whole surface and cover with another tortilla. Spread some sweet potato down, lay a few pork slices about then crumble some goat cheese. If you feel like adding an extra something, saute up some onions until they are nice and caramelized and add those as well.

Heat a large, nonstick pan over medium-high heat. Add a little oil and cook the quesadillas, one at a time, until golden and heated through, about 2-3 minutes per side. Repeat with remaining quesadillas. Store finished quesadillas in a 200 degree oven until all are finished. I made two big quesadillas, with about 1/3 of the pork left over. You could definitely get 3-4 quesadillas out of one pork tenderloin.

Slice the quesadilla and serve with fresh cilantro and the mojo paste yogurt sauce. As I mentioned earlier, this sauce also makes a great accompaniment. And, of course, the pork could also easily be grilled (I would think), so that you don’t have to turn the oven on in the Summer.

Okay! See everyone in July! Monday, I should be posting about the “official” Je Mange la Ville birthday event.

So, you’re at work and it’s only your first week and your co-workers want to initiate you into the new work environment. You’re given a 2-liter bottle of Diet Coke and some mentos. What do you do? Why, you all head out to the parking lot for some office science fun. Ahhh, if only I could be a UNIX Sysadmin too….

Can you have a blog and not post one of these videos?
Watch jwa and the much-loved-the-world over, mentos-induced, Diet Coke fountain of … well, frothy diet coke. And since this is a food blog, I feel a little justified in posting it. Mentos are food, right? Hmmmm….

Low quality but still amusing Diet Coke and Mentos Video
You will need Quicktime to view the video.

Tomorrow, there will be actual food. A roasted cilantro-jalapeno pork loin, sweet potato and goat cheese quesadilla.

We just went through an ugly, ugly heat wave here in Portland. The past two days have been in the hundreds and just brutal. I know, anyone in Phoenix, Arizona or other typically-hot locales are laughing at me. But again, this is Portland and 100+ is just wrong.

Today, marks a return to our sensible, jacket-in-the-morning, highs-in-the-80’s, Summer weather. Hooray! To celebrate the return of the quilt to the bed and a coat in the AM, I have decided to post about this awesome split pea soup I made last week.

Now, this is not a typical, heavy, pork-laden split pea soup, for that would be silly in June, now wouldn’t it? Oh no. This one is light and minty and packs a bit of a surprise in the form of pomegranate syrup.

It’s from the Soup Peddler book and the recipe has its origins in the Middle East — Iraq specifically. I could also easily see serving this soup cold or at room temperature. Give it a try! I bet it’s good that way.

The Soup Peddler’s Shorbat Rumman (Split Pea Soup)
1 lb dried yellow or green split peas (or a combination works)
2 bunches scallions, chopped (white & green parts) or 1/2 of a finely chopped red onion
1 lb spinach, chopped
2 bunches parsley, chopped
2 bunches cilantro, chopped
1 bunch mint, chopped
1/4 cup fresh squeezed lime juice
2 tbsp pomegranate syrup
Salt
Garnish: Plain, low-fat yogurt

Start by cooking the split peas in six or so cups of boiling water until soft, 30-45 minutes. Add more water if necessary to keep a nice soup consistency.

Now, I used my food processor for all the chopping. Just add the spinach, cilantro, parsley and mint and pulse until finely chopped. Oh and I defined “bunch” as “handful”.

Add the herbs, spinach and onions to the soup and simmer five more minutes.

Remove from heat and add the lime juice and pomegranate syrup. I found pomegranate glaze at Trader Joes and figured it was close enough. It was, as it tasted very good in the soup. Another option would be to get some pomegranate juice and simmer it down to a syrupy consistency.

Garnish with more mint leaves and plain yogurt.

***

In other news, Je Mange la Ville is turning 1 year old on July 14, 2006! Wow! I am trying to come up with a special event for that day or some way to mark the occasion accordingly. Right now my big idea is the Amazing & Celebratory Cake-athon-2006. Make a cake. Make some cupcakes. Buy a cake. Buy some cup cakes — you get the idea. Whichever you choose, take a picture and post it on your blog (along with the recipe if there is one) around July 14 and I’ll link to it that week and recap all the cake-like items. Sound fun?

This was a great theme (imho) chosen by Ono Kine Grindz, as I currently like to use tofu in things like sauces and soups. It’s just so easy to use in place of cream or other high-fat, unhealthy creamifyers. Instead of making one dish (a sweet one) for both IMBB and SHF, I chose to make two separate tofu dishes. Kind os a two-for-one theme deal. Besides, I used 1/4 of a block of tofu for the peanut sauce and used the 3/4 remaining for the mousse. Perfect!

The IMBB dish, Honey-Garlic Peanut Noodles with Vegetables and Chicken, came from the cookbook, Tofu Mania. Now, I know I’ve made two peanut noodles dishes before but honestly, I think this one is my favorite. How about that?

The recipe in the book is just for the sauce, so I will give that and then just list what else I did. Because really? You could use this sauce for anything. It’s delicious! What I ended up doing was to serve the peanut sauce with grilled chicken, vegetables and soba noodles.

I:
IMBB27: Honey-Garlic Peanut Noodles with Vegetables and Chicken
Sauce:
1/4 cup firm tofu (I pretty much sliced off about a 1/4 of a block of tofu and called it 1/4 cup).
juice of 1 orange
juice of 1 lemon
1/4 cup peanut butter
2 tbsp honey
3 cloves garlic
1/4 cup fresh basil
1 tbsp ginger, chopped
2-4 tbsp soy sauce
red pepper flakes to taste

Other:
Cooked chicken
Soba noodles
Vegetables of your choice (I used bell peppers, onions and green beans)
More basil for garmish, as well as some chopped green onions.

Add the tofu and juices to a food processor. Puree until smooth. Next add the peanut butter, basil, honey, garlic, ginger, pepper flakes and soy sauce. Process a bit more, until creamy annd smooth. Taste and adjust any seasonings.

The sauce can be set aside until you are ready to use it or refrigerated or up to 3 days. Just reheat gently, in a pan, over low heat. I let the hot cooked soba noodles warm my sauce up.

I served my honey-garlic sauce with soba noodles, grilled chicken and sauteed bell pepper, onion and green beans.

Toss everything together and serve with more fresh basil leaves.

II.
The SHF dish came from the Scharffen Berger Web site. It’s a tofu chocolate mousse and it turned out really good too — very rich, chocolatey and creamy! I’ve always heard that using tofu in chocolate mousse works well — I was anxious to see this for myself. I am now a convert!

SHF20: Tofu Chocolate Mousse
(I made a half recipe by using 3/4 of a block of tofu and a little bit less than half the other ingredients. It made two generous-sized servings.)
from Scharffen Berger
2 (12.3-ounce) packages extra firm silken tofu
4 ounces Bittersweet or Semisweet chocolate chips (I used Ghirardelli 60% Cocoa Bittersweet Chocolate chips, sorry sb…)
1/2 cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
3 tbsp instant espresso or coffee powder
3/4 cup good-quality maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla
Optional: 1 to 2 tablespoons coffee-flavored or orange-flavored liqueur
Garnish: Fresh raspberries or strawberries

Drain the tofu in a colander for about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, melt the chocolate in a double boiler or use your microwave — just give it 30 seconds at a time and stir after each turn in the microwave. When it hot and almost melted all the way, stir until the last remaining pieces melt.

Place the tofu in a food processor or blender and puree until creamy. Scrape down the bowl as needed. Add the cocoa and espresso powder and process until well blended. Next comes the syrup, vanilla, melted chocolate, and liqueur. Puree it all until smooth.

Transfer to individual dishes, cover and chill several hours or overnight. Serve with the fruit.

III.
Thanks again to Ono Kine Grindz for hosting this duel IMBB/SHF event!

Tagged with: IMBB27 and SHF20.

This month’s Weekend Cookbook Challenge is picnic food. This is a great topic as it is very open — there are so many foods that make for excellent picnic-fare. For this assignment, I reached for a very underused cookbook in my collection, Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Favorites. After a few minutes, I picked my recipe — Greek Lima Bean Dip.

You might be asking, “Huh?” But, yes! Greek Lima Bean Dip, I say! I love humus-like dips. I am always looking for new ones to try and I think they are perfect picnic foods. Sure, dips are not the main attraction like sandwiches or fried chicken or what have you, but the side dishes play a very important role. The role of snack. So here, without further introduction or justification, is this great little picnic dip. It was very fresh tasting and the lemon/oregano/garlic combo did indeed give it a nice Greek flavor.

Oh, okay, wait. A couple of other things — 1. it saves well for a few hours at a picnic, as there’s no mayo in it (the tablespoon of yogurt I added is optional). 2. I changed the dill the recipe calls for to oregano, used more olive oil and added more garlic and lemon.

Greek Lima Bean Dip
3 cups cooked lima beans (2 15-oz cans or use frozen and just cook them according to the instructions.)
4 garlic cloves
Juice of 2 lemons (and a few strands of zest)
2 tbsp fresh oregano
1 tbsp fresh mint
1/4 cup olive oil
1-2 tbsp plain, low-fat yogurt (optional)
1/3 cup red or sweet onion, chopped roughly
salt & pepper to taste

This is the best kind of recipe — throw everything in the food processor, (except the olive oil, yogurt, salt and pepper) and process until combined well and it looks like a rough paste. Stream in the olive oil until it comes together.

Taste — add salt and pepper. If you want it a little creamier, add the yogurt. Garnish with fresh mint leaves and some lemon zest. Serve with toasted pita, crackers or use in a wrap.

It’s excellent, whether eaten outdoors on a blanket or in front of the tv, where you accidentally started watching Supergroup and now you are ashamed to be sucked in — will Ted Nugent beat up Sebastian Bach over his excessive drinking???!! Aghh — I need to keep watching to find out!

This was one amazing pizza. It’s especially good, as it’s one of the meals that jwa and I typically make together. I prep all of the ingredients and then he works his magic. He makes the most excellent pizza. This post is really less of a recipe than pictures of jwa making an amazing pesto-vegetable pizza.

Our approach to pizza is to typically unleash all of the vegetables we have on hand, a variety of cheeses and either a pesto or olive oil & garlic or a tomato-based pasta sauce on the unsuspecting crust.

This time, we used a Boboli, which we both like quite a bit. To start, he brushes the bottom of the crust with a little olive oil, then just a bit on the top. Then, stick it in a 450 degree oven (on a baking sheet), for about 2-3 minutes, just to give the crust a little head start.

As you can see, he has his pizza-making empire spread out before him. This includes: pesto (basil, olive oil, pine nuts & pumpkin seeds, garlic, lemon juice, Parmesan, salt & pepper), grilled portobello mushrooms, garlic, onions, sliced tomatoes, roasted red & yellow peppers, a shredded mozzarella, fontina and assiago mix, little fresh mozzarella balls, olives, artichoke hearts, red pepper flakes, dried basil and….a mix of fresh oregano, marjoram and thyme.

First comes the pesto on the warm pizza crust, followed by the layering of all the veggies or whatever pizza toppings are being used. In this instance, the peppers, mushrooms, onion, artichoke hearts and olives.

Then there is a initial layer of cheese. Oh, there will be more. This is followed by tomato slices and the fresh herbs. Then, you guessed it, more cheese. Then some dried herbs and red pepper flakes — just a little sprinkle!

When the pizza weighs more than a small animal, then you know it is ready for the oven. It bakes at 450 for about 15-20 minutes. We both like it when the top is a little golden and everything is all gooey and the cheese along the edges is all crusty. That’s what some folks might call “good eats”.

While the pizza is doing its thing in the hot oven, it’s time to start on a beer. Perhaps this is also a good time to stick two more beers in the freezer so that they are extra, extra cold when you are ready for them.

If you can restrain yourself, I’ve found with very top-heavy pizzas, it’s a good idea to let them sit about 5 minutes before cutting and eating. Good luck with that…

This was a meal that didn’t quite make it to Vegetarian Week. Not because it wasn’t delicious, but because I am lazy! Anyway, this was pretty good. The original recipe is from Everyday Italian and I didn’t change that much. I just added garlic (how could there have been no garlic originally??), some lemon and some basil at the end. Although I forgot to garnish it before I snapped the pictures. And then we started eating and I didn’t feel like taking new pictures with the basil…)

Pasta Primivara
3 carrots, peeled and cut into thin strips
2 medium zucchini or 1 large zucchini, cut into thin strips
2 yellow squash, cut into thin strips
1 onion, thinly sliced
1 yellow bell pepper, cut into thin strips
1 red bell pepper, cut into thin strips
6 big cloves garlic, halved
1/4 cup olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon dried Italian herbs or herbes de Provence
1 pound farfalle (bowtie pasta)
15 cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
1/4 cup fresh, chopped basil
1/2 tsp lemon zest + 1 tsp fresh lemon juice
red pepper flakes to taste

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Toss all of the vegetables with the oil, salt, pepper, and dried herbs to coat. Transfer the vegetable mixture to two large baking sheet and arrange the vegetables on each sheet.

Roast until the carrots are tender and the vegetables begin to brown, stirring after the first 10 minutes, about 20 minutes total. At first, I thought this would be way too much time but it was actually a perfect amount. The vegetables were a little caramelized but not overdone.

Meanwhile, cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling, salted water until al dente, about 8 minutes. Drain, reserving at least 1 cup of the cooking liquid. Toss the pasta with the vegetable mixtures in a large bowl to combine. Toss with the cherry tomatoes and enough reserved cooking liquid to moisten. I also added a bit more olive oil at this point, as well as a sprinkling of red pepper flakes.

Season the pasta with salt and pepper, to taste. Sprinkle with the Parmesan and serve immediately. For fun, I added a little lemon zest and juice to brighten up the flavor. Garnish with fresh chopped basil.

I also like this dish because leftovers are great for lunch. You can also take the leftover primavera, mix it with some pasta sauce, put it in a baking dish, top with mozzarella and bake until golden and you have a completely different meal!

This was originally an Emeril recipe for duck breast. Duck breast is around $25 a package at Zupans. I have turned this into a chicken breast recipe — $7 for 3 organic breasts at Trader Joes. If I were rich like Emeril, I would use duck.

I also went a little crazy with the rolling and the tying on this one. Quite honestly, this would work very nicely just rolling each breast separately. But, I wanted to see if I could join all three together and make one huge stuffed chicken log. I could. It’s these little personal victories that keep a person going, you know?

Oh! And one more noteworthy point — this is the last dish made from the jar of pistachios we got from Christmas. And we’ve loved them all. Let’s recap: Pistachio Ice Cream, Pistachio-crusted Chicken, Arugula, Mango & Onion Salad and Blood Orange Bars with Pistachio Crust.

Grab some kitchen twine and let’s do this thing.

Pistachio Duxelle Stuffed Chicken Breast with a Balsamic Dijon Sauce
2-4 chicken breasts ( I say two - four because I used three. This filling would be enough for four, I believe. If you are making two, you might want to have the stuffing ingredients).
1 tbsp olive oil
salt & pepper
Filling:
3 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup minced shallots
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 pound button mushrooms, cleaned, stemmed and chopped
1/2 cup port wine
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
1/4 cup toasted, ground pistachios
1 3/4 teaspoons salt
Sauce:
1 tbsp shallots, diced
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1/2 chicken stock
salt & pepper

Heat a skillet over medium heat. Add the butter to the pan and cook the shallots until translucent and lightly caramelized, about 1 minute. Stir in the garlic and cook for another 30 seconds. Next come the mushrooms. These need about 10 minutes. Deglaze the pan with the port and cook until it is nearly evaporated, about 3-4 more minutes.

Remove the mushrooms from the heat and allow to cool completely before adding the Parmesan, pistachios and 1/4 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper. Taste it. Yeah, it’s good.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Pound the chicken breasts out with a mallet or some sort of blunt instrument. Now, you can do this the hard way or the easy way. The hard way: lay the pounded breasts out over lapping a little bit.

Lay a line of filling down the center.

Fold up the sides of the chicken and use kitchen twine to tie up into a sausage-like shape. Season the outside with salt and pepper.

The easy way: leave each breast separate and add the filling down the middle of each one, roll up and tie. Voila. You’re done.

Whichever way you decide to approach this, now comes the searing. Heat up an ovenproof skillet and add about a tablespoon of olive oil. Add the chicken and brown each side — about 8 minutes total. Then pop into the oven to finish cooking. Mine took about 20 minutes at 400 — but check after 10 or so. You’re looking for an internal temperature of around 165. When you get there, take your chicken out of the pan and let it rest 10-15 minutes.

When ready, snip the twine and remove. Slice it carefully, to keep the filling intact. Some pieces will fall apart — they are still delicious. Lay the nicest pieces (about 3 per person) atop some rice pilaf.

The sauce
While the chicken is resting, return the skillet to the stovetop. Add the shallots, balsamic and Dijon mustard. Scrape up any brown bits and bring to a boil. Add the chicken stock and reduce, 8-10 minutes. Taste and add salt and pepper as needed. Serve drizzled over the chicken.

On the side
We had this over some rice pilaf and some sautéed zucchini with olive oil, garlic and orange zest, which is really as easy as it sounds. Just slice the zucchini up into rounds and sauté in a little olive oil with some garlic, salt and pepper. When tender add some orange zest and squeeze a little of the oranges juice into the pan.

Put it all together and it’s dinner time!

This was a very quick, last minute addition to an enchilada dinner not too long ago. I wanted to have black beans but I wanted a little more than just black beans. I surveyed the cabinet, fridge and freeze and came up with this side.

The other handy thing about this salad is that it’s very easy to substitute ingredients or whatever. It’ll also travel well and is less volatile than a mayonnaise-based salad.

Quick & Easy Black Bean & Corn Salad
1 can black beans, drained & rinsed
1/2 (or so) of a container pico de gallo (or about 1 cup diced tomato, onion & jalapeno)
1 cup corn kernels (frozen work well, just microwave in a few tablespoons of water first, for 1-2 minutes, then drain)
1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled (you could also use small cubes of pepper jack or cheddar)
juice of 1 lime
1 tomato chopped
2-4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
1 avocado, pitted, peeled and sliced
1/2 tsp ground cumin
zest of 1 orange
a couple of splashes red wine vinegar (1-2 tsp)
salt & pepper to taste
Optional: Chipotle pepper flakes (spellcheck changed that to “Chortle pepper flakes”…funny!)

Add the drained and rinsed black beans to a big bowl, along with pretty much everything on this list (except the avocado). Toss and serve at room temperature with the avocado slices. It’s delicious!

Indian Summer

Thank you, Photoshop
Last night, I took our three contenders, Indian Summer, Red Copper and Henna (jwa got the sample finally), laid them out, took pictures and made somewhat-crappy-yet-still-helpful photoshop images showing each floor choice color.

Henna

The whole look that we are going for is relatively bright and cheery with warm tones. We want it to be inviting — to wake us up in the morning and welcome us home at night. Is that too much to ask? Oh, and hide pasta sauce spills! Still kidding!

Red Copper

I think Indian Summer is our favorite. I love Henna, but it seems a little dark. Red Copper seems a little bright. Indian Summer might be just right. I also think the Indian Summer is a balanced tone with the walls, where again, the Copper is a bit bright and the Henna is a bit dark.

And, I did consider briefly putting in patterns or using more than one color but jwa really didn’t like that idea — and he’s paying for it so I guess he gets a vote. I still think patterns would be cool but I’m going to be extremely happy with a new floor — and an orange one at that! Plus, the more cuts they need to do (for patterns and designs and even around corners and stuff), the more expensive it is. And marmoleum, as awesome as it is, isn’t super cheap…

Speaking of which, next comes getting the estimate, which is never as much fun as picking out the color….

Next week: IMBB/SHF, Chicken stuffed with pistachios and mushrooms, oh, I think WCC is coming up, and perhaps an orange cake.