Tasty Bites: 4-Ingredient Pork Loin

By Beth V

This week’s recipe is short and sweet! That is a welcome expression in my cooking world most of the time. A simple recipe that yields a delicious, juicy, flavorful, no-fail pork loin? Yes, please!  I stumbled upon this recipe and made this on Easter Sunday.  It was nice to have such an easy dish to go along with some other, more time-intensive dishes. This pork loin does not require a special occasion- it is perfect for anytime.

The marinade consists of McCormick Montreal Steak seasoning, balsamic vinegar, olive oil and a 2-lb pork loin. Have a 4 lb pork loin? Just double the recipe and add about 20 minutes cooking time per pound.  Mix the marinade ingredients together. Place the pork inside a zipper bag and pour the marinade over it. Squeeze the air out so the seasonings contact every surface of the meat. Let this marinate in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours. Overnight is even better if you remember.

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Tasty Bites: Scalloped Potatoes and Strawberry Poppy Seed Salad

By Beth V

Whether you are hosting an Easter meal or taking a dish to share with family and friends, I hope you will try and enjoy these two recipes. The scalloped potatoes recipe comes from Julia Child. It amazes me how potatoes, butter, salt, pepper, shredded cheese and cream + time in the oven come together to create such amazing flavor and texture. The secret is low heat and slow cooking. These humble ingredients are magically transformed into something much greater than the sum of their parts.

The Strawberry Poppy Seed Salad is my favorite salad for spring. Spinach, thinly sliced red onion, sliced strawberries, crumbled feta cheese and toasted walnuts topped with a creamy poppy seed dressing - another example of simple flavors that come together in a unique and delicious way.

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Tasty Bites: Lemon Strawberry Refrigerator Tart

By Beth V

Easter! This Easter, I have my first opportunity to host dinner. We are accustomed to participating in huge family gatherings, having large collections of parents, brothers, sisters, and cousins on both sides of our family - what a blessing! We have moved for the first time away from all of those relatives and it sounds like we may have a few of them staying with us at Easter. Over these next two Thursdays, I’d like to share some Easter recipes with you. We are going to walk on the wild side and talk about dessert first.  Next week, I will share a delicious recipe for scalloped potatoes and my favorite spring salad.

Confession time: I had planned on sharing a ham glaze recipe I tested, but I didn’t feel like it came out quite as good as I had hoped. I will leave this great video tutorial of a delicious ham recipe that I am going to try next in case any of you are interested in trying it for Easter.

Now, on to dessert! This lemon strawberry tart just tastes like the essence of spring to me! Creamy light, lemony goodness accompanied by fresh, juicy strawberries. The ingredients are very simple and this can be made ahead and stored in the refrigerator or freezer.

We are going to be whipping some fresh cream for this recipe. You may be put off by this step, but bear with me, this is super easy! Place a large bowl and beaters or whisk attachment into the freezer and allow to chill a bit while you are prepping the other ingredients.

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Tasty Bites: Teriyaki Grilled Chicken Thighs and Pan-Roasted Asparagus with Sesame Ginger Sauce

By Beth V

While we still have those ingredients from last week’s Asian Lettuce Wraps, let’s make another delicious Asian-inspired dish. The marinade for this chicken is delicious and easy to throw together. While my husband was grilling the chicken, I put together a side dish that complements it nicely -  pan-roasted asparagus with sesame-ginger sauce. Grilling is a great way to welcome the warmer weather of spring. I hope the readers here have at least begun to see some hints of spring! Here in the South, spring is in full-swing. For those of you further North,  maybe grilling will at least help you feel like spring is on its way

Start by combining ½ cup soy sauce, ½ cup sugar, 1 ½ tablespoons red wine vinegar, 2 teaspoons sesame oil, 1 minced garlic clove and ¾ teaspoon ground ginger (or 1 tablespoon of freshly minced ginger - see last week‘s post for a great video on how to use fresh ginger) in a gallon-size zipper bag. Throw in 1-2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs. I recommend thighs because they hold up so well to grilling. Thighs are super-flavorful and they stay nice and tender. They do not dry out like boneless, skinless breasts sometimes do. Squish the bag around to evenly distribute the marinade. Squeeze out the air so every surface is in contact with the flavors and then stick it back in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes or up to overnight.

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Tasty Bites: Asian Lettuce Wraps

By Beth V

I still remember my first visit to PF Chang’s.  At the time, the dish that made the biggest impression on me was the Asian Lettuce Wraps. This dish was a new experience for me. It wasn’t long before I realized these could easily be duplicated at home. Looking online, I discovered that others had already created recipes that come very close to being PF Chang’s-worthy. This recipe will help you create an at-home meal that feels a little bit more creative and special.  And, did I mention the recipe is easy?

This recipe does require a few ingredients you may not always have on hand, but these sauces can be used to make many different home-cooked Asian-inspired meals. They also keep a very long time in the refrigerator. They are a good investment that yield a return of many deliciously-seasoned meals.

These can all be found in the Asian food section of most grocery stores. The first is rice vinegar - it is a nice, light, tangy vinegar that can be used to season in cooked foods and is also a staple in most homemade Asian dipping sauces. Next, reduced-sodium soy sauce - not as unusual, but I highly recommend the reduced-sodium version. Third, we have toasted sesame oil. There are two types of sesame oil, one that is lighter in color and a darker version that is toasted. The flavor difference is very dramatic. The toasted variety is much, much more flavorful and a few drops goes a very long way. It must be stored in the refrigerator, but it will keep for many, many months without going rancid. Just be sure to get the dark brown sesame oil. If you do not see toasted sesame oil in the Asian section, check the section with olive oil and other types of oil Lastly, we have hoisin sauce. Hoisin is a Chinese barbecue-type sauce. It is thick and sweet and adds nice complex flavors to dishes and sauces.

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