Tropical Sangria-- Royal Wedding Style

Somewhere inside of me lives a tiny girl who likes to believe in fairytales. Well, that girl came out to play on April 29th-- that is, the Royal Wedding day. While I vowed not to be one of those people who stayed up all night, I thought that DVR-ing the event seemed like perfectly acceptable behavior for a mature 28 year old woman. (Forget the fact that I woke up at 4 to make sure it was recording, and then stayed in bed for an hour at 7 waiting for the first kiss). What seemed even more acceptable was to share this event with other mature 20 something women. If everyone was watching and interested, then it couldn't possibly be silly or childish to be excited about this, right?

Anyway, I hosted a casual affair, and while I originally thought of making a British meal, when my friend Lisa offered to make so-good-you-won't-care-you-gained-five-pounds mac and cheese, I quickly accepted. And my friend Mandy brought strawberry margarita pie which was just as glorious as it sounds. So, I decided to be completely lazy and provide a beverage. My dad gave me an awesome juicer for Christmas, and I was looking through the recipes that came with it and decided to make Tropical Sangria. It was surprisingly delicious. It was very light, and sweet but not sugary. I think the canteloupe was the most interesting part. Though the flavor is recognizable, it is so unique to drink it instead of eat it.

• 1 bottle white wine -- mine was actually peach wine that my sister got me in Georgia. I liked the peach flavor so much that I think I would include peach juice if I ever made this again with other wine. 
• a few shots of brandy (this is optional, and I didn't include it since nobody was really interested in drinking too much)
• juice of 1/2 canteloupe
• juice of 1/2 orange (slice other half for garnish)
• juice of 1/2 apple (slice other half for garnish)

Combine ingredients in a pitcher and serve over ice.

Pork Tenderloin with Sauteed Apples

For the first time in my life, I didn't spend Easter with some portion of my family. I was just so rundown from being sick that I couldn't bear to dress up or put a smile on my face. And while I typically do not cook at all while I am sick, I was so hyper-vigilant about using hand sanitizer that I decided to make a quick but elegant Easter supper.

Pork tenderloin is my favorite thing to eat and to prepare, so that was a no-brainer, but I tried something new for a marinade and a side. I'm very excited to say that I used locally made bourbon for my marinade, and while I am no bourbon expert, I think it was very good. The end result on this dish was great. It was salty, sweet, spicy, and tangy all at once. Most of it I just made up as I went along, but I tried to keep track of what I was doing so I can re-create it some day!


Apple Bourbon marinade:

• 1 cup fresh apple juice (I used two granny smith apples and my neato juicer)
• 1 cup of Iowa bourbon
• 2 tsp ground ginger
• a few whole cloves
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1 tsp cumin
• 2 TBSP light brown sugar

I rubbed the marinade onto a pork tenderloin that was just over a pound. I poured over the excess and let it sit for about 2 hours. The pork was on the grill for about 40 minutes (on medium high heat), and I turned it twice. After taking it off, I let it sit for 5-10 minutes before slicing it. While the pork was cooking, I turned the marinade into a sauce. Most importantly, I brought it to a ROLLING BOIL for several minutes to kill any raw-pork germs. Then, I just let it reduce. I added a few shakes of all the original spices b/c I felt like I couldn't taste them, but that's it.

Sauteed Apples

• 3 TBSP butter (well, I used smart balance)
• 1 large yellow onion, thinly sliced
• 3 granny smith apples, pealed, cored, and thinly sliced. 
• ground ginger, ground cloves, cumin, and sea salt to taste
• 1 TBSP brown sugar

Basically, I melted the butter in a large skillet and then threw in the onions and apples to caramelize. I kept everything on Med-low heat and just let it do it's thing for probably 30 minutes. I stirred occasionally. Right at the end, I felt like things weren't as caramel-y as I wanted, so I added in the bit of sugar to quickly melt.

To serve, I put the apple onion mixture down on a tray, and laid the pork slices over the top, and then poured the sauce over the whole thing.

This was unique, but a winner!!

And for dessert? EASTER CANDY!

St. Patrick's Day Extravaganza -- photos

Apple Shortbread Pie

My beautiful Irish Soda Bread

heaven?

A little fun

The Irish chef busy at work

a perfect partnership

The aftermath of a roast leg of lamb

Peas and onions roasted in pan drippings from the lamb

Timmy's piece de resistance, the Corned Beef!

Fennel Apple Slaw

Last summer, my friends Lisa, Mandy, and I had a weekly True Blood supper club where we would get together to watch some vampire amazingness and try out new recipes. Every week we would rotate who would bring the salad, entree, and dessert. One week, Lisa brought an amazing fennel apple slaw that I have been making every few weeks since.

It is incredibly easy to make and the light crisp flavors of the apple mixed with the rich licorice of the fennel and salty parmesan are just incredible!

Serves four as a side salad (or two with lunch the next day).
1 bulb fennel chopped (it doesn't matter the way you chop as long as you make the pieces the same size and shape as the apple)
1 apple chopped-- I've used granny smith or golden delicious.
Juice from one lemon
2 TBSP olive oil
large handful of italian parsley-- roughly chopped
quarter cup of parmesan (shredded or shaved)
Salt and pepper to taste


Even Tim liked this when I served it with the mac and cheese-- I consider that a feat!