"Themed Dinners"

Some of our friends decided that we should start having "themed" dinners once a month. There are 8 of us, 4 couples and each month the host gets to choose the theme. Sounds fun huh? We are starting this month and the theme is Gourds....very seasonal. I had a bit of a hard time deciding on a main dish but ultimately chose a Bobby Flay's Mesa Grill Pumpkin soup, until my cousin told me about a curry pumpkin soup that is flawless. So I changed my mind and now that's what I will be making, and yes I changed my mind the day before the dinner. I am also going to be baking a Bourbon Pumpkin Tart. I haven't made it or tried it before but it sure looks good. Fingers crossed, it's been a while since a baked... I mean really baked!

So here is the plan ( hopefully ) I will blog the recipes I make, pictures may be limited because making a tart crust and taking pictures sounds like a doozy.. and then I will take pictures of the dinner and give reviews! If you like what you see, I can give you the recipes!

Mongolian Beef

Mongolian Beef

I found this recipe on one of my favorite food blogs and decided to try it out. I love Mongolian beef although I rarely order it because there are so many good things to try at a new chinese restaurant. We live very close to an asian neighborhood with authentic chinese food, not your P.F. Changs so called chinese food and having been to China, I don't think we ever saw Mongolian beef on the menu. Now, I love Changs as much as the next guy but when you want real chinese food that's not where you go! So, with that said I decided to try this out and it was delish, now when we want fake out take out we can make it ourselves!

Ingredients

1 lb of flank steak, thinly sliced crosswise
1/4 cup of cornstarch
3 teaspoons of canola oil
1/2 teaspoon of grated ginger (about 1/2 inch piece)
1 tablespoon of chopped garlic (about 2 -3 large cloves)
1/2 cup of water
1/2 cup of soy sauce

1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon of red pepper flakes
3 large green onions, sliced crosswise into thirds

Directions:

Prepare the meat:

First, make sure the steak slices are dry (pat them dry) and mix them with the corn starch. Using your hands or a spoon, move them around to make sure all pieces are coated. Place beef slices in a strainer and shake off excess corn starch (see picture bellow).

Make the sauce:

Heat half of the oil in a large wok at medium-high and add the garlic and ginger. Immediately add the soy sauce, water, brown sugar and pepper flakes. Cook the sauce for about 2 minutes and transfer to a bowl. Don't worry if the sauce doesn't look thick enough at this point. The corn starch in the beef will thicken it up later.
Cook the meat and assemble dish:
Turn the heat up and add the remaining oil to the wok. Add the beef and cook, stirring until it is all browned (this is a quick thing). Pour the sauce back into the wok and let it cook along with the meat. Now you can choose to cook it down and reduce the sauce or leave it thinner. Add the green onions on the last minute so the green parts will stay green and the white parts crunchy.
Serve it hot with rice.

Source: Confessions of a Foodie Bride

cilantro chutney

Cilantro Chutney

4 servings

Ingredients

2 Cups freshly packed cilantro leaves

1-2 Serrano chilies ( how hot can you take it ), roughly chopped

2 large garlic cloves roughly chopped

1 inch piece ginger, peeled and roughly chopped

juice of 1/2 lime

water, if needed to thin out

salt to taste

Directions

In a blender, blend all the ingredients until smooth. You may need to add a little water to help the blending process. The consistency may be adjusted according to your own liking.
Refrigerate and use immediately!

Maple mustard pork tenderloin

We visit Costco pretty frequently and every time we go I like to choose a different protein to keep in the freezer. Pork tenderloins are great because they are so versatile. This dish is sweet and savory and the maple syrup caramelizes on the pork...mmm mmm good!

Maple Mustard Pork Tenderloin

Ingredients

2 (1/2-pound) pork tenderloins
Cooking spray
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
6 tablespoons maple syrup, divided
1 tablespoon chopped fresh or 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Directions

Preheat oven to 425°.
Trim fat from pork. Place pork on a broiler pan coated with cooking spray.

Combine mustard, 2 tablespoons syrup, rosemary, salt, and pepper in a small bowl;

and then brush over pork.

Insert meat thermometer into thickest part of pork. Bake at 425° for 25 minutes or until thermometer registers 160° (slightly pink).

Kale with Caramelized Onions

This recipe is courtesy of Health magazine! It's a new spin on kale, it's easy and good for you! Whats better than that?

Kale with Caramelized Onions

Ingredients

2 teaspoons olive oil
1 1/2 cups chopped red onion
2 teaspoons honey
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 (10-ounce) bag prewashed chopped kale or spinach

Directions

Heat oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add onion; sauté 7 minutes or until golden.

Add honey, salt, and pepper; cook 2 minutes.

Add kale; cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook 6 minutes or just until kale is tender, stirring after 3 minutes.

Seared pork chops with a Cilantro Date sauce

This recipe is part Nathan Lyon's and part mine. I watched him make a Lamb loin with mint date sauce on DHC and it looked so amazing. I knew I wasn't going to go out and buy a rack of lamb so I gave it some thought and decided on pork loin chops. This recipe turned out to be a big hit and I know it will become a staple in my house.

Seared Pork Chops with a Cilantro Date Sauce

Ingredients

2 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 small sweet onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, chopped

1/2 Serrano or Jalapeno chili, seeded, small dice

1 cup dates, pitted, chopped

1 tsp red wine vinegar

1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon water

1/2 cup cilantro, chopped

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

2-4 Pork loin chops

Kosher salt and pepper

Directions For the Sauce

In a saute pan over medium low heat add 1 Tbs Olive Oil, onion and the garlic. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Then add the dates and chilies and cook until softened.

Add the water and simmer until thick and reduced.

Stir in Cilantro and season with salt and pepper.

Directions for the Pork

Preheat oven to 400

Season pork on both sides. In large oven safe saute pan, heat until hot. Add 1 Tbs olive oil and heat until shimmering. Sear pork on both sides until nicely colored about 1-2 minutes per side. Transfer pork to the oven and continue cooking until cooked through about 5-10 minutes depending on thickness. Serve with the cilantro date sauce and ENJOY!

Coconut Curried Pork, Edamame and Mango stir fry

This is a twist on a Cooking Light recipe. The original recipe called for Snow peas and bottled mango. Well my produce store didn't have the freshest snow peas so I decided to go with frozen edamame and I thought fresh mango would work just fine. I also reduced the amount of fish sauce from 1 Tbs to 1/2 Tbs. I hope you like!

Coconut Curried Pork, Edamame and Mango Stir-Fry

Ingredients

1 (1-pound) pork tenderloin, trimmed
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 teaspoon red curry powder
1 cup shelled edamame soy beans
1/3 cup light coconut milk
1/2 tablespoon fish sauce
1 teaspoon red curry paste (such as Thai Kitchen)
1 cup mango, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/2 cup sliced green onions, divided
2 tablespoons shredded coconut
4 lime wedges -optional

Directions

Cut pork into 1-inch cubes. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle pork evenly with curry powder. Add pork to pan; stir-fry 3 minutes, then add the edamame.

Combine coconut milk, fish sauce, and curry paste, stirring well. Add milk mixture to pan; bring to a simmer. Stir in mango and 1/4 cup onions; cook 1 minute or until thoroughly heated.

Remove from heat and serve with rice or couscous. Sprinkle each serving with 1 Tbs of remaining green onions and 1 1/2 tsp shredded coconut. Serve with lime wedges, if desired.