I came upon a variation of this unique blend of tastes while working an event. The Chef had made a pork roast and used Dijon mustard and Maple syrup to make a gravy for the roast. The resulting flavor of the roast was something out of this world. What I have done here is take the basics for his recipe and with some minor adjustments came up with a pan sauce that is easy and very rewarding. The recipe below will serve one person.

You will need:
One Pork Tenderloin – approx. 3/4 pounds in weight.
Olive Oil – enough to coat bottom of skillet
Sea Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper – to taste.
Dijon Mustard – 2 TBSP – I used Grey Poupin
Pure Maple Syrup – 2 TBSP – NB: Pure Maple Syrup only.
White Wine – approx 1/4 cup
Unsalted butter – two TBSP

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Remove all silver skin from tenderloin then cut loin into approx. 2 inch medallions. Turn medallions onto the cut edge and compress to about 1 and 1/2 inch thick. Heat skillet to medium high, add olive oil and heat until shimmering. Place medallions in skillet but do not crowd, sear on both sides. Remove pork from skillet and place in an ovenproof vessel while preparing sauce.

Pour off any excess oil from skillet, add wine to deglaze the fond form the pan, immediately add mustard and maple syrup whisking vigorously. Remove from heat and hold until pork tenderloin is finished (internal temp reads 140 Degrees F). When pork is finished remove from oven, cover with foil, finish sauce. Return skillet with sauce to medium heat, as soon as bubbles start to appear at edges add butter one tablespoon at a time remove pan from heat and swirl butter, do not whisk or stir as the chances of the sauce breaking are increased, until it is melted into the sauce.

Serve with mashed potato and oven roasted sweet corn nobs.

We were given an opportunity to try a new product from Montillo Italian Foods. Vino Cotto di Montillo is a a semi-sweet reduction of premium wine grapes that has been used in Calabrian cooking for generations. We combined the Vino Cotto with raisens and pine nuts creating a sauce that is not only unique but very satisfying. Even your most demanding gourmand will appreciate this rather simple presentation. As with our other recipes we try to develop new ideas with the home cook in mind. We strive to create a meal that takes 30 minutes or less in cooking time. This pork tenderloin recipe turned out great. The earthy richness of the polenta is a perfect compliment to the fragrant sauce.

You will need:
Pork Tenderloin – approx. 4 oz/serving
Sea Salt and fresh ground pepper
Olive Oil
Unsalted butter
Pine nuts – approx. 1 oz/serving toasted
Raisens – approx. 1 oz/serving (soak raisens in Vino Cotto – use enough to cover)
Vino Cotto di Montillo – approx. 5 TBSP/serving
Salt free chicken stock – approx. 2 TBSP/serving
Polenta – approx. 1/4 cup dry/serving.

Prepare the pork:
Remove any excess fat and silver skin from tenderloin. Cut into tournedos at least one inch thick, season with sea salt and pepper. In a sauté pan large enough to hold the tournedos without crowding brown until a nice rich crust is formed (about 6 minutes/per side). Don’t walk away from this step as to negate the possibility of burning. If your pan is not large enough you can brown the pork in batches. Remove pork from pan and place in oven preheated to 350° F and cook until internal temperature reaches 140° F. Remove from oven and keep warm. Remember that the pork will continue to cook while it rests and will come to 145 – 150° F for serving.

For the sauce:
Pour off any excess fat from the sauté pan. Heat the pan on high for about a minute then off heat add the chicken stock, return to heat and deglaze. Reduce the stock by about 1/2 then add Vino Cotto and soaked raisens. Bring to a rapid simmer then add 1TBSP cold butter and swirl into sauce. Return pork tenderloins to sauce to warm through. Add pine nuts just before serving. Cook polenta according to package recipe. Spoon polenta onto serving plate, top with Pork Tenderloin tournedos and spoon sauce over all.

You will get rave reviews with this one. Enjoy!

To purchase an 8.5 oz. bottle of Vino Cotto di Montillo for the low price of $15.95/bottle just send us a note.

Sure, everyone has their family recipe for Sunday gravy, well that is if you were of Italian heritage, others would refer to this as Spaghetti Sauce. Well I’ve made many a Sunday Gravy, had some failures and some great successes, this recipe has always proved to be one of my best.

This recipe will make approximately 20 cups of gravy.

For the gravy you will need:
Four 28 oz cans crushed tomatoes
One small can tomato paste
Two cups beef stock
One medium size sweet onion
Carrots – enough to equal the volume of the onion
Four or five sprigs fresh oregano
Four or five garlic cloves
Fresh ground pepper
Kosher salt

Two pounds country ribs
Two pounds Italian Sausage (your choice of sweet or hot)

For the meatballs

Two pounds ground chuck
One pound ground pork
One pound ground veal or turkey
Enough stale bread (I used leftover Italian bread) to equal the volume of the ground meats
Two cups milk (or more if necessary)
Two cups shredded Parmesan cheese
Two large eggs
Olive oil
Vegetable oil

In a heavy bottom stock pot heat four tablespoons olive oil until shimmering. Place carrots, onion and garlic in a food processor and run until the vegetables are of a paste consistency. Thoroughly brown the country ribs (in batches if necessary) until a nice brown crust forms, remove and set aside. Pour off any liquid from the stockpot, add four tablespoons olive oil, reheat until shimmering then brown the Italian sausage until a nice brown crust forms, remove and set aside. Pour off any liquid, add two tablespoons olive oil, and reheat until shimmering. Place vegetable past along with tomato paste to the stockpot and cook until the mix is somewhat dry. De-glaze pot with the beef stock scraping up all the fond at the bottom of the pot. Add the four cans of crushed tomatoes, the sprigs of oregano and the ribs and sausage to the stockpot. Reduce heat to very low, place lid over pot and simmer for 5 or 6 hours. To reduce the possibility of the gravy burning I take one of the unused burner grates, place it on top of the burner you are using, make sure that it is firmly in place, put the stockpot on that tiered burner. Stir the gravy every occasionally to insure a good mixture.

While the gravy is simmering make the meatballs. Break up the stale bread into medium to small chunks, but into a bowl large enough to hold the bread and both meats. Pour one-cup milk into the bowl, as the bread starts to absorb the milk using a fork start to mash the bread. If there is not enough milk continue adding more until you can mash the bread into a paste. Add the parmesan cheese, the eggs, the meats, salt and pepper (to taste) and using very clean hands or hand covered with rubber gloves and work the mixture until it is thoroughly combined. Form the mixture into equal balls (I like mine large). In a sauté pan large enough to hold the meatballs, heat approximately one-quarter cup of vegetable oil until shimmering. Carefully lower meatballs into oil, do not crowd, work in batches if necessary, and cook until a nice brown crust forms rotate balls until all sides have that same rich brown crust. Set aside meatballs until cooled enough then place in the refrigerator. During the last one to one and a half hours of cooking the gravy, add the meatballs submerging them to cover. During the last half hour taste the gravy for seasoning and adjust if necessary. Once the time used in this recipe is completed, cool to room temperature.

Remove the meatballs, sausage and ribs from the gravy and portion two cups of the liquid into quart freezer bags for future use. Similarly portion out the meatballs, ribs and sausage into quart freezer bags for future use.

Over the holidays I had an excess of pomegranate, and not wanting to waste them, I separated the seeds and froze them in a zip log bag. I knew that I would be looking for something different and just recently came up with this quick dish. Additionally, I had purchased a large quantity of pork loin cut into steaks, it was a deal, price wise, so I just couldn’t pass them up. You can substitute pork chops very easily.

You will need:
Pork Loin Steak – approx. 6 oz./serving
Olive oil
Fresh ground pepper
Kosher or Sea Salt
Pomegranate Seeds – approx. 1 TBSP/serving
Pomegranate juice – approx. 2 TBSP/serving (I used POM brand)
Beef stock – approx. 2 TBSP/serving
Unsalted butter – approx. 1/4 TBSP/serving

Prepare the pork – heat a sauté pan (oven-proof, not non-stick) over medium high heat, brush both sides of pork with olive oil, salt and pepper to taste (it is OK to be generous here). Sear pork to get a nice rich color on both sides, put into a pre-heated 350 degree F oven to finish (cook until temperature is 140 degrees)

For Glacé – when pork is finished remove from sauté pan, keep warm by covering it with aluminum foil. Deglaze the pan with pomegranate juice scrapping up the fond. When juice starts to thicken add beef stock, pomegranate seeds and butter. Heat through until butter is emulsified into the sauce, pour over pork and serve. If you don’t have the pomegranate seeds diced dried cherries will work. Enjoy!

This simple sauce is made from a variety of very ripe tomatoes from the garden. I call this a starter sauce as it could be used, with some additional ingredients, in many regional/ethnic recipes. Here I have outlined the sauce and thereafter showed some variable.

For the starter sauce:
Garden ripened tomatoes – any assortment you might have
Garlic bulbs – use any ratio depending on your personal taste
Good quality olive oil
Sea Salt
Cracked pepper

Heat oven to 350° F. While oven is heating core out the stem side of the tomato, just enough to remove the stem attachement, cut a small “X” into the other side. Place the tomatoes, cored side down on a baking sheet, cover liberally with olive oil, salt and pepper. Separate garlic bulb into cloves and add to the baking sheet. Roast the tomatoes and garlic until skins are blistered and cracked [NB: Time needed will depend on the size of the largest tomato]. Once the tomatoes and garlic are roasted remove from oven and let cool completely on the baking sheet.

Place a strainer/sieve over a non-reactive bowl and squeeze the tomatoes to remove seeds and inner membrane. Press any solid through the strainer/sieve leaving only the seeds behind. Crush the tomatoes into the bowl holding the juices. Cut off the stem end of the garlic gloves and squeeze the pulp into the tomato liquid. Place tomato/garlic mixture into a sauce pot, season with additional salt if needed and cook over low heat until the tomatoes break down to your desired texture.

For an Italian style sauce: Add torn fresh basil, oregano and olive oil just before serving.
For a Mediterranean style sauce: Add finely sliced red bell pepper, finely sliced sweet onion, pitted and sliced black olives and fresh oregano [NB: Simmer the added vegetables in the sauce until they wilt then add the oregano just before serving]
For a Spanish style sauce: Add any of the following in any combination [NB: this will need some trial and error here for although they each compliment the other quantities will need to be adjusted to personal taste} ground clove, paprika, cinnamon, parsley, mint, rosemary and thyme

This is my rendition of the ever-popular Olive salad used by many when preparing a Muffuletta Sandwich. I think you will like this spread and use it for any sandwich you decide to build. The recipe below will give you enough to cover a 9″ Focaccia round or one 6 x 12″ Ciabatta loaf.

You will Need:
Pimento Stuffed Olives – 3/4 cup
Pitted Black Olives – 1/4 cup
Capers – approximately 2 TBSP
Fresh Garlic – 1 or 2 cloves
Fresh Basil – 1 ounce
Fresh Mint – 1 ounce
Orange Zest – approximately 1/2 TBSP
Lemon Zest – approximately 1/2 TBSP
Extra Virgin Olive Oil – use the good stuff here – approximately 3 TBSP
Balsamic Vinegar – 1 tsp

In a food processor place basil and mint in a food processor and chop to a fine past. Add both zests, garlic and half the olive oil, vinegar and process until garlic gloves are incorporated. Add both olives and capers and pulse until the olives are approximately 1/8″ dice. You might need to add some of the balance of the olive oil if the product gets too dry. This is a visual step depending on how much liquid is exuded from the olives and capers. You can make this ahead and store in the refrigerator, bring to room temperature before use.

A very simple alternative to the typical Basil Pesto.

You will need:
Fresh Oregano approximately 1 ounce.
Olive oil
Lemon zest from one lemon
Lemon juice from 1/2 lemon
Parmesan cheese
Pine nuts

In a dry sauté pan, toast the pine nuts just until they begin to brown. Break apart the parmesan cheese for easier chopping and place in a food processor and chop until coarse, add oregano and continue to process until oregano is well chopped. Drizzle in enough olive oil to produce a silky mayonnaise consistency product, add lemon zest and juice to taste (you can omit the juice if the product gets too moist, the zest will provide enough flavor). Remove mixture from food process and stir in toasted pine nuts.

This easy to prepare glaze works well with pork, chicken or fish. I usually prepare just enough for two servings but can easily be made in bulk.

You will need:
Tamari Soy Sauce – approximately 2 TBS/2 servings
Mirin – approximately 2 TBS/2 servings
Ginger – puréed – approximately 1 tsp/2 servings
Toasted Sesame Oil – approximately 1 tsp/2 servings
Dark Brown Sugar – approximately 1 tsp/2 servings.

Whisk together all ingedients, put in a sauce pot and cook until glaze thickens.

NB:You can replace the Mirin by adding sugar to white wine replicating the flavor of the Mirin.

You will need:

Cognac (I used Hennessey VS) 2 TBS
Orange Marmalade (I used Smuckers Simply Fruit) 1 cup
Honey/Dijon Mustard (I used Plochman’s) 2 TBS + 1 tsp
Habanero Pepper 1/2 with seeds (cut pepper in half lengthwise

In a small sauce pot add cognac and habanero pepper bring to a boil to cook off alcohol. Add marmalade and honey/mustard. Turn heat down so that glaze just simmers, put on lid and cook for 5 minutes. Remove habanero pepper. As an alternative you can omit the pepper or use milder Jalapeno pepper. The glaze can be made ahead and reheated when needed. Brush glaze on ham, pork or chicken and roast as you would normally. You can re-glaze the meat half way through cooking time to enhance the flavor.