Brine! And so much More!

I have recently discovered the goodness of brining.  http://www.howtocookmeat.com/briningmeat.htm is a great site to learn not just about brining but how to cook all sorts of meats.  Clear instructions and quantities.

I brined pork chops that Michael said were the best pork chops I have ever made :) 2 C chicken stock, ¼ C kosher salt, ¼ C brown cane sugar, ½ tsp black peppercorns, 2 bay leaves, ½ Tbsp apple cider vinegar, 2 C ice water is the basic recipe.  I let them sit turning once for about 6 hours in the fridge.  Then I broiled them to almost complete the cooking, then I added balsamic vinegar to make a glaze and seared them in a very hot pan.  Maybe a bit labor intensive, but obviously worth it.

Denise and Joe and Tom and Monica were here for dinner last Friday night and I brined Turkey tenderloins for about 4 hours, turning once, covering them in brown mustard, then with strips of black pepper bacon, then roasting them in the oven with fingerling potatoes, pearl onions and whole garlic cloves.  They remained really moist.  I served them with mesclun salad with thinly sliced red onion and crumbled French Feta cheese with garlic vinegar and olive oil.  Also, Brussels sprouts sauteed with pancetta and garlic.  Monica brought a yummy dessert of raspberry whipped cream in a chocolate cookie crumb crust.

Saturday night Michael and I went to a BBQ at the little league fields.  Peggy made great chili, Carl was the pit master grilling hot dogs, hamburgers and sausage.  It was a fun night under the stars!

Sunday afternoon Michael and I went into the city with Brett and Lenny to meet Jill after the Avon Breast Cancer Walk.  She is a ten year survivor this year!!!!!!!!!!  We also met her sister Karen and their cousins Vince and Patty.  We all went to Dinosaur BBQ for a yummy dinner:  Hot wings with garlic chipotle sauce, fried green tomatoes (which were $8.95 for 5 slices-WAY too pricey, but good. However, I will not order them again on principle), chicken, ribs, brisket, portobello, corn bread, collard greens, rice, baked beans, a few beers and cosmos and we were stuffed and happy!

This past week I made borscht with meat and matzoh balls.  Borscht, if you like beets, and I do, is so yummy.  My grandmother and mother used to make it for holidays, but I make it just because.  I also made turkey chili with my homemade adobo spice. 

Thursday night, Jennie and I took Barbara out for her birthday to Barosa.  We shared a few glasses of wine and a chopped salad.  I had shrimp parmigiana with spaghetti (it's be sooo long since I had that).  Jennie had sausage and broccoli rabe (her favorite) and Barbara had linguine carbonara that was fantastic.  We shared a creme brulee for dessert with no singing of Happy Birthday and it was a great evening with friends!

Last night, Michael and I went to Ariana's Sweet 16 at Larkfield Manor.  The DJ was fun, everyone was dancing, all night (my feet are crippled).  There was all sorts of food on the buffet and all sorts of drinks at the bar.  We got home at 1am.  Way past my bedtime, but we had so much fun with our friends.

Tonight we are going to Glenn and Eileen's for Sarah's 17th birthday party.  Eileen is making a big pot of turkey chili with all the fixings and I know we will have a great time with our friends!  We are very lucky to have such a wonderful "framily."

I will try to write more often, I have no idea where I've been lately.  xo