Roasted Pork Loin with Apples and Brie

I know I whine about this a lot, but I’m getting older!!!! I don’t want to say old because I plan on living a good long, happy life. But life definitely changes as you age.

Now I’m not sure if it’s the closing in on three decades of life or the twenty years I’ve spent pushing my body, but I am FOR SURE feeling the aches and pains as of late. As I type my ankle is iced up and elevated. Depressing.

Wes has prescribed me one week of no yoga, spinning or walking with mom and dad. Which just means I’ll be spending more time in the kitchen making tasty dishes for the family since Josh just came home from Europe!

He isn’t a huge fan of fish and has been getting plenty of beef in Budva, so I’ll be mixing it up with proteins like this one. The pork loin is delicious, but the creamy, sweet and savory filling takes it too the next level.

You will need…

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 ½ lb pork loin, butterflied

2 tablespoons butter

2 honey crisp or gala apples, diced

1 small onion, diced

¼ cup parsley, finely chopped

½ teaspoon cinnamon

¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper

¼ cup dry white wine

8 slice Brie cheese

3 cups chicken stock

Salt and pepper to taste

Butchers twine

Start by preheating your oven to 400 degrees F.

While the oven is preheating, heat the butter in a large sauté pan over medium heat.

When the butter has melted, toss in the onions and the apples. Season well with salt and pepper and sauté until the onions are starting to lightly brown. About 8 minutes.

Add in the white wine and simmer until the liquid is almost gone.

Toss in the cinnamon, cayenne pepper and parsley and cook for an additional minute and then remove from the heat.

Lay out the loin and pound until season well with salt and pepper.

At one end of the loin lay out the Brie and 1 to 2 cups of the apple and onion filling.

Roll the loin up and tie twine around it so that it is secure.

Heat the olive oil over medium high heat in a large pan. When the oil is hot, add in the loin and seared until browned on all sides. About 10 minutes.

Place the loin in a roasting pan and roast in the oven until cooked until the internal temp is 145 degrees F. About 20 minutes.

While the loin is roasting, place the remaining apple and onion mix back over medium high heat. Add in the chicken stock and simmer until the stock has reduced by half.

When the pork has finished roasting, remove from the oven and let the loin rest for 5 minutes, covered with foil.

Slice into ½ inch slices, top with apple and onion sauce and serve hot.

Love and Beer Floats

Angela 

Roasted Pork Loin with Apples and Brie

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 ½ lb pork loin, butterflied

2 tablespoons butter

2 honey crisp or gala apples, diced

1 small onion, diced

¼ cup parsley, finely chopped

½ teaspoon cinnamon

¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper

¼ cup dry white wine

8 slice Brie cheese

3 cups chicken stock

Salt and pepper to taste

Butchers twine

Start by preheating your oven to 400 degrees F.

While the oven is preheating, heat the butter in a large sauté pan over medium heat.

When the butter has melted, toss in the onions and the apples. Season well with salt and pepper and sauté until the onions are starting to lightly brown. About 8 minutes.

Add in the white wine and simmer until the liquid is almost gone.

Toss in the cinnamon, cayenne pepper and parsley and cook for an additional minute and then remove from the heat.

Lay out the loin and pound until season well with salt and pepper.

At one end of the loin lay out the Brie and 1 to 2 cups of the apple and onion filling.

Roll the loin up and tie twine around it so that it is secure.

Heat the olive oil over medium high heat in a large pan. When the oil is hot, add in the loin and seared until browned on all sides. About 10 minutes.

Place the loin in a roasting pan and roast in the oven until cooked until the internal temp is 145 degrees F. About 20 minutes.

While the loin is roasting, place the remaining apple and onion mix back over medium high heat. Add in the chicken stock and simmer until the stock has reduced by half.

When the pork has finished roasting, remove from the oven and let the loin rest for 5 minutes, covered with foil.

Slice into ½ inch slices, top with apple and onion sauce and serve hot. 

Heirloom Tomato Bruschetta with Brie and Balsamic Drizzle

So I have come to a conclusion. I have decided that a camera should follow me twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.

Not because I’m super funny or interesting. Not because I’m profound or inspiring.

I need to be followed with a camera because my every day life is some of the best slapstick humor out there.

On any given day, I slip, trip, smack, bang and bump myself COUNTLESS times. I don’t even want to put a ballpark number on it because I don’t think that would do it justice.

Just yesterday, I got into work and went straight for my first morning project. The coffee. We have a wonderful coffee machine in the office, but you have to make sure the water stays above a certain level. As I took a full cup of water and tried to move it from the water dispenser to the machine, a total of three feet, I caught the cup of water on the corner of the counter and it went flying EVERYWHERE. In the few hours following, I banged my knee four times and ran into my next-door neighbor’s cube wall, almost taking the whole thing down. And circa three in the afternoon, I went to make tea and somehow managed in one motion to launch the lid of the tin tea canister directly into my face, only to stomp it into a twisted mess the second it hit the floor.

Seriously, where was the camera?

And I’m not even going to talk about the spilling problem.

Basically, I am absolutely a walking disaster and you are all missing out on some solid laughs.

There is no doubt in my mind or those who spend any time with me, that I’m clumsy. But somehow, the only place I seem to be able to keep it together is in the kitchen. In the kitchen, I have some finesse. In the kitchen, I’m less bull in a china shop and more elegant stallion, galloping and prancing around the kitchen with speed and grace.

All right, that last analogy was super weird, but you get the point.

This is a dish that just came along organically from a trip to the market and it just fell into place. Without any actual falling.

You will need…

1 lb heirloom tomatoes, diced into ½ inch cubes

1 clove garlic, minced

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon chopped mint

¼ cup balsamic vinegar

2 ounces robust and creamy cheese, like Brie

1 sourdough baguette, sliced into ½ inch thick slices

Salt and pepper to taste

Start by combining your garlic and olive oil and let the garlic infused for 30 minutes up to 24 hours.

Preheat your oven to broil.

Lay out the bread slices on a baking sheet and broil until toasted 2 to 3 minutes a side.

Remove the bread from the oven and set it aside to cool.

While the bread is cooling, bring the vinegar to a simmer in a small saucepan over medium heat. Simmer the vinegar until it is reduced by half. About 8 minutes.

As the vinegar is reducing, combine the garlic and olive oil, mint and tomatoes together in a bowl. Toss well and season with salt and pepper.

Spread the cheese onto the toasted bread.

When the balsamic drizzle is ready, top the toasted bread with a hearty helping of the tomato mixture.

Drizzle the balsamic over the top of the tomatoes and serve.

Love and Beer Floats

Angela 

Heirloom Tomato Bruschetta with Brie and Balsamic Drizzle

1 lb heirloom tomatoes, diced into ½ inch cubes

1 clove garlic, minced

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon chopped mint

¼ cup balsamic vinegar

2 ounces robust and creamy cheese, like Brie

1 sourdough baguette, sliced into ½ inch thick slices

Salt and pepper to taste

Start by combining your garlic and olive oil and let the garlic infused for 30 minutes up to 24 hours.

Preheat your oven to broil.

Lay out the bread slices on a baking sheet and broil until toasted 2 to 3 minutes a side.

Remove the bread from the oven and set it aside to cool.

While the bread is cooling, bring the vinegar to a simmer in a small saucepan over medium heat. Simmer the vinegar until it is reduced by half. About 8 minutes.

As the vinegar is reducing, combine the garlic and olive oil, mint and tomatoes together in a bowl. Toss well and season with salt and pepper.

Spread the cheese onto the toasted bread.

When the balsamic drizzle is ready, top the toasted bread with a hearty helping of the tomato mixture.

Drizzle the balsamic over the top of the tomatoes and serve. 

Brie and White Cheddar Grilled Cheese with Apples, Bacon, and Balsamic Shallots

I’ve done some things in my life I’m not proud of. I’m sure that most of you feel the same way.

In the past, there have been some moments where I’ve felt pretty jerk like.

Most recently was last weekend.

No one in my house knows how, or when, but Lily (or crazy, indoor cat) got out of the house.

We have no idea how long she was out there. But it took us a solid thirty-six hours to even notice she was gone. Jerks.

Luckily, she is such a freakazoid that she was probably hovering in a bush by the back door the whole time. Only a couple hours after she was discovered missing, she got brave enough to meow until let in my parents screen door.

We are all feeling much better now that she is home and we are appreciating her weirdness just a little bit more than usual.

Right this moment she is sitting near me, at a healthy distance of course, all comfortable like.

Comfortable just like this yummy grilled cheese.

You will need…

8 slices your favorite crusty bread (I used a roasted garlic French bread)

1 green apple, thinly sliced

3 slices crispy bacon, roughly chopped

8 to 12 slices brie cheese (depending on how large your slices are)

12 to 16 slices sharp white cheddar cheese (depending on how large your slices are)

2 cups arugula

2 shallots, thinly sliced

¼ cup balsamic vinegar

2 tablespoons berry jam

2 tablespoons butter, softened

Start by adding the balsamic and shallots to a medium pan over medium heat.

Cook down the shallots until they are softened, browned and all he liquid is gone. About 10 to 15 minutes.

While the shallots are cooking down, pair up your bread slices as they will be for the sandwiches.

Spread the butter on the outside parts of each sandwich and spread each inside part of the sandwich with the jam.

Then, start to layer your sandwich. Start by layering the bottom slice of bread with a layer of apples. Follow it up with a layer of brie. Then add a layer of crumbled bacon, followed by a layer of arugula. Finally, add a layer of balsamic shallots and a layer of cheddar.

Top the pile of deliciousness with the top slice of bread.

Add your sandwiches to a large pan over medium high heat. Or if you are a lucky ducky, you can make these in your panini maker.

Cook until the bread is browned on both sides and the cheese melted. About 4 minutes a side.

Slice and serve hot.

Love and Beer Floats

Angela  

Brie and White Cheddar Grilled Cheese with Apples, Bacon, and Balsamic Shallots

8 slices your favorite crusty bread (I used a roasted garlic French bread)

1 green apple, thinly sliced

3 slices crispy bacon, roughly chopped

8 to 12 slices brie cheese (depending on how large your slices are)

12 to 16 slices sharp white cheddar cheese (depending on how large your slices are)

2 cups arugula

2 shallots, thinly sliced

¼ cup balsamic vinegar

2 tablespoons berry jam

2 tablespoons butter, softened

Start by adding the balsamic and shallots to a medium pan over medium heat.

Cook down the shallots until they are softened, browned and all he liquid is gone. About 10 to 15 minutes.

While the shallots are cooking down, pair up your bread slices as they will be for the sandwiches.

Spread the butter on the outside parts of each sandwich and spread each inside part of the sandwich with the jam.

Then, start to layer your sandwich. Start by layering the bottom slice of bread with a layer of apples. Follow it up with a layer of brie. Then add a layer of crumbled bacon, followed by a layer of arugula. Finally, add a layer of balsamic shallots and a layer of cheddar.

Top the pile of deliciousness with the top slice of bread.

Add your sandwiches to a large pan over medium high heat. Or if you are a lucky ducky, you can make these in your panini maker.

Cook until the bread is browned on both sides and the cheese melted. About 4 minutes a side.

Slice and serve hot. 

Grown Up Grilled Cheese

As I get older, I can totally understand how mothers end up feeding their kids things like pasta, hot dogs and grilled cheese on the regular.

Who has the freaking time to make anything fancy for dinner?

Not that I’m putting myself on the level of a mother.

I get way more sleep and only have to worry about what goes into my body or the body of an occasional dinner guest.

Last week I needed to feed the man and myself after yoga and before softball and still have something to talk to you about.

Well, I didn’t HAVE to. I just over scheduled myself and tried to fit it all in. You know. The usual.

Turns out grown up grilled cheese sandwiches are just as easy as the kid version but WAY more satisfying for someone whose diet consists of more than fish sticks and pizza.

You will need…

1 wedge of brie sliced ¼ of an inch thick

4 ounces of goat cheese sliced ¼ of an inch thick (helps if it is cold when you slice it)

8 slices of your favorite crusty bread

2 very ripe pears sliced ¼ of an inch thick

4 strips crispy bacon

4 handfuls of arugula

2 tablespoons butter

Start by buttering one side of each piece of bread. Make sure that you butter the outsides of what will be your sandwich.

Heat a large skillet over medium heat and place the bottom of your sandwiches butter side down on the pan.

Add a layer of goat cheese, brie cheese and a layer of pear slices.

When the cheese has become almost completely melted, add 1 slice of bacon and a handful of arugula.

It helps if you ball the arugula up in your fist and place it in the middle so that the arugula doesn’t spill over the sides.

Place the top layer of bread on each sandwich (butter side up) and use a spatula to flip the sandwiches over.

Continue to cook until the fresh layer of bread is nice and toasty. Make sure the pan is not too hot or you will burn your bread like I did. Whoops.

When the now bottom later of bread is nice and toasty, remove from the pan and serve hot and melty.

Don’t you dare use a knife and fork on this little gem. Release your inner child.

Love and Beer Floats

Angela