Weekend Recipes

I see I've pulled a 'Tom', in not posting for nearly two weeks. So just to prove I'm not dead, I'll share my latest recipe experiments:

Mulligatawny Soup with Chicken (this link is behind a free registration firewall, and will likely disappear behind a subscription firewall in a few weeks). This is a really simple recipe, and tastes great. It is very spicy. Not too hot, really, just 'floral' spicy, though it's true that there's cayenne in there too. The thing I like most about this recipe is that you cook the ingredients (onion, carrot, celery, garlic, ginger, chicken stock, chicken), then you puree it in a blender! That was a lot of fun. Oh, and set aside the chicken before blending. I chopped the chicken into 1/2 inch chunks, and added it back to the puree for a bit more cooking afterwards. This recipe makes a lot of soup (the chicken stock alone is seven cups), so I'm freezing some of it. I loves me soup!

Pork Loin with Prune Sauce. This came out of some magazine Jean has, so I don't have a link to a recipe. It's another really simple recipe. Really simple. Thinly slice an onion, cook over a low heat with a tablespoon of EVOO. The aim here is to soften, not caramelize. Add finely minced two cloves of garlic and cook a little while longer. In a separate saucepan you'll prepare 3/4 cup of chopped prunes, ?? cup of apple cider and a teaspoon of cider vinegar. Bring to a boil, then simmer over a low heat until reduced by half. Throw the mix in with the onions.

In the meantime, cook your pork loins, first searing in a pan (couple of minutes) then baked in an oven at 400 degrees. When they're done (internal temperature around 140 degrees), take 'em out and pour the prune sauce over 'em. Serve and enjoy.

I think I need to marinate the pork loin with something, as to get them cooked properly toughened them up. Or next time I'll substitute pork tenderloin and make medallions, as the sauce will work with that too.