Bean Chowder

This is an old family stand-by that we all have memorized but over time has changed slightly because we just get the recipe wrong in our heads. 

Referencing the original recipe, there are a few key things to note:

1. Use Owen's Hot Sausage (it's not really hot just has more flavor) or purchase the store brand sausage from HEB/Central Market.  Don't use Jimmy Dean's because it is far too oily and will throw off the consistency of the chowder even if you drain off the fat after you've browned the sausage.

2. My mother uses seasoned salt while I use salt.  The main thing to remember with either ingredient is to not use too much or it will be too salty to eat.

3. The original recipe calls for tomatoes that you break up after you add the ingredients but that's too much work and a can of diced tomatoes is perfect so I've altered the list of ingredients below.

4. The recipe calls for 1/2 of a green bell pepper but I use a whole green bell pepper because I like green bell peppers and I think it's the perfect amount.  I feel like 1/2 would be too little.  Also the receipe calls for 1 cup diced potatoe but I use 1 whole diced (skinned of course) russet potatoe of average size.

5. The final alteration is I simmer the chowder after adding the potatoes and green bell pepper for 30 minutes but the original recipe says 15-20 minutes.  After 30 minutes the potatoes are perfectly cooked and at 15 they're not.  I've adjusted the directions below to accommodate this change.

I've noted all of the above in case someone wants to try the original recipe which I believe comes from my mother's Better Homes and Garden cookbook from 1961 which she received as a wedding present. The final paragraph is a note that my mother added to the receipe when she emailed it to me because while discussing it we both realized we had different ideas about how to make it.  She pulled the original recipe (it had been years since either of us had referenced it) and noted all the things we were doing "wrong." 

Whichever version someone makes, we all LOVE this dish and have continued to share it down the generations!

Bean Chowder

Ingredients:

1 lb bulk pork sausage

2 cans (16 oz each) kidney beans

1 can (1 lb, 13 oz) diced tomatoes

1 qt water (4 cups)

1 large onion

1 bay leaf

1 /1/2 teaspoons seasoned salt

1/2 teaspoon garlic salt

1/2 teaspoon thyme

1/8 teaspoon pepper

1 diced russet potato

1 green bell pepper, chopped

Directions:

In a skillet, cook pork sausage until brown.  Pour off fat then add kidney beans, tomatoes, water, onion, bay leaf, seasoned salt, garlic salt, thyme and pepper.  Simmer, covered, 1 hour.  Add potatoes and green peppe then cook, covered 30 minutes, until potatoes are tender.  Remove bay leaf.  

Yield: 8 generous portions.

Every once in a while I go back to reflect on this original recipe, and I have been surprised a time or two that I had been making it wrong.  I always confuse the amt of tomatoes and beans because it calls for 1 can tomatoes and 2 cans of beans.  Had to pay attention to size of cans.

Pork Cutlets with Mustard Sauce

This is just yummy and simple and in my book you can't beat that!  My husband devoured the dish and asked if there was more.

Williams-Sonoma (source of the recipe) recommends serving with sautéed young, tender bitter greens such as dandelion or collard greens in butter. Drizzle with a few drops of balsamic or sherry vinegar just before serving.

Pork Cutlets with Mustard Sauce

Ingredients:

• 4 boneless center-cut pork loin chops, each about 6 oz.
• Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
• 1 Tbs. mustard seeds
• 3 Tbs. unsalted butter
• 2 shallots, minced
• 1/3 cup dry white wine
• 1/3 cup chicken broth
• 1 tsp. chicken demi-glace
• 1/3 cup heavy cream
• 2 Tbs. honey Dijon mustard

Directions:

Cook the pork
Season the pork chops with salt, pepper and the mustard seeds, patting them firmly into the meat.

In a large fry pan over medium-high heat, melt the butter. Working in batches if needed, add the pork chops and cook, turning once, until golden on the outside and barely pink in the center, about 8 minutes total. Transfer to a plate.

Make the sauce
Add the shallots to the drippings in the pan, reduce the heat to medium and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the wine, broth and demi-glace and cook, stirring to scrape up the browned bits from the pan bottom, for about 1 minute. Add the cream and mustard and cook, stirring, until smooth and bubbly, about 1 minute.

Return the pork chops and any juices from the plate to the pan. Simmer until the pork is heated through, about 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper. Divide the pork chops and sauce among 4 warmed plates and serve immediately. Serves 4.

Adapted from Williams-Sonoma Food Made Fast Series, Weeknight, by Melanie Barnard (Oxmoor House, 2006).

Pork Tenderloin with Feta, Pesto & Jalapeno Jelly

This is one of my favorite dishes!  My girlfriend Kelly first introduced me to this dish and it was so yummy I requested it to be served at my baby shower and it was a huge hit with all who attended.  Kelly will probably kill me for sharing the recipe but this is an excellent dish and well worth the pain she will inflict on me. 

The only warning I give is there's way more stuffing then can be put into the pork so stuff it according to what you think you will want, not just because you have it.  Remember that with cuisine as well as in life sometimes less is more. 

Pork Tenderloin with Feta, Pesto & Jalapeno Jelly

Ingredients:

Filling (amount for 2 tenderloins):

8 ounce feta cheese

15 TBSP pesto

Rub (for 2 tenderloins):

4 tsp minced garlic

4 tsp coarse-ground black pepper

1 tsp ground red pepper

2 tsp celery seed

1 tsp dried thyme

1 tsp ground cumin

Glaze:

1 jar Texas Tamale Co Jalapeno Jelly (about 10 TBSP)

10 TBSP pesto

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 325. Trim tenderloins of all fat and white fibrous tissue. Butterfly tenderloins by slicing most, but not all, of the way horizontally so that tenderloin can be laid open in a rectangle. Spread the filling over the entire surface. Roll the tenderloin back up into original shape. Rub the entire outside of the tenderloin with the rub mixture.

Place in baking dish and insert thermometer. Roast for 20 minutes. While roasting, heat the two glaze ingredients together in a saucepan to melt jelly. After the 20 minutes of roasting time, coat the tenderloin (baste) with the glaze.