Spiced Pecans

• 6 tablespoons (3/4) butter
• 1-pound pecans
• 1/4 cup of sugar; if you like things sweeter use ½ cup
• 2 tablespoon spice mix of equal parts cinnamon, cumin, paprika, ground caraway, white pepper and nutmeg.(one teaspoon each)

To make the spice mix use 1 teaspoon to get your 2 Tablespoons for one batch of pecans. I use 1 Tablespoon of each spice and put in a small bell jar and will have lots left over. I use the spice for other nuts like walnuts, blueberry quick bread, another batch of pecans and am thinking of trying it on roasted chickpeas. But stick to just 1 teaspoon per spice if you don’t want any leftover.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat the butter in a large sauté pan until foamy. Add the pecans and stir. Then add the sugar and stir to coat. Add the spice mix and thoroughly stir so that the nuts are mix well with the spices. Cook for about 5 minutes or until the butter has been absorbed and the pecans are well coated. Then pour nuts on a sheet pan lined with parchment. Bake them for about 15 minutes. Depending on how much sugar you use, you will get some brittle like pieces on the nuts and some leftover spiced sugar. Once they are cooked take out and cool. When cool enough to touch, fluff up or loosen the pecans with your hands on the tray and cool some more. This will make more than you probably need so store the remaining pecans in a Tupperware container and into freezer, minus the ones you have already eaten. These pecans are so addicting!

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The post Maine first appeared on Simply Beale.

An interchangeable recipe. Choose your protein.

Makes about 16

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup soy sauce or Amino’s (if Gluten Free)
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon light-brown sugar
• 6 cups vegetable oil
• 1 Napa cabbage thinly sliced (about 2 1/2 pounds or approximately 10-12 cups; it’s a lot but it cooks down)
• 4 medium carrots, coarsely grated (about 2 cups)
• 5-6 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 1 pound coarsely chopped peeled and deveined large shrimp or ground pork
• 6 scallions, thinly sliced
• 16-20 egg-roll wrappers (6 to 7 inches square); depends on how full you make them (a package has about 20)
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten or water
• Dipping Sauces: Chinese Hot Mustard; Duck Sauce & Ginger Garlic Soy or Amino’s for serving

Directions

1. In a small bowl, combine soy sauce, vinegar, and sugar. In an x-large skillet, heat 2 tablespoon oil over medium-high. Add cabbage, carrots, garlic, and ginger; season with salt and pepper. Cook, tossing, until vegetables are tender, 3 to 5 minutes.
2. Raise heat to high; add chopped shrimp or pork and soy mixture. Cook, tossing until shrimp is no longer pink and liquid has almost evaporated 5 to 7 minutes; mix in scallions. Transfer mixture to a plate to cool.
3. Then line an x-large bowl with a strainer. Line strainer with cheesecloth. Transfer cabbage mixture filling into a cheesecloth-lined strainer over a bowl. Let it drain. The twist up the cheesecloth and wring as much liquid out of the mixture as possible. Careful it still may be hot. Don’t skip this. I find the eggs rolls will be soggy if you don’t do it. You want them crispy. Save the excess broth into plastic containers, label, and freeze. This is great in soups or Asian stir fry’s.
4. Lay wrappers flat on a work surface and assemble egg rolls. Work with two to three at a time so they don’t dry out. I cover my assembled egg rolls with damp paper towels to keep them from drying out. I put them in a Tupperware container lined with parchment and store in the fridge until ready to fry. Or at this point freeze them.
5. In a 5-quart pot or deep fryer, heat remaining to oil until a deep-fry thermometer registers 350 degrees. Working in batches of 4, and returning oil to 350 degrees for each batch, fry egg rolls until golden, turning occasionally, about 2 minutes; drain on paper towels and immediately season with kosher salt while they are still hot. Don’t overcrowd the deep-fryer, as this will bring down the oil temperature. Make sure its back up to temp before the next batch. I then transfer them on a cooling rack set over a baking sheet. It lets excess oil drip and prevents steam from collecting underneath, making the rolls soggy. I like to do this so I can work on other dishes before serving. Ultimately, they are the best out of the fryer and onto a plate but it’s not always the way dinner goes down.
6. Serve Dipping Sauces of your choice. I like Chinese Hot Mustard; Duck Sauce & Ginger Garlic Soy or Tamari to serve with.
7. To BAKE, not fry: If you prefer, these egg rolls can be baked. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly oil a rimmed baking sheet; place egg rolls on a sheet pan and brush with cup oil. Bake until golden, about 10 minutes. If baking from frozen, bake about 15 minutes. I have never actually baked these but it is an option. Personally, I think fried is the way to go.
8. To FREEZE: Prepare egg rolls through step 4; freeze in a single layer until firm, at least 2 hours. You can transfer to a resealable plastic bag; freeze up to 3 months. I like to keep them in thin long Tupperware containers that way when I thaw them out in the fridge overnight they don’t stick to each other. But if you don’t have huge freezer storage then put in a plastic resealable bag. When you thaw them, take them out and put on lined parchment plate and separate them so they don’t stick. Cover with plastic wrap until fry time. You can fry from frozen but I find the frozen water hitting the oil makes a huge if not dangerous mess. If you want to try it, increase frying time by about 3 minutes per batch. Otherwise, take them out of the fridge, blot any excess water off them with a paper towel and go to town.

NOTES:

• You can use a Cuisinart to shred your carrots
• You can use a Cuisinart to finely chop and grate your garlic and ginger. Make sure you hand chop the peeled ginger into pieces so they chop finer.
• I double this recipe and make a huge batch for my stand-up freezer. I also use a Pallela pan as you need a really large pan or you will have to do it in separate batches.
• You can do this Gluten Free. Don’t forget to use Tamari instead of soy. When I have a gluten intolerant guest, I make a big batch using Low-Sodium Tamari. No one knows the difference in taste between the soy and tamari. Then I roll a few in Rudi’s Gluten-Free Tortillas found in the freezer section. Make sure your surface is clean of any gluten and remember that you will have to fry them in separate oil. I never use my fry pot for anything that needs to be gluten-free. You have to pour new oil into a saucepan to fry. You’re your done you can save the oil for your normal fry pot to use instead of throwing away. You can also cut any leftover tortillas into strips and fry up into snack crunchies. If you are using Rudi’s tortillas, work one at a time. Put one in the microwave for 15 seconds and then assemble the rolls and put on lined parchment. They still together best-using egg wash. Make sure your pastry brush is Gluten Free if not use your finger to seal the edges. The tortillas will break when rolling if you don’t microwave, so don’t skip this step. They also dry out really fast so just do one at a time. Once I am done doing the amount of Gluten-Free Rolls I want, I freeze those and continue to make the Shrimp Rolls with Egg Roll Wrappers with the rest of the filling.
• HOW TO ROLL AN EGG ROLL
  Filling It Up: Lay 2-3 egg-roll wrappers flat on the counter. (Keep other wrappers covered with a damp paper towel.) Place 1/3 cup mixture in center of each.
  2. Folding It Up: Using a pastry brush, the wet border with egg. Fold the point of wrapper that’s closest to you over the mixture, and tuck under the filling.
  3. Folding It In: Fold both side corners toward the center of wrapper (they won’t meet in the center). It should look like an open envelope.
  4. Finishing It Up: Tightly roll up filled pocket to close wrapper, then gently press down to seal the edges.
  Adapted from Martha Stewart.
  

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Yield Makes 6-8 first-course servings

INGREDIENTS:
Ravioli:

2 large red or golden beets (about 14 ounces)

The post Beet Ravioli with Brown Sage Butter first appeared on Simply Beale.

YIELD

Makes 4-6 servings

INGREDIENTS

• 1 (9-inch) prepared pie dough, thawed if frozen (not pie shells)
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 large onion (i use Vidalia) , very thinly sliced or use mandolin 
• 3 oz. goat, feta or garlic & herb boursin cheese
• 1 lb. plum, Roma or any tomato, thinly sliced crosswise no more than 1/4 inch thick, drained (optional) 
• Garnish: fresh basil leaves, chopped oregano, chives, go wild. 

 Special Equipment

a 9-inch round, square, rectangular or even 4″-5″ individual tart pans with a removable bottom; pie weights or raw rice

PREPARATION:

1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
2. If I am making this to eat cold or slightly heated the next day I get some of the moisture out of my tomatoes. Plum or Roma holds up best but any tomatoes and even halved cherry can be used here. I slice the tomatoes and put on a sheet pan lined with paper towels and sprinkle with kosher salt. I think doing this keeps the tart from getting soggy if you are not serving it right away and it will be stored in the fridge. But this is an optional step.
3.  Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat to start and add onions.  When they start to get soft turn down the heat to low or simmer. Cook onion with salt and black pepper to taste, stirring frequently, until golden brown, 30 minutes or longer to get great caramelization. If they start to burn or dry out add some water to the pan and stir often with wooden spoon or tongs. 
4. If necessary, roll out dough on a lightly floured surface into your removable bottom tart pan of choice and fit into tart pan. Trim excess dough, leaving a 1/2-inch overhang, then fold overhang inward and press against side of pan to reinforce edge. Lightly prick bottom and sides with a fork.
5. Line tart shell with parchment paper and fill with pie weights. Bake in middle of oven until pastry is pale golden around rim, about 20 minutes.  Carefully remove weights and foil and bake until golden all over, 8 to 10 minutes more. Depending on your oven you may want to use a pie crust protector so the edges do not burn especially with the broil step. Then cool in pan on a rack.
6. Preheat broiler.
7. When crust is cool, spread onion over bottom of tart shell and top with 1 rounded cup goat, feta or garlic & herb boursin cheese. Arrange tomatoes, slightly overlapping, in concentric circles over cheese. Sprinkle with remaining cheese and salt and pepper to taste and drizzle with remaining tablespoon oil. Put foil or crust protector to cover edge of crust (to prevent over browning).
8. Put tart pan on a baking sheet and broil tart about 7 inches from heat until cheese starts to brown slightly, 3 to 4 minutes

NOTES: You can blind bake your own dough here but store-bought is great in a pinch. You can used more or less ingredients as you like, for instance more or less onions & cheese. Certain cheeses are stronger than others so eyeball the amounts. You can add lots of different variations to this tart like addition of some Kalamata olives, pine nuts with a feta cheese to make it more greek. I make this often a day ahead for lunch and serve it with a nice leafy green salad with cucumbers and radishes. You can choose to reheat or serve at room temp. I slice the tart into servings before I heat up but you can certainly do that day you are going to serve it.

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1/4 cup mild-flavored (light) molasses
3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar, divided
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard (I use Grey Poupon)
2 tablespoons coarse-grained mustard (I use Maille)
1 3/4-pound pork tenderloin, trimmed of fat

Whisk molasses, 2 tablespoons vinegar, and both mustards in small bowl to blend. Place pork in heavy-duty resealable plastic bag. Pour marinade over. Seal tightly and refrigerate overnight in a Ziplock bag.
Prepare barbecue (medium-high heat). Drain marinade into heavy small saucepan. Sprinkle pork with salt and pepper. Grill pork until thermometer inserted into center registers 145°F, turning occasionally with tongs, about 20 minutes. Transfer pork to serving platter; let rest 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, add 1 tablespoon vinegar to pan with marinade. Whisk it while it boils until thickened to sauce consistency, about 5 minutes.
Cut pork crosswise on slight diagonal into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Arrange pork slices on platter; drizzle sauce over.

I usually double the sauce if you want it for mashed potatoes or extra sauce.
This recipe easily doubles for more people.

The post Mustard & Molasses Grilled Pork Tenderloin first appeared on Simply Beale.