My parents came to visit this weekend, so I cooked up a special dinner on Friday night. Everything went together so well that I thought I would share the menu!
First course: Roasted Beets with Walnut Basil Dressing posted by JeanneG. I love this salad and have made it many times already. I usually omit the onions and use goat cheese instead of gorgonzola.
ROASTED BEETS WITH WALNUT BASIL DRESSING
1 1/2 to 1 3/4 pounds beets, trimmed and halved
1 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 bunch lettuce, well washed and torn apart.
For the Walnut Basil Dressing:
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 red onion, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil leaves
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
3 ounces Gorgonzola cheese
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
To roast the beets: Place the beets, 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper in a roasting pan and cook until the beets are tender, about 1 hour, 10 minutes. When they are cool enough to handle, remove the skins and slice the beets. Place the beets in a medium-sized mixing bowl and toss with the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper.
To make the Walnut Basil Dressing: Place a large skillet over medium-high heat and, when it is hot, add the extra-virgin olive oil. Add the walnuts and cook until they are browned, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a small mixing bowl and when the walnuts have cooled to room temperature, add the onion, basil, vinegar and salt.
Divide the lettuce between 4 to 6 plates and top with equal amounts of the dressing and then the beets. Then top with crumbled gorgonzola cheese.
Serves 4 to 6
Entree: Maple Mustard Pork Tenderloin from Complete CL - without apples. This was such a quick dish to put together, and the flavors were just right! I omitted the apples as we were having apples in our dessert.
MAPLE-MUSTARD PORK TENDERLOIN
2 (1/2 pound) pork tenderloins
cooking spray
¼ cup Dijon mustard
6 tbsp. Maple syrup, divided
1 tbsp. Chopped fresh or 1 tsp. Dried rosemary
½ tsp. Salt
¼ tsp. Pepper
4 medium granny smith apples, peeled and cut into 16 wedges
1. Preheat oven to 425.
2. Trim fat from pork. Place pork on a broiler pan coated with cooking spray. Combine mustard, 2 tbsps. Syrup, rosemary, salt, and pepper in a small bowl; brush over pork. Insert meat thermometer into thickest part of pork. Bake at 425 for 25 minutes or until thermometer registers 160 degrees.
3. While pork is baking, heat a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Add apples, sauté 5 minutes or until lightly browned. Reduce heat to low, and add 4 tbsp. Maple syrup. Simmer 10 minutes or until apples are tender, stirring occasionally. Cut pork crosswise into slices; spoon cooked apples over pork.
Yield: 4 servings (3 oz. Pork and ½ cup apples)
Sides: Wild Rice Cakes with Bacon (CL Sept 03) and steamed carrots. The rice cakes were FANTASTIC! I loved the combo of flavors and textures from the nuts, rice, bacon, and onions. They went together extremely quickly and held up well in a warm oven until we were ready to serve them.
Dessert: Apple and Cranberry Crisps with Ginger Pecan Topping from Oct BA. I did make these in individual dishes, and they turned out so well! A terrific ending to a great meal. MMMMMMM!!
* Exported from MasterCook *
Apple and Cranberry Crisps with Ginger-Pecan Topping
Recipe By :
Serving Size : 0 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : Desserts
Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
Filling:
1 1/2 lbs Granny Smith apples -- 4 apples, peeled, cored, and chopped into 1/2-inch cubes
1/2 c dried cranberries
1/2 c sugar
3 tbsps minced crystallized ginger
1 tbsp flour
Topping:
1/3 c packed dark brown sugar
1/4 c flour
1/4 c old-fashioned rolled oats
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1/4 c unsalted butter -- chilled, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2/3 c pecans -- toasted*
For filling: Preheat oven to 375. Butter four 1 1/4 cup custard cups (or see Note). Mix all ingredients in bowl. Let stand until juicy, about 5 minutes. Divide filling among cups. Bake until bubbling at the edges, about 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, prepare topping: Blend first 7 ingredients in large bowl. Rub in butter with fingertips until coarse meal forms. Mix in pecans with fingertips. Crumble topping over hot apples. Bake until topping is golden brown, apples are tender, and juices are bubbling thickly, about 25 minutes. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.
*To toast pecans, preheat oven to 350. Spread pecans in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake until slightly darkened, about 8 minutes.
Source:
"Bon Appetit, October 2003"
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Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 544 Calories; 24g Fat (38.7% calories from fat); 4g Protein; 83g Carbohydrate; 6g Dietary Fiber; 31mg Cholesterol; 151mg Sodium. Exchanges: 1 Grain(Starch); 0 Lean Meat; 1 1/2 Fruit; 4 1/2 Fat; 3 1/2 Other Carbohydrates.
NOTES : This recipe can be doubled and baked in a 13x9 pan
Cooking is like love. It should be entered into with wild abandon or not at all. --Harriet Van Horne
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