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| Posted: Thu Nov 19th, 2009 02:05 am |
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1st Post |
shadowcat-x
Administrator
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1/4 cup minced onion
1 tbsp bacon grease
2 tbsp balsalmic vinegar
6 whole fresh figs
1/4 cup dried shitake mushrooms
1 1/4 cup chicken stock
1/2 cup whipping cream
6-10 slices of smoked pork tenderloin
Reconstitute the mushrooms in 1/4 cup of the chicken stock. If using fresh, omit this step and reduce the stock accordingly. Slice the figs and add them to the chicken stock/mushroom mix to sit for a while (I let them sit for an hour)
Mince onions and sautee until soft in the bacon grease. Add 1 tbsp of the vinegar and cook until the vinegar has evaporated. Add 1 cup of the chicken stock and simmer until the volumn is half (about 5 minutes). Add last tbsp of vinegar and cook for a couple more minutes. Add the whipping cream and then the fig/mushroom mix and simmer until the sauce cooks down thick enough to coat a spoon (about 5-10 minutes)
Pan fry the smoked pork tenderloin slices until browned, and place on a platter. Add the sauce to taste.
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So this wasn't the original recipe I found. The original recipe called for shallots instead of onions, butter instead of baking grease, and pork medallions instead of tenderloin. It also didn't have the mushrooms--that was something I decided to add on the spur of the moment.
Also, when I made it, I felt it was way too heavy a sauce, with the whipping cream. The second time I made it, I used half and half, and it tasted much better--although the half and half kinda sorta curdled a bit when it hit the vinegar. I'm thinking the NEXT time I make this, I'll leave out that second tablespoon of vinegar to prevent the curdling process, and see how that works.
Also, using the half and half significantly increased the simmer time at the very end. Not surprisingly, it took longer for the sauce to thicken up, what with having less fat contents in it and all. Still the end result, using the less heavy product was much tastier in my opinion. The sweetness of the figs was more noticeable.
____________________
"If you could find some way to be
a little bit less afraid of me,
you'd see the voices that control me
from inside my head say I shouldn't kill you yet" Skullcrusher Mountain--John Coulton
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| Posted: Wed Nov 25th, 2009 07:54 pm |
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2nd Post |
Vargr
Vargr
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If you want to keep the extra balsamic flavor, you might try adding that reserved tablespoon to the liquid you're reconstituting the mushrooms with, or to the fig/mushroom mixture. I suspect the mushrooms will happily absorb it, and that might keep it from reacting to the half and half so strongly.
This sounds like a very tasty dish, and I'll definitely be trying it out.
____________________
We grow not old, so long as we continue to chase our dreams.
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