‪Pork Kebabs with Cucumber Mint Yogurt Sauce #‎thebookclubcookbookCC

Here we are at the final #thebookclubcookbookCC event. Final. Can you believe it??

It's hard to fathom that our year-long journey to explore - and cook from - The Book Club Cookbook, Revised Edition: Recipes and Food for Thought from Your Book Club's Favorite Books and Authors by Judy Gelman and Vicki Levy Krupp* is drawing to a close. Judy, Vicki, and their publisher, Tarcher-Penguin, provided the hosting bloggers with copies of the book plus copies to giveaway each month of the project. We are so grateful for their generosity over the past year.

For the last month we celebrated with a Greek feast for Corelli's Mandolin by Louis De Bernieres.  This is a new to me novel. Sadly I still haven't gotten a chance to read it.  It is on my bed stand just waiting for me next trip.  

The synopsis sounds good and I am pretty confident I will enjoy the novel.  It's a love story during WWII but this story takes place on a small Greek Island, not the typical France or Germany. Hence the Greek feast. Corelli and his Italian soldiers occupy the island. Corelli takes up residence with Dr. Iannis and his daughter Pelagia. Although unwelcome Corelli is charming.  The novel starts at the invasion of the island and spans through the effects after war. 

It has been horribly hot and humid around Connecticut.  We don't have A/C so I had the hardest time thinking of a Greek recipe.  Or to be more accurate all of the recipes I wanted to make required oven time and that was not going to happen. Finally I saw this recipe for kebabs. Meant to be made under the broiler but we made the pork kebabs or souvlaki on the grill.  Topped with a yogurt mint sauce these were a delicious dinner.
Want to join in the fun? Read all about this month's book selection from our host and leader Camilla in her invite post.

Here's how to participate in The Book Club Cookbook Cooking Crew #thebookclubcookbookCC:

1. Draw inspiration from the chosen recipe.
2. Blog about it! It doesn't have to be a lengthy post. Just share your dish.
3. Include a link back to the hosting blog somewhere in your post.
4. Your post must be current to June. Of course,we don't mind if your post is linked to other events. The more, the merrier!
5. Send your entries to Camilla at constantmotioncamilla[at]gmail[dot]com, and please be including:
     ~Your name
     ~Your blog's name and URL
     ~The name of your dish and the permalink to the specific post you'resubmitting
     ~Attach a photo of any size (or just give me permission to"pull" one from your post) 
     ~Indicate #thebookclubcookbookCC, especially if you post to other social media

Deadline for submission is: July 29, 2016
*watch for the roundup to be posted shortly after this deadline! 

Pork Kebabs with Cucumber Mint Yogurt Sauce

by Emily Morris

Prep Time: 10 minutes, plus time to marin

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Keywords: grill Greek

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Ingredients (serves 4)

For the Kebabs

• 2 cups red wine
• 2 tsp. dried oregano
• 2 tsp. ground cumin
• 2 tsp. kosher salt, plus more to taste
• 1 tsp. dried thyme
• 1⁄2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 6 cloves garlic, smashed
• 2 lb. pork shoulder, cut into 1 ½" cubes
• Freshly ground pepper, to taste

For the Yogurt Sauce:

• 1 cucumber (about 12-oz.)
• 1 1⁄2 cups yogurt
• 1⁄2 cup chopped fresh mint leaves
• 2 tbsp. extra-virgin sesame oil or extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• Kosher salt, to taste
• 4 scallions, thinly sliced on the diagonal
• 1 cup flat-leaf parsley leaves, roughly chopped
• 4 pita breads, warmed

Instructions

Make the pork kebabs:Whisk together the wine, oregano, cumin, salt, thyme, cinnamon, and garlic in a large bowl. Add the cubes of pork and toss well to combine. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set aside to let marinate for at least 2 hours or overnight in the refrigerator.

Remove the pork from the marinade (reserve marinade), thread the cubes onto 4 metal or wooden skewers, and arrange on a foil-lined baking sheet. (If using wooden skewers, make sure to cover the ends completely with the pork cubes, to prevent the skewers from burning.)

Grill the kebabs on medium high heat until browned on all sides and cooked through, 20-25 minutes.

Make the yogurt sauce: Trim the ends off the cucumber and peel it. Cut the cucumber in half lengthwise. Using a small spoon, scrape out and discard the seeds from each half. Finely chop the cucumber and transfer it to a medium bowl. Stir in the yogurt, mint, oil, and garlic, and season with salt. Cover the sauce with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to use. (The sauce can be made ahead and refrigerated for up to 1 week.)

Arrange the skewers on a platter and scatter the scallions and parsley over them. Serve with the yogurt sauce and the pita.

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Be sure to check out the other bloggers participating as well!

A Day in the Life on the Farm
Adventures in All Things Food
Cheese Curd In Paradise
Culinary Adventures with Camilla
Life on Food
Mostly Food and Crafts
The Pajama Chef
The Spiffy Cookie
Things I Make (for Dinner)
Tortillas and Honey
ZooeySuff

Giveaway

This month Camilla at Culinary Adventures with Camilla, this month's host, is giving away two copies of the book.* Enter to win a copy of the cookbook!

TWO of our lucky readers - US and Canada only! - can enter to win a copy of The Book Club Cookbook, Revised Edition: Recipes and Food for Thought from Your Book Club's Favorite Books and Authors by Judy Gelman and Vicki Levy Krupp, courtesy of Tarcher-Penguin. Giveaway runs from July 1st till July 31st at 6 o'clock PM, Pacific time. Please see terms and conditions in the rafflecopter widget below. Many thanks to Tarcher Books. You may find Tarcher: on the web, on Facebook, on Twitter, and on Pinterest.

*Disclosure: Camilla received a complimentary copy of The Book Club Cookbook, Revised Edition: Recipes and Food for Thought from Your Book Club's Favorite Books and Authors by Judy Gelman and Vicki Levy Krupp as an opportunity to give two copies away. Opinions are our own. We received no further compensation for our posts.

Creamy Pork Chops and Mushrooms

We have been doing a lot of running around and that means we had limited home cooked meals. At least real meals. Ones that were planned out and involve pots and pans. 

I think it helped that a few weeks ago I got Cooking Light in the mail. I love flipping through that magazine and tagging recipes that look good.  I always come up with at least 2 or 3 I want to make. This recipe comes from the September 2014 issue.   I saw it and immediate knew we needed to have it for dinner. 

I got the ingredients and Mr. J got to work on fixing it up for dinner. We had extra sauce because we only used two pork chops.  But the extra sauce went on the extra rice and was a delicious leftover.  Like most Cooking Light recipes this was a winner. Easy to put together and very flavorful.  I think it would be great with chicken too if you aren't a pork chop fan. 

Hopefully we will be having more "real" dinners at home because this one was a treat. 

Creamy Pork Chops and Mushrooms

by Emily Morris

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Keywords: saute entree mushrooms pork

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Ingredients (serves 4)

• 1 cup unseasoned long-grain and wild rice blend
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 4 (6-ounce) bone-in center-cut loin pork chops
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary
• 12 ounces fresh cremini mushrooms, cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices
• 1 medium onion, halved and thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup dry white wine
• 1 1/2 cups unsalted chicken stock
• 1/4 cup chopped roasted hazelnuts
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 2 tablespoons reduced-fat sour cream

Instructions

Cook rice according to package directions.

While rice cooks, melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle pork chops with 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Add chops to pan; cook 3 minutes on each side or until browned. Transfer to a plate.

Add rosemary, mushrooms, and onion to pan; cook 8 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Sprinkle mushrooms with flour; toss to coat. Stir in wine and chicken stock, scraping pan to loosen browned bits.

Return pork chops and any accumulated juices to pan. Cover and simmer 10 minutes or until done.

Stir hazelnuts, parsley, remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper into rice.

Arrange pork chops on a serving platter. Simmer sauce, uncovered, 2 additional ­minutes. Remove from heat, and stir in sour cream. Serve pork chops with mushroom sauce and rice.

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Roasted Pork Chops and Peaches

I have another peach recipe for you today. I hope that is OK with you? We might even get one more into the mix before peaches whole heartily call it quits for the year.  I found this recipe in Real Simple or Cooking Light and instantly knew it was something I needed to make. First, I love all of the ingredients. Second, it can be made in one pot.

This recipe is so pretty with the colors from the peaches, basil and red onion and comes together in less than 20 minutes. We had this on the weekend but I wish I had saved it for a more rushed week night. Oh well there is always next time.

 

Roasted Pork Chops and Peaches

by Emily Morris

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

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Ingredients (serves 4)

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 4 bone-in pork chops (3/4 inch thick; about 2 pounds total)
• kosher salt and black pepper
• 2 peaches, cut into wedges
• 1 small red onion, cut into thin wedges
• 3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
• 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves

Instructions

Heat oven to 400° F.

Heat the oil in a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat.

Season the pork with ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper and cook until browned, 3 to 5 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate.

Add the peaches, onion, vinegar, and ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper to the skillet and cook, tossing, for 1 minute.

Return the pork (and any accumulated juices) to the skillet. Transfer to oven and roast until the pork is cooked through and the peaches are tender, 8 to 10 minutes.

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Pulled Pork Nachos

OMG! TGIF!  I am so happy Friday is here. The days this week have been short and long all at the same time. Lots to catch up from after being gone for vacation. It was only four days but man did things seem to pile up. 

When we were gone I REALLY wanted nachos. Mr. J was extremely happy about this because he REALLY wanted to go to the ESPN Club on the Boardwalk at Disney. Not my favorite place with so many other fun options at Epcot next door but the hinting of nachos had me caving to his request.

But when we got there the menu had changed from our last visit. Their appetizer nachos were now topped with pulled pork. I wasn't opposed to the idea but the nachos I had in mine were plain old beef topped cheesy goodness. No BBQ sauce in mind.

I ended up with a sandwich (I should have gone for the nachos.) but the idea of pulled pork nachos stayed with me. It didn't take long to decided that we had to try them out.

I made pulled pork from the Slow Cooker overnight with a super easy recipe.  Dinner was easy to whip up come 5pm. Yes, we really eat at five.  

We lightly piled tortilla chips with black beans, red onion, spinach, tomatoes and cheese.  Then we baked them on the lowest rack of the oven at 400 degrees for about 15-20 minutes. When the cheese is all melty remove from the oven and top with pulled pork. Not the typical nachos but oh so good.

Happy Friday!

Honey Orange Pork and WIAW

it's wednesday and that means another 'what i ate wednesday' post. i have been traveling with people non-stop and had to excuse myself for taking photos of my food. they just laughed.

breakfast was a green smoothie.  topped with a bit of store bought maple granola.  this was a welcome return to normal after a weekend adventure to visit friends in maine. some things just seem amiss when i don't start my day with my greens.

lunch was out @ American Joe's. a big salad. love me my greens. not so healthy though when you add cheese, fried chicken, and ranch dressing. it tasted good and i am not going to worry about the possible unhealthiness. it was salad after all. 

dinner was this marvelous honey orange pork tenderloin with green beans and arugula salad with maple vinaigrette.  

do you take pictures of your food?

Honey-Orange Pork Tenderloin and WIAW

This week has been crazy! Super busy with lots and lots of work meetings and travel.  If this post doesn't make sense that is why.  I am trying to think about the coming weekend and just need to make it for 3 more days.

My busy days warranted a sweet breakfast.  A waffles topped with Vermont Peanut Butter  and bananas.  A big cup of mocha coffee (1/2 coffee, 1/2 chocolate soy milk).  If you ever need to start your day off right mocha coffee is the way to go.

Lunch was prepackaged leftovers from this tater tot casserole, a slice of baked brie, and some carrots.

Dinner was what I looked forward to all day.  It was amazing.  Cooking Light's newest edition has had some major wins for dinner recipes.

With the help of Mr. J, we created this fantastic dinner in little time with little dish mess.

This recipe was one of those that sounded good right from the beginning and then became amazing after realizing I had all of the ingredients on hand.  I hate when there is a recipe I want to make that requires special ingredients.

You sear the pork, pour over 1/2 the marinade and then place the whole thing in the oven.

Brussels sprouts also went into the oven.  Halfway through cooking time, you flip the pork pour on the remaining marinade and then cook some more.  As the meat was resting, I tossed the Brussels sprouts in the pork roasting pan to get the flavoring of the marinade. For a kick I added some additional hot pepper flakes.

This is a dinner definitely fancy enough to impress those holiday guests sure to be paying a visit soon.

Honey-Orange Pork Tenderloin

by Emily Morris

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Keywords: saute entree pork American

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Ingredients (serves 4)

• 1/3 cup orange marmalade
• 3 tablespoons cider vinegar
• 3 tablespoons lower-sodium soy sauce
• 1 1/2 tablespoons minced fresh garlic
• 1 1/2 teaspoons honey
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 (1-pound) pork tenderloin, trimmed
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°.

Combine first 5 ingredients, stirring well with a whisk. Reserve 2 tablespoons marmalade mixture. Heat an ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil; swirl to coat.

Sprinkle pork with salt and pepper. Add pork to pan; cook 5 minutes or until browned. Turn pork over; brush with 1/4 cup marmalade mixture.

Bake at 350° for 10 minutes. Turn pork over; brush with 1/4 cup marmalade mixture.

Bake an additional 10 minutes or until a thermometer registers 150°. Remove pork from pan; brush with reserved 2 tablespoons marmalade mixture. Let stand 10 minutes; slice.

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Roasted Pork Loin with Apple Compote

Weekend dinners are important for us.  We travel so much during the week that lately our only dinners together fall on the weekends.  And although it is nice to dine out for date nights, we get a lot of enjoyment from cooking together. 

During my travels last week I was reading the book "Immovable Feast: A Paris Christmas" by John Baxter.  In the book an Australian has to make the Christmas dinner for his French wife's family. As he goes about his preparations he mentions pork and apples as a possible option.

French can get all fancy with their sauces, etc but the French also like to prepare meals with common ingredients and simple instructions.  The true flavor of the food is what stands out. When planning our meals for last weekend I couldn't get away the idea of pork and apples.

This recipe is exactly that, the pork is seasoned lightly and then rests as it absorbs the flavors.  The apples are also cooked so the apples themselves are what you taste. The combination works great together with the savory pork and sweet apples. 

We agreed that this dinner was one of the best recipes we put together for a while.  

Note: We used pork tenderloin.

Pork Loin Roast With Apple Compote

by Emily Morris, Southern Living

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 60 minutes

Keywords: saute bake entree apple pork fall

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Ingredients (serves 8)

• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 teaspoons dried Italian seasoning
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1 (3-lb.) boneless pork loin roast
• Kitchen string
• 2 teaspoons canola oil
• 2 pounds Gala apples, unpeeled
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 cup apple cider
• 5 tablespoons sugar
• 2 1/2 teaspoons orange zest
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• Pinch of ground cloves
• 1 tablespoon butter

Instructions

Combine first 4 ingredients. Rub mixture on all sides of pork roast. Tie pork with kitchen string, securing at 1-inch intervals. Cover and chill 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 375°. Brown roast in hot oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat 2 to 4 minutes on all sides. Place pork on a lightly greased rack in an aluminum foil-lined roasting pan.

Bake at 375° for 1 hour or until a meat thermometer inserted into thickest portion registers 150°. Cover roast with foil, and let stand 15 minutes before slicing.

Meanwhile, cut apples into bite-size pieces; sprinkle with lemon juice.

Add cider and next 4 ingredients to skillet. Cook, over medium heat, stirring occasionally, 10 minutes or until slightly thickened. Add apples, and cook, stirring occasionally, 20 minutes or just until apples are tender and liquid is absorbed. Stir in butter until melted, and remove skillet from heat. Stir any accumulated pan juices from roast into compote. Serve compote immediately with pork.

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While You Were Sleeping

While you were sleeping I made supper.  This is by far the easiest recipe I think I have ever made.  It makes a boat load of food so either bring in the masses or be prepared for lots of leftovers.

The one thing about this recipe is that it requires a bit of advanced notice. I typically do this a day ahead of time and let the crock pot do the magic over night.

The second step is only 4 hours or if you are in a pinch you can just do it on the stove top.  I have definitely forgotten to set this up in time and before I remembered it was too late.

Either way the recipe is easy and delicious.

Easy Crock Pot Pulled Pork

by Emily Morris

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 2 days

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Ingredients (serves 6)

• 4 lbs pork roast (shoulder or butt)
• 2 large onions
• 1 cup ginger ale
• 1 (18 ounce) bottle favorite barbecue sauce
• Extra barbecue sauce, for serving

Instructions

Slice one onion and place in crock pot.

Put in the roast and cover with the other onion, sliced. Pour over the ginger ale. Cover and cook on LOW for about 10 hours overnight.

Remove the meat, strain and save the onions, discard all liquid. With two forks, shred the meat, discarding any remaining fat, bones or skin. Most of the fat will have melted away.

Return the shredded meat and the onions to the crock pot, stir in the barbecue sauce. Continue to cook for another 3 to 4 hours on LOW.

Serve with hamburger buns or rolls and additional barbecue sauce. Any leftovers freeze very well.

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Our first Thanksgiving

The Monday after Thanksgiving Jordan and I will have been married 3 months. On one hand it doesn't feel that long ago and on the other it feels so long ago. I am hoping that we will create many of our our traditions over our lifetime together. I am a huge fan of traditions. I love all of my families special holiday moments and I am hoping to pick up some new ones from Jordan's family. Although we are spending Thanksgiving with my parents in Maine, I wanted to have a special meal with Jordan in our home.



I couldn't have a big turkey twice in one week so we opted for a pork roast served with roasted potatoes and cranberry sauce. For Jordan and I this meal was nothing too fancy or special but it sure was fun to spend sometime in the kitchen together.

The cranberry sauce was a bag of fresh cranberries, 2 diced apple, 1/4 cup water, 1/4 cup OJ and 3 Tbsp agave nectar. It was still a bit tart but I like it like that.

The roast had a mix of herb seasoning and olive oil rubbed all over. I don't know the ratios since it was Jordan's job. I really do not like to handle raw meat.

Simply roasted potatoes with herbs de Provence, salt, pepper and olive oil all tossed about. Roasted at 375 degrees for 45 minutes, toss 1/2 through cooking time.

Everything was really good. We had a second round for lunch as well - I love leftovers for a work week lunch! Now I cannot wait for the real deal Thanksgiving. I hope you are ready mom!

Sweet Potato Fries

Did I really have this for dinner a week ago? That's right. I told you my week passed me by. This was probably the last good meal I have had. Between the company meeting, group meals, and lots of appointments here and there I don't really remember the last time Jordan and I were able to cook. Even breakfasts have been a hurried rush and I am ashamed to admit a cold bagel with cream cheese not just once but twice. I cringe as I type this. I really try not to eat food just to eat it. It has to be worth those calories. A cold bagel is not worth any calories.

I find it quite odd that I ate all of this awful food right before my first dress fitting. I was a nervous ball of nerves for most of the week. I had some weird expectation that the dress was either going to fall off of me or have a foot gap in the back and wouldn't zip. Neither happened thank goodness.

Anyway, back to the food. I love sweet potatoes. I have for a while and once upon a time it was a very special treat to find sweet potato fries in restaurants. Now it is much more common. Jordan and I have roasted potatoes quite often cause Jordan is definitely a meat and POTATOES kind of guy. Making sweet potato fries is a nice compromise for the two of us.

It is really simple. We do one potato per person. You can dice and slice them any which way you prefer. The ones below are thick steak fries.


Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Put cut potato pieces in bowl and drizzle 2 tbsp olive oil. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and herbs de Provence to taste. Toss with hands till completely covered.

Lay a single layer on cookie sheet. Put in oven and bake for 15 minutes. Take out cookie sheet and flip each fry. Bake for 10 minutes more. The flipping will ensure nice crispy fries on both sides. They are so good!

Tonight's dinner is a new recipe and hopefully it will shape up to be another good Sunday night dinner.