I wanted to share this easy pork recipe with you. We tried this the other night and they were delicious. This recipe will serve 4.

Photo Courtesy of saveur.com

INGREDIENTS:

FOR THE SOUVLAKIA:
2 cups red wine
2 tsp. dried oregano
2 tsp. ground cumin
2 tsp. kosher salt, plus more to taste
1 tsp. dried thyme
½ tsp. ground cinnamon
6 cloves garlic, smashed
2 lbs. pork shoulder, cut into 1 ½” cubes
Freshly ground pepper, to taste

FOR THE YOGURT SAUCE:
1 cucumber
1 ½ cups yogurt
½ 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

FOR THE GARNISH:
4 scallions, thinly sliced on the diagonal
1 cup flat-leaf parsley leaves, roughly chopped
4 pita breads, warmed

PREPARATION:

1. Make the souvlakia: 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 at room temperature for at least 2 hours or in the refrigerator overnight.

2. Meanwhile, 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.)

3. Arrange an oven rack 7-8″ from the broiler element and heat broiler. 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.) Season the pork with salt and pepper. Pour the marinade into a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Broil the kebabs, generously basting with the marinade occasionally, until browned on all sides and cooked through, 20-25 minutes. (Alternatively, the kebabs may be cooked over a medium-hot grill for the same amount of time.)

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

I hope you enjoy these as much as we did.

Today’s recipes will consist of homemade burgers, pork kebabs with an interesting twist and ginger tiger prawns. It seems a lot to prepare but in all seriousness I threw these together in 30 minutes including salads!

In this pork kebab recipe i usually use thai fish sauce but one of the young lads at Dexter House, Gianluca is a passionate cook and he gave me this commodity which his father produced.

It is called Bottarga. At certain times of the year in Italy, Gianluca’s father catches a fish similar to sea bass call Maggine and extracts their black eggs. He salts them, seasons and let’s them dry a little and them compresses them into an oval shape and hangs them to dry. the Italians normally grate it over anything from seafood risottos to pasta. It has a real pungent aroma and I have used this in my kebab recipe instead of Thai fish sauce. If you can’t find it just use Thai fish sauce but this stuff has a beautiful flavour.

Pork kebabs
500g minced pork, 1 dessert spoon of ginger grated,1tsp finely chopped lemon grass,1/2 chopped shallot, 1 chopped lime leaf, 1 dessert spoon of chopped coriander, 1tsp of fresh chillis chopped, pepper and a teaspoon of grated Bottarga or fish sauce.

Mix it all together and shape as you wish, cook on the BBQ or chargrill for a few minutes

Homemade burgers
500g minced beef rump, 100g minced pork, 1 egg, 1/2 chopped shallot, 1 tsp Marjoram, 1 dessert spoonful of breadcrumbs, 1tsp ketchup, salt and pepper.

Shape into ‘thin’ rounds and BBQ for a couple of minutes on both sides, done!

Ginger tiger prawn skewers
Soak some skewers in water for an hour before to prevent them from burning on the BBQ.
Tiger prawns, grated ginger, soy sauce, pepper and a squeeze of lime juice.
Mix all together and marinade for 15 minutes or so.
Skewer up and cook on a hot BBQ for no more than a minute each side.
Done!

BBQ sauce
3tblsp ketchup, 3 tablespoon HP, 1tablespoon honey, 1 teaspoon chopped oregano, 1tsp cumin, 1 tsp chilli powder, 2 tsp smoked paprika, 1/2tbsp dark soft brown sugar.
Simply whack all these in a bowl, whisk together for a minute, pop in the microwave for 1 minute and whisk again. Done!

Ready to rock and roll.
Ensure your BBQ is hot and ready to go before cooking these beauties.

I think I may have mentioned, once or twice, how much I love Asian food.  This meal of succulent pork kebabs, marinated in typical Thai ingredients, and served with vegetables and noodles with a hint of chilli, embody my idea of a great supper.  It is really low in fat as well, so it must be good for me!

One of the ingredients in the marinade is fish sauce.  Fish Sauce, known as Nam Pla in Thailand, is one of the basic ingredients in Thai cooking.  It has a rich reddish-golden brown colour and a very distinctive smell.  I find the smell is also reflected in the taste which, on its own, I don’t find particularly pleasant, unlike the Thai people who often add it to their food like westerners would salt and pepper.  However, mixed with lime juice, sugar, chillies etc this is totally transformed and it becomes obvious this is an essential ingredient.

The distinctive smell is, guess what, fishy!  That is because the sauce is basically made from fish, water and salt and allowed to ferment for 1 year to 18 months.  The fish of choice is usually anchovies although squid is sometimes used, as are other fish, depending on the country of origin.  When you buy fish sauce it is worth paying the extra and buying those made in Thailand or Vietnam.  Asian supermarkets usually sell large bottles of it for a relatively low price.  Try to avoid the UK supermarkets own brand as these can be disappointing if you have had some of an Asian origin.  Don’t worry about the sodium content if you read the ingredients.  Remember, you will only ever use a small amount in your list of ingredients so the overall salt content is relatively small, and there is rarely a need to add salt to the dish.

I can hear my vegetarian friends asking if there is a vegetarian option.  Yes there is but you will definitely need to look in a Vietnamese supermarket to find it.  If you don’t have one of these locally, and I am guessing not many of us do, I understand that Thai Golden Mountain Sauce is a good substitute which is based on soy beans.

Here is the recipe, I hope you give it a try.  you can substitute chicken for the pork if you are not a pork eater.

Pork kebabs with stir fried vegetables and noodles       Serves 2

• 300g pork tenderloin, sinews removed and cut into 1 inch cubes
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled
• 2 small shallots, peeled and quartered
• 1.5 tbsp Thai fish sauce
• Zest and juice of half a lime
• 1/2 tbsp light brown sugar
• 1 small red chilli, deseeded and chopped

For the stir fried vegetables and noodles

• 1 nest dried noodles
• roasted sesame oil
• 1 tbsp groundnut oil
• 3 spring onions
• thumb size piece fresh root ginger, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, chopped
• 6 babycorn, sliced diagonally in half
• handful of sugar snap peas, sliced diagonally
• 4-6 chestnut mushrooms, sliced
• 1/2 red pepper, sliced thinly
• 1 tbsp hot chilli sauce (depending on how hot you like it, I hope the measure is equivalent to a glug which is what I use)
• 1 tbsp light soy sauce
• 3 tbsp chinese cooking wine

1. For the kebabs – make the marinade by processing the garlic, fish sauce, juice and rind of the lime, sugar, shallots and chilli together until finely chopped.  Pu the pork cubes in a dish and pour over the marinade.  Mix in well for a  few seconds and then leave for at least one hour or overnight, covered, in the fridge.
2. When the pork is marinated thread onto metal skewers and cook under a preheated grill for about 10 minutes or until the pork is brown and cooked through.  Turn occasionally for even cooking.
3. In the meantime, cook the noodles as per packet instruction, drain well then drizzle with sesame oil to prevent the strands sticking together.  Set aside.
4. To make the stir fry, heat the groundnut oil in a wok.  When smoking slightly add the spring onions, ginger and garlic.  Cook for 1 minute then add the babycorn, sugar snap peas and red pepper.  Cook for a further minute then add the mushrooms.  Cook for one minute more the add the chilli sauce, soy sauce and cooking wine.  Mix well then add the noodles.  Toss the noodles with the vegetables and sauce and heat through.
5. Serve the kebabs on a plate with the stir fry on the side. 

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Lunch Spots:

Tasty Deli- I happened to visit this very tasty‘ deli last year. I don’t think I will ever forget about this place. I had to make a stop back to this spot to grab a ‘hero’. Hero is just another term for a sub sandwich. The sandwich I had was called Cyber Sex. Are you ready to hear what was on this hero?? Grilled Cajun turkey, melted jack cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, jalisco sauce, hot peppers, guacamole and house Italian dressing on a toasted garlic hero. It was UNBELIEVABLE.  Take a look at their menu here, you’ll understand why you can’t pass this deli up.

The New York term ‘hero’ was first attested in 1937

Dive Bar- I visited the Dive Bar for a late lunch after we competed and ran through Central Park. This had a neat atmosphere. It wasn’t too ‘divey’; it had some class. They had a large selection of beers and a huge list of local bourbons. I had a ‘grown-up’ grilled cheese which had some great flavor. The bacon was outstanding, and it was a mix between cheddar and pepper jack cheeses. One of my friends ordered something, though, that blew my mind. I’m a huge chorizo fan and they had a sirloin burger with chorizo mixed in. I had a bite of just the meat, and it was amazing. I’m going to have to get creative with that combo this summer to make a ‘wild’ burger.

Dinner Spots:

Telio Restaurant- Our first dinner out was to a Greek restaurant just up the street from out apartment. Our group decided to start the night off with an appetizer. We ordered Lemon Keftedakia (Greek for small meatballs). These were outstanding. They came with tzatziki sauce to dip the meatballs in. With the lemon, and tzatziki sauce, it was a great combo of flavors. For dinner, I ordered hirino souvlaki (pork kebabs) with lemon potatoes. I loved the way they prepared the meal, lots of veggies, and perfectly cooked pork.

Brother Jimmy’s BBQ-  This one wasn’t completely unique to New York. We just wanted a big plate of food and a fun environment to relax, and watch the Cyclones play Oklahoma. We found it at this place. It was your standard BBQ but we had a great time.

Fun lights!

One last thing – anytime you go to New York City, you must pick up a black and white cookie. It’s exactly what it sounds like. A giant cookie half white frosting, half black frosting. The cookie itself is like cake. Pick one up, you’ll love it! 

Check out the slide show from the trip: 

The first round consisted of tahini, pita bread, salad (strong tasting arugula), beets, Greek yogurt made from sheep’s milk, and mashed garlic potatoes. The second round would be more of the foods we ate at the other restaurant in Limmasol: haloumi (traditional cooked cheese which becomes more salty the longer you cook), liver, fried mushrooms, fried zucchini, and saif tahlia, which is another staple in mezze cuisine. One of our favorite mezze dishes was the spinach rice, which was buttery and smooth with a hint of garlic. The third round was the heavy hitter: snails, chicken and pork kebabs, and a bunch of pasta like dishes. By the time dessert rolled around (say 9:30 pm), the back half of the place was packed with people. You could hear the hustle and bustle of the crowd, laughing, and sharing good conversation over their meal. We even got to take a picture with the head chef. While we would like to think that two nights in a row of meze is enough for us, it probably won’t be our last.

Friday night is always a great time to relax with a new recipe and this past week I came across a new one that yielded a double thumbs up from Heather and I. This take on pork kebabs was so simple and tasty that we’ll need to do this one again for absolutely sure!

Here’s what you’ll do:

Take two pork chops and slice them down into two inch pieces. As these chops were really thin, it was a bit of a faff truth be told but I wanted to use chops instead of loin because of the fat content. Roasted pork fat has a lovely caramel flavour when combined with this sauce…and the sauce was the magic for this recipe and this is how it goes:

• 6 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 2 tbsp caster sugar
• 2 tbsp Heinz ketchup
• 1.5 tbs molasses
• 4 cloves fresh minced garlic
• 1 half Jalapeño pepper, seeds included and finely chopped
• 1 tbsp fresh ginger, finely chopped
• 1/2 tsp Kosher salt

Combine all of the above ingredients in a small sauce pan and bring it to a simmer, reducing it down to about 1/2 cup (takes about 3 minutes.) Now set the sauce pan aside and let the sauce cool down and thicken up. Meanwhile set up your grill for direct grilling and stabilize your temperature at 400 degrees F.

When ready, start to skewer your pork onto two bamboo sticks that have been immersed in water for 30 minutes. I used two sticks for two reasons. One, it provides for easier flipping and two, it looks cool. Once done skewering, season both sides of the pork with a sprinkle of Kosher salt and finally paint both sides of the kebabs with the sauce. Grill the kebabs for 2.5 minutes per side, any longer and you’ll start to burn the exterior and because the pork was so thinly sliced, it all cooked in a flash. At the end of your second 2.5 minutes, set the skewers aside and wrap the plate in aluminium foil. This way, you’ll keep them warm, redistribute the juices and finish off the cooking process.

Now for the vegetables, you would have done this before grilling the pork. Simply add anything you have in the fridge into a roasting tray along with some quality olive oil and salt and pepper. We roasted our veg in the oven for about 40 minutes until they were just turning colour and crisping up around the edges.

The photos below don’t do the taste any justice. Try this sauce on any cut of pork (I want to try this on a slab or ribs truthfully…) and have fun with it.

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Overall Heather Rating: 9/10

PS – good luck to all the drivers! Tonight Singapore hosts the F1 night race….go Alonso!

Another month is wrapping up so it means it is Secret Recipe Club time! How is this summer flying by?!?! It is crazy! At least it has been jam packed with great food, lots of fun with family and friends, and some awesome adventures. It just makes me wish summer was so much longer.

This time I had the blog called Without Adornment by Bean. The blog is packed full of gluten free recipes, as well as other allergen free recipes. This is perfect for someone with allergies, as well as anyone who just likes great food. I immediately saw her Tropical Pork Pineapple Kebabs and knew they would be perfect for a satisfying summertime dinner.

The original recipe was just a guide with the ingredients, and not the amounts used. I generally cook that way so I liked that there was freedom to have my own stamp on this recipe. I added some soy sauce to the marinade just so it would not be too sweet for my liking. I also had zucchini in the fridge so I added that to the kebabs too. I served this with some rice that I prepared while Price grilled up the kebabs. Totally loving our new grill, this summer, and this recipe!

Beans recipe was gluten free which I respect because for a while last year I ate gluten free and enjoyed the process and felt better from it. Anyway, I did add the soy sauce for flavor but it does wheat so if you want this to be gluten free just be sure to use a gluten free soy sauce. Or you can use Worcestershire Sauce which is naturally gluten free instead of the soy sauce and has 80% less sodium than soy sauce.

Tropical Pork Pineapple Kebabs

Serves 4

Ingredients

For Kebabs

• 1 pound of pork tenderloin cut into 1″ cubes
• pineapple cut into 1″ cube pieces, approximately half a pineapple
• 1 red pepper, cut into 1″ x 1″ pieces
• 1 zucchini, sliced into 1/4″ thick pieces
• 8 oz whole white button mushrooms

For Marinade

• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup pineapple juice
• 2 gloves garlic, crushed
• 1 teaspoon chili garlic sauce, known as sambal
• 1 cup of diced pineapple
• 1 tablespoon of brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon of white pepper

Process

1. Soak 10 wooden skewers for at least an hour before using them.
2. Prepare the marinade first by combine all of the marinade in a bowl or large plastic bag. Mix thoroughly and then add the pork pieces to the marinade. Store in the refrigerator while the meat marinates for at least 1 hour minutes.
3. Once skewers are soaked and the meat is marinated, thread the pork, pineapple, pepper, zucchini, and mushrooms. Repeat the series twice and end with a piece of pork.
4. Grill the kebabs over medium-high heat. Using a basting brush, brush the kebabs with the marinade each time you turn the kebabs grilling each side.
5. Cook the kebabs until done with an internal temperature of the pork is 145 degrees. Let rest for about 5 minutes before serving.

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Check out my previous Secret Recipe Club Posts:

June: Cheesy Garlic Knots

May: Berry Brownie Torte

April: Peanut Butter Cup Ice Cream

March: Sauteed Green Beans with Lemon and Almonds

February: Fried Pickles

Jan: No SRC postings

December: Shrimp Sriracha Stir Fry

November: Vegetable Enchiladas

October: Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars

Check out the rest of the reveal day posts!

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Thanks for visiting. Please leave me a comment to provide some feedback. I appreciate all the comments I receive.

Whisk the following ingredients together until emulsified and then pour over 1 1/4 pounds of boneless pork loin cubes:

1/4 cup orange juice
1 Tbsp. orange zest
2 – 5 garlic cloves, crushed
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh Thyme
1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
salt & pepper to taste
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

Marinate 30 minutes. Grill.

Grilled Balsamic Pork Kebabs via Rachael Ray Magazine ~ the recipe only calls for onions on the kebabs with the pork, but we added zucchini to get some extra veggies

Buttermilk Pancakes via The Pancake Handbook ~ we added a handful or two of blueberries + they came out fantastic!

Bizcochitos via Food Network Magazine ~ I’ve never even heard of this type of cookie before, but is apparently New Mexico’s signature shortbread cookie. You can really taste the star anise to give it a unique flavor. Great with some passion tea!

Coming up this next week I’m going to try my first ever ice cream cake + a new pasta dish with chicken sausage! What are your favorite recipes?

~katie

BARBECUED PORK AND APPLE KEBABS
(from Martha Stewart website)

1/2 cup apricot jam
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for grill
salt and pepper
2 small pork tenderloins -  halved lengthwise and cut into 16 cubes
1 medium red onion, cut into 8 wedges
1 Granny Smith apple, peeled and cut into 8 wedges

If using wooden skewers, soak them in water for several hours.  Assemble long skewers alternating pieces of pork, onion, and apple wedges.  Start with t a piece of meat, and end with a piece of apple.  Reserve.  (This step can be made several hours ahead of grilling).

In a small bowl, combine the apricot jam, vinegar, tomato paste,  and 1 Tsp olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.

Heat grill to medium-high, and oil the grates. Sprinkle the kebabs lightly with salt and black pepper.   Place skewers on grill; cover grill, and cook, turning occasionally, until grill marks are visible, about  8 minutes.  Brush the kebabs with some sauce, and cook, turning skewers and basting occasionally with more sauce, until pork is no longer pink in the center and is nicely glazed, 6  to 8 minutes more.

Serve over steamed rice, couscous, or just with a salad.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

My only modification of the recipe was to skip the step of peeling the apples.  I hate peeling apples because I lose about 63% of the fruit in the process.  Anyway, not a good move.  I thought that the peel would help the apple keep its shape and would not interfere with the taste, but it just doesn’t work this way.  Do as Martha does, peel your apples!

These kebabs are absolutely great, we gave them two thumbs way up…   Since grilling takes less than 15 minutes, pick side dishes that cook quickly too.  I went with couscous – cannot beat that – and simply sauteed green beans.

Leftovers were still moist and tender next day, I warmed them briefly in the microwave and squeezed a little lemon juice when they were ready to be enjoyed.  The apricot glaze is a keeper, for pork, chicken, shrimp… endless possibilities.

ONE YEAR AGO:  Saying Goodbye (1 year without our sweet Pits)

TWO YEARS AGO: Got Spinach? Have a salad!

Kebabs

• 1 Pork Fillet
• 2 Cloves Garlic
• 1 tbs Lemon Juice
• 5 tbs Olive Oil
• Parsley
• 1 Red Pepper
• 10 Button Mushrooms
• 2 Tomato
• 1 Onion

Press the garlic and mix with the lemon juice, oil and finely chopped parsley/  Cut the fillet into 1/2 inch thick slices, and pour the marinade over the meat.  Leave for 4 hours in the fridge.

Cut the pepper into roughly equal size pieces to the meat, and thread onto skewers with the mushrooms, onion chunks and tomato.  Keep the marinade for basting.

When the barbecue is ready for cooking, place the skewers on it and pour over the remaining marinade (careful as it will flame up).  Turn them regularly and do not let them burn!