Goat Cheese Pappardelle with Pecans, Mushrooms, and Basil

I had a total blast yesterday with friends and fellow food-lovers The Bells as we headed up the dark interstate late last night to see Serenbe Playhouse’s “The Sleepy Hollow Experience.” We got to Serenbe a little early and decided to sample some drinks and desserts at The Hil, which has been featured in Southern Living, Bon Appetit, and Food & Wine among many other publications. While enjoying a lovely chat with the chef-owner’s delightful mother in the bar, we tasted the infamous bourbon pecan tart (I enjoyed it with an amaretto coffee, myself) that had an almost croissant-like crust.

heavenly

The play was delightful: eerie without being spooky and humorous without being campy, and good for all ages. The only downside: it was about 30 degrees and the entire experience was outdoors. This morning I awoke , after getting home at about 2am, to a raging headcold that shattered any plans of productivity for the rest of the day. This includes, of course, the regularly scheduled weekend grocery store run. Hungry and without much in the way of leftovers in the fridge, I scavenged what I could find for a warm, soothing pasta dish.

the fruits of my ransacking!

“Ok, cool, this looks normal. I can totally do this! Pasta, lemon, pecans, goat cheese, fresh basil, and WHAT THE HOLY HELL IS THAT ON THE END?”

I know. Trust me, I know. This, my friends, is a Lion’s Mane mushroom, supposedly one of the healthiest mushrooms you can possibly consume. I picked it up along with some baby shiitakes at the Mulberry Street Market this week from the delightful Jonathan of Sparta Imperial Mushrooms (actually, I inquired about it purely out of interest and he very generously threw one in with my shiitakes as a sample; what a guy!). Fresh mushrooms are in their ideal state of being when sauteed very briefly in only a tiny touch of butter. The mushroom itself has an amazing flavor that comes out when cooked and you don’t need to ruin it by making it mushy or throwing it in with a bunch of other stuff.

I cooked my pappardelle quickly (4 minutes tops, guys, this stuff is fragile) and tossed it with the goat cheese, a ladle-full of pasta water to thin it into a sauce, lemon zest, and the juice from half the lemon. I chopped and toasted the pecans, and also roughly diced and cooked the mushroom over high heat in a cast-iron skillet with a little bit of butter. The mushroom bits got crunchy and browned, and almost reminded me of lump crab meat in the end. I topped the pasta with these and some fresh shredded basil. Comfort food to the extreme, and I never even had to take my fleece socks off!

sigh…

Coconut Curry Chicken Stew

I’m having a whirlwind romance with chicken thighs, you guys. I’ve always loved them but very rarely bought them for home consumption. I saw them as a special moist treat for when I visited a fried chicken joint. But no more! I’ve been using them for the past few months in most every chicken recipe I can find and I have no regrets. This savory and filling stew especially needs the darker meat to keep up with the other strong flavors. Makes about a week’s worth of leftovers for one, or several days worth of very large helpings for two. Talk about a budget meal! And it tastes better and better the longer it sits.

Note: you can easily make this paleo-friendly by subbing out the peas and corn for other veggies like eggplant, carrots, or cauliflower. Win!

Ingredients

• 5-6 cloves fresh garlic, peeled
• 1 small Vidalia onion, roughly chopped
• 3 tbsp fresh ginger root, peeled and roughly chopped
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 2 tsp cumin
• 2 tsp curry powder (this is my 100% favorite kind)
• red chili flakes to taste
• 2lbs chicken thighs, cut into 2-inch chunks
• 1 can baby corn, cut into manageable pieces
• 2 cups peas (or the veggie of your choice), can be fresh or frozen
• 2 cans coconut milk
• 2 tsp cornstarch

In a food processor if you have one (the blender will do otherwise), puree the garlic, onion, and ginger. Inhale deeply and feel it cleansing your pores from the inside out. In a heavy-bottomed pot (see, e.g. a Le Creuset), heat the olive oil and butter over medium heat. Add the puree and cook until extra fragrant (just a few minutes). Stir in your spices and cook for a few minutes more.

Add the chicken to the pot and bring the heat up just a bit. Mix it all up and keep moving the chicken around so it’s all evenly cooking. You’ll want to at least sear the chicken on all sides before you add the liquid.

Once the chicken is mostly cooked, pour in the coconut milk, reserving a bit of the thick cream on top. This will be how you will incorporate the cornstarch later… Also add your veggies of choice and let it simmer away until the chicken is completely cooked through. Whisk the cornstarch into the reserved coconut cream and add to the pot at the end. If you like a thinner soup, just skip that part! I wanted something more stick-to-your-ribs, so I went with it. You can serve this over rice if you’d  like, but it’s pretty perfect just on its own. Enjoy in the cooling night air with good company and a glass of white wine.

Warm and satisfying!

Stuffed Pork Tenderloin Sammiches

You guys. I just had the best sandwich of my entire life. And, I mean, I’ve had a lot of great sandwiches. But this one was BANANAS. It all started with a take on Ina Garten’s fennel and onion stuffed pork tenderloin… *film blur*

Ingredients

• 3lb pork tenderloin, butterflied all the way out
• 1 cup plain breadcrumbs
• 1 cup thinly sliced fennel bulb
• 1 cup thinly sliced Vidalia onion
• 1 tbsp minced garlic
• 1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
• 1 tbsp each butter and olive oil
• 2 tbsp pastis (Ricard is best, Pernod is acceptable)
• salt and pepper

Preheat your oven to 425*. Melt the butter and olive oil together in a pan over medium heat, then saute the fennel and onions until they are soft and browned. Add the garlic, thyme, pastis, and salt and pepper to taste. Toss with the breadcrumbs, sprinkle your unrolled pork with more salt and pepper, then pack in the stuffing. Roll the tenderloin up and tie it together with some kitchen twine., and salt and pepper the outside. Place on a baking rack over a sheet pan and roast for 30 minutes, then turn the heat down to 350* and cook for 20 more minutes. Let it rest and slice it up!

This is my cat receiving his share of pork, moments before he nearly took my hand off for it.

It is phenomenally delicious as it is, especially when paired with the orange, fennel, and pomegranate salad I made, but DUDES. This is the epitome of leftover nirvana and was suggested by someone who is clearly a freakin’ genius. Slice up some of your leftover pork. This is what it looks like cold, fyi:

JEAH!!

Heat up a bit of butter in the pan and lightly grill a sandwich roll. Remove the buns and toast up the pork rounds until they get a nice crispy outside. Remove, add a bit more butter and your favorite bbq sauce to the pan to thicken quickly. I was recently turned on to Montgomery Inn, a Cincinnati-style sauce that is AWESOME with this sandwich. My knees go weak at the thought of it now. Hmmmmm. *blush*

Anyway…

Place pork on bun, pour sauce on pork, top with other bun like so:

Stop it, you tease.

Devour mightily. I know it looks insanely simple but this is just mind-blowingly good.

See, e.g., the carnage.