Roast Pork Loin stuffed with Sage and Walnut Pesto wrapped in Bacon

I recently bought a fresh bunch of sage.  It sat in my fridge for a few days and started to make me nervous.  How was I going to use all that sage up?  I thought about many different recipes, but then I came up with one recipe to really pack a powerful sage punch... Sage Pesto. I thought a mild and lean pork loin would make a perfect canvas to allow the sage pesto to shine so I went to work on making the stuffed pork.   Once I stuffed the pork loin I needed something to make sure it stayed put. I didn't have any kitchen twine so I decided I would use some pork twine... also known as bacon.  The bacon was like magic because it basted the pork loin and all I had to do was stick it in the oven and let it roast.  Add your favorite vegetable or sides (I roasted some cauliflower and served it over spinach). Dinner was so elegant that I wished I had company to show it off to. :)

Ingredients:
Pork loin (most packages give you two)
Sage Pesto (see pesto recipe below)
6-8 strips of bacon

Pesto Ingredients:
1/2 cup of sage leaves
1/4 cup of toasted walnuts
seasoning salt and red pepper flakes to taste
2 Tbs of olive oil

Directions:  Put all of the ingredients into a food processor and grind until it forms a thick paste.


Directions:


Step 1:  Butterfly your pork loins.  Cut them in half but not all the way through so it looks like a book.  Then take your sage pesto and apply it on the inside of each loin.







 Take bacon strips and wrap around each pork loin.  Put into a baking dish and salt and pepper the loins.  Careful with the salt because the bacon will add salt too.   Bake in a 350 degree oven for 50-55 minutes.  Allow to rest for 10 minutes before carving.  Enjoy.








 

Copyright: All recipes, content, and images (unless otherwise stated) are the sole property of Curry and Comfort. Please do not use without prior written consent. Unauthorized reproduction is strictly prohibited.

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Roast Pork Loin stuffed with Sage and Walnut Pesto wrapped in Bacon

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Bacon, Fig and Arugula Pizza

Today I took a new step in my culinary journey. I just tried for the first time today.... the Fig.  I have never eaten a fresh fig before.  I don't know if I've had figs in anything other than the famous Fig Newtons cookies.  So I was a little apprehensive when I saw the figs on sale at my local grocery store.  Should I buy it and see what all the hype is about?  I see figs used in so many "fancy" recipes.  Yes, I consider them as fancy because I don't really see figs as a every day ingredient.  I decided that I would take a safe route with my two precious newly bought figs by pairing it with Bacon!  Now how could I go wrong there?  I loved my BLT Pizza so much I decided to make it's "fancy" cousin the BLF Pizza.  I don't know if I came up with the combination or not,  but darn if it wasn't a good idea.  The sweetness of  the fig paired so wonderfully with the salty bacon.   The "lettuce" I decided to use was spicy arugula.  I think I ate two pieces after I took my glamor shots for the blog and now I'm ready to go down and eat another piece because yes it was just that darn good.    


                                              



Ingredients:
 2-3 fresh ripe figs
5-6 slices of bacon crispy
1 large handful of baby arugula
1/3 cup of plain cream cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
1 premade pizza crust such as pita, naan, afghan bread or boboli








Directions:


Bake your bacon in the oven.  Place bacon on a cooling rack over a baking tray and bake at 450 degrees for 10-15 minutes or until the bacon is crispy enough to crumble.  While you have the oven on heat up your pizza crust base until it is warm and slightly crispy around the edges.






Next spread some cream cheese to cover the base of the crust.

Note: I recommend using "whipped" cream cheese if you can get it because it's lighter and easier to apply.







Chop one fig well and apply over the cream cheese in an even layer.





Next top with your crumbled bacon.  I like a lot of bacon.









Finally top with your arugula leaves a salt and pepper you like and more sliced pieces of figs.

Enjoy!  : )

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Bacon, Fig and Arugula Pizza

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https://jessica-dorrell-pictures.blogspot.com/2011/09/bacon-fig-and-arugula-pizza.html

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Curried Hoppin' John with Pork and Bacon

I love rice and curry, but what I don't like is the multiple dishes.  You need to cook at least 2-4 dishes to accompany the rice and make it a real meal.  That means many pots/pans and lots of cleaning up to do.  Sometimes a one-pot dish is just what is in order.  This curried "Hoppin' John" is just that.  It pretty much comes together in one pot (with the exception of the rice).  This is also a great way to use up leftover rice.  I added a lot of lovely blacked eyed peas, pork and BACON!  The crumbled bacon bits are little little jewels in this dish.  I created this dish on the cuff and I was very happy on how easy and good it was.   It's spicy, filling, full of protein and flavor.  This one is definitely a home run.

Note:  Hoppin' John is a Southern United States rice and beans dish that originated from West Africa. 



Ingredients:
5 cups of cooked rice (brown or white)
2 (15oz) cans of black eyed peas rinsed
1lb of lean pork diced small
6-8 slices of bacon diced
15-20 curry leaves
1 small stick of cinnamon
2 bay leaves


1 tsp of cumin seeds
1tsp of black mustard seeds
1/3 tsp of ground turmeric
2 tsp of curry powder (I used McCormick brand)
2 cloves of garlic grated
1 inch of ginger grated
1 medium onion chopped
2 celery stalks diced small
1 bunch of scallions sliced
2-3 green chilies
1 tsp of red chili flakes (or to taste)
1 1/2 cups of chicken stock (or chicken bullion and water)
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Note:  Before cooking the "Hoppin' John Curry make sure you have 5 cups of cooked rice ready to go.  Rice that is already cool gives the best results. 




In a large pot/pan render out the diced bacon.  When the bacon gets crispy (but not burned) you can drain on a paper towel and reserve until later.  You can get discard the oil and use canola oil or you can use 2 Tbs of the bacon fat to cook the vegetables and pork that comes next. 

I decided to go for the bacon fat this time around.  It gave a lot of flavor.




In the same pan add your curry leaves, bay leaves,  cumin seeds, mustard seeds and cinnamon stick.  Fry for 30-45 seconds until the seeds start to splutter.







Next add your diced pork, onions, celery, chilies and scallions.  Cook for 2-3 minutes.  Then add your grated ginger and garlic.  Cook for another 1-2 minutes.

** salt to season your pork and vegetables here, but remember you will be adding chicken stock/bullion and bacon later so salt conservatively.




Now add your ground spices: curry powder, chili flakes and turmeric.  Allow the spices to bloom for 1-2 minutes.   Then add your chicken stock or water and chicken bullion powder.







Next add your cans of drained and rinsed black eyed peas.  Simmer the dish on medium for 10-12 minutes. 








Once the curry is made and seasoned to your desired taste, add the cooked rice. Mix the rice into the curry gently.








Top with the crumbled bacon and serve.  Serves 4-6 people.  This dish goes very well with a raita yogurt salad.  Here is a link to one of my raita salads:  Cucumber and Carrot Raita.    Enjoy.

Copyright: All recipes, content, and images (unless otherwise stated) are the sole property of Curry and Comfort. Please do not use without prior written consent. Unauthorized reproduction is strictly prohibited. 

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Curried Hoppin' John with Pork and Bacon

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https://jessica-dorrell-pictures.blogspot.com/2011/08/curried-hoppin-john-with-pork-and-bacon.html

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BLT Pizza -Bacon Lettuce and Tomato Pizza

I was having a dinner time dilemma.  I had two hungry/tired kids, one grumpy husband and I was rushing to get dinner on the table after coming home from piano lessons.  I had nothing really planned so I decided to just wing it and make this BLT Pizza.  It came together surprisingly fast and I know I had it done before I could order pizza.  What a fun dinner.  My son is not a fan of tomatoes (except in sauce form) so I was able to even accommodate him by just making him a bacon and lettuce pizza.  One dish, 4 happy people and only 1 baking tray and cutting board to really wash up.  Yes, now that's my kind of dinner.



 Ingredients:
1 bunch of romaine lettuce shredded
1 pint of grape tomatoes sliced
4oz Philadelphia Chive & Onion Cream Cheese (see note)
Pizza base (see note)
8-10 slices of bacon crumbled
Salt and Pepper to taste


Notes:  Chive flavored cream cheese is a key ingredient giving this pizza some extra pizazz.  If you cannot find this, you can try to make your own by mixing plain cream cheese with 1/2 tsp of onion powder and 2Tbs of minced fresh chives.  I also like the texture of the "whipped cream cheese because it spreads much easier.

Notes:  You can use any pita, naan, boboli style pizza crust or afghan bread for your pizza crust.  If you decide to use pizza dough, pre-bake your pizza crust before making this pizza. 

Directions:

You will need to first get your bacon cooked.  The easiest way to make bacon is to bake it in the oven.  You will get perfectly crispy bacon and you don't have to do anything but let it bake.  Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.  You will need a baking tray and some cooling racks placed on top of it or you can use your broiler pan that is slotted with a drip pan.  Lay your bacon across the cooling racks.  Place them in the oven for 15 minutes or until the bacon is fully cooked and ready to crumble.  The bacon will be crispy, perfectly straight and all the oil will have dripped to the lower tray.  I love this method. 


Yummy BACON!!




While your bacon is baking, you can also crisp up your pizza base.  I used this great Afghan bread that makes perfect pizza crust.  But any of your favorite pizza bases that are pre-baked and heated are perfectly fine.   Once the pizza base is heated (but not too hot) apply the chive and onion cream cheese all over the base. 
 


Next layer the shredded romaine lettuce, sliced grape tomatoes, salt and pepper and bacon.

 
Enjoy.

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BLT Pizza -Bacon Lettuce and Tomato Pizza

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https://jessica-dorrell-pictures.blogspot.com/2011/08/blt-pizza-bacon-lettuce-and-tomato.html

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Caramelized Onion & Bacon Pie

I saw this recipe in the Oprah Magazine Cookbook and thought I must try it.  It only has a few ingredients and comes together quite easily.  You do have to have some patience when it comes to caramelizing the onions.  So if you can do that, then it's a nice recipe for a light dinner or brunch.




                                       
 You will need about 4-5 slices of bacon.  I cut them and pan fried them until they were crispy.   Then transfer them to a paper towel to drain and crumble them when they have cooled down.  Set aside 1-2 Tbs of bacon drippings to use later.  Discard the rest of  the drippings.






  Add 2 medium onions sliced to the frying pan with 1-2 Tbs of bacon drippings on medium-high heat.  Once the onions start to brown (after 7-8 minutes), add a bit of salt and 1 tsp of dry thyme or 1 Tbs of fresh time and lower the heat to medium-low. Allow to cook for 20 more minutes until the onions caramelize.  






While the onions caramelize, you can make the ricotta filling.
You will need:
1 cup whole milk ricotta cheese
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg yolk
Fresh ground pepper - to taste
1/4 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano
1/3 of tsp of dried thyme or 1 tsp fresh thyme
Combine all together and set aside.




In a store bought frozen pie crust (or homemade if you prefer) spread the ricotta mixture evenly on the bottom of the pie crust.









Then spread the caramelized onions evenly on top of the ricotta mixture.  Sprinkle  with 1 Tbs of Parmigiano cheese.








Sprinkle crumbled bacon on top and bake in a 350 degree oven for 30-40 minutes or until the crust is golden brown. I suggest you allow it to cook for 20 minutes before serving.











Serves 6-8 people.  I served it with a green salad to make it a full dinner.  You can always entertain with this at a brunch buffet.   Enjoy.

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Caramelized Onion & Bacon Pie

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