Recipe Request - Apple Tort & Others

BobS

I had a couple of requests for recipe details from the Pepper Crusted Pork Loin post that I made yesterday.

The first is the apple tort. The recipe was scanned from a magazine and is in .jpg format. I uploaded it like a picture, so I hope this works.





The apricot sauce is just something I started making and does not have well defined quantities, but it is very forgiving. The following is a starting point for enough sauce for 2-3 chops.

1/2 Cup apricot preserves
1/4 Grand Mariner (orange flavored liquor)
1/4 Cup dried cranberries

Mix together over low hear and let simmer for about 15 minutes -- until some of the color of the cranberries has gone into the sauce and they have plumped a little.

Note: I am sure you could use most any liquor or even water to thin the apricot preserves. I have substituted golden raisens and currents for the cranberries and it is also very good.

The poached pepper comes from a recipe I got from the Cooks Illustraged, TV program. The original, shown below is for a beef tenderloin and I adapted it to pork.

Pepper-Crusted Filet Mignon with Port Cherry Reduction Sauce
Cooks Illustrated

Heating the peppercorns in oil tempers much of their pungent heat, but this recipe is still pretty spicy. If you prefer a very mild pepper flavor, drain the cooled peppercorns in a fine-mesh strainer in step 1, toss them with 5 tablespoons of fresh oil, add the salt, and proceed. Serve with either Port Cherry Reduction

INGREDIENTS

5 tablespoons black peppercorns , cracked
5 tablespoons olive oil , plus 2 teaspoons
1 tablespoon kosher salt
4 center-cut filets mignons , 1 1/2 to 2 inches thick, 7 to 8 ounces each, trimmed of fat and silver skin

RMS Comments:
I did this with NY Strip and it was great.
Crack the pepper by spreading it out on a cutting board and pressing with the rounded edge of a heavy skillet. The idea is to break the pepper in 3-4 pieces, not grind it.

1. Heat peppercorns and 5 tablespoons oil in small saucepan over low heat until faint bubbles appear. Continue to cook at bare simmer, swirling pan occasionally, until pepper is fragrant, 7 to 10 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside to cool. When mixture is room temperature, add salt and stir to combine. Rub steaks with oil and pepper mixture, thoroughly coating top and bottom of each steak with peppercorns. Cover steaks with plastic wrap and press gently to make sure peppercorns adhere; let stand at room temperature for 1 hour.

Heating the peppercorns in oil tempers much of their pungent heat, but this recipe is still pretty spicy. If you prefer a very mild pepper flavor, drain the cooled peppercorns in a fine-mesh strainer in step 1, toss them with 5 tablespoons of fresh oil, add the salt, and proceed. Serve with either Port Cherry Reduction

2. Meanwhile, adjust oven rack to middle position, place rimmed baking sheet on oven rack, and heat oven to 450 degrees. Heat remaining 2 teaspoons oil in 12-inch heavy-bottomed skillet over medium-high heat until faint smoke appears. Place steaks in skillet and cook, without moving steaks, until dark brown crust has formed, 3 to 4 minutes. Using tongs, turn steaks and cook until well browned on second side, about 3 minutes. Remove pan from heat and transfer steaks to hot baking sheet. Roast 3 to 5 minutes for rare, 5 to 7 minutes for medium-rare to medium. Transfer steaks to wire cooling rack and let rest, loosely tented with foil, for 5 minutes before serving.

RMS Comment: You can also put them on a rack in a slow oven, at 250 F, and slowly bring the internal temp up to about 110 and then finish in the hot skillet. Works well on pork loin too.

bobbyb

Bob,
Appreciate you getting back to us on these items. I know what we are having for dinner tonight. Looks yummy.