So, I was perusing my mounds of cooking magazines a few weeks ago and ran across this beauty. (BTW, I may have a problem… So. Many. Magazines.) It’s gorgeous, impressive, wonderfully Paleo, and more than a little intimidating.  For several weeks, it stayed at the back of my mind – I figured I’d wait for a dinner party or even Thanksgiving to try it out, but on Friday Central Market was running a special on pork tenderloins, so I figured I’d give it a try. All by myself.

What I didn’t realize when I bought all the supplies (rookie mistake = not THOROUGHLY reading the instructions before shopping), is that I would actually need to do a little butchery to make this happen.  As it turns out, it was a lot easier than I thought… I’m toying with the idea of a video instructional – anyone interested?

I didn’t really alter the recipe at all – it’s pretty stinking amazing to start with, so check it out on BonAppetit.com:

RECIPE: Bon Appetit Prosciutto-Wrapped Pork Loin with Roasted Apples

So, here’s a little photo account of the preparation. I’ll say up front that I really liked how this dish turned out… It’s a teensy bit complicated, but the flavors are lovely and you can’t beat the presentation. You can even make it a day ahead and then roast just before your dinner… perfect!

Let’s dig in… I’m a huge proponent of the mise en place style of cooking (French for “everything in place”). Especially with a dish with lots of components, I find it super helpful to get all my ingredients prepped and separated into individual containers. This can also help avoid any surprises mid-recipe when you realized that you totally forgot to buy mushrooms. Here’s my mise en place setup for this recipe:

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Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Apples

I’m back! Whew! So sorry for the lag in posting – it’s been a crazy month, and we’ve either been out of town or had house guests the last four weekends in a row. Tons of fun, but it didn’t leave a lot of time for experimenting in the kitchen.  Finally got some downtime with the hubs yesterday, and it really was a fantastic day – woke up to the rain (Rain? In Austin? Seriously??), went for a nice, easy Sunday run, practiced my double-unders & handstands, ate a delish bun-less burger at Hopdoddy (I tried the Llano Poblano – yum!), and then rounded things out with Halloween costume shopping on South Congress (going to rock it this year!). Just lovely. We capped off the day by cooking dinner together and then watching John Carpenter’s The Thing (the original)… really a fantastic film, and despite being made in the early 80’s, it totally stands up today.

So, back to the food!  We made a couple of new dishes yesterday – all the recipes are coming shortly! Let’s start with my favorite of the newbies: Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Apples. Both P.J. and I agreed that this one just tasted like Fall and would be a really great Paleo Thanksgiving side option.  Hope you like ’em! Check out the recipe after the jump…

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Avocado, Grapefruit and Pomegranate Salad

I owe this tangy, satisfying salad all to my husband.  I’ll be the first to admit that these days, when I think about what to make for dinner, I think about meat. Mmmm, meat. That sometimes has the unfortunate side-effect, however, of leaving my vegetarian hubby out in the cold. Being that I’ve only recently come to enjoy the greener spectrum of foods, P.J. has been a great resource for figuring out tasty new veggie-friendly dishes, and he’s always game to experiment with whatever’s fresh.

On this particular occasion, we had been to the Farmers Market that morning and picked up some yummy local pomegranates…inspiration! This salad is his creation… it’s got a really nice tang to it, and the pomegranate seeds and almonds add a nice crunch of texture.  Follow the jump for the recipe!

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Hatch Green Chile Breakfast Scramble with Avocado

It’s Hatch chile season here in Austin, which basically means that all the grocery stores are overflowing with these gorgeous green chiles.  I’ve only recently started using a lot of chiles in my cooking… I found them a little intimidating before I started using them regularly. Needless to say, I hadn’t yet experimented with this particular chile until this past Sunday.  The hubby and I were home enjoying some much-needed quiet time, and rather than go out for brunch, I decided to whip up a super simple breakfast scramble using one of the chiles I’d grabbed at the market.  I made this version vegetarian so we could both enjoy it, but you could definitely add some cooked bacon directly into the eggs if you’d like! Follow the jump for the scramble recipe.

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Sauteed Brussels Sprouts with Apple

I’ve got a new side dish for you guys today, inspired by the lovely folks over at Cavemen Gourmet: Sauteed Brussels Sprouts with Apple. Brussels sprouts, eh?  I’ve had friends tell me for years that Brussels sprouts, when prepared well, can be really tasty, and honestly, I thought they were all a little crazy.  Chalk it up to my changing tastes (or maybe the fact that they’re totally right), but I really liked this recipe.  The sweet/tart of the apple is a really nice balance to the sprouts.  Plus, it takes all of about 20 minutes to make. Total. Check out my version after the jump…

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Paleo Sweet Potato Fries Ready for the Munchin'

Every once in a while, it’s nice to eat something that’s a kick-back to the pre-Paleo days: something salty and reminiscent of burger drive-throughs without being a total gut-killer.  Sweet potato fries definitely fall into that category.  The combo of sweet and salty really hits the spot, especially alongside a good steak or bacon burger (bun-less, of course!). Yum!  My wonderful brother-in-law M made these when we were up in Connecticut a few weeks ago, so I had to give it a shot in my own kitchen.

Following is my recipe for baked (not fried!) sweet potato fries:
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Feeding my turkey addiction: Roasted Turkey Breast

I LOVE the house-made Traditional Roasted Turkey Breast at Central Market. They actually give me funny looks at the deli counter when I ask for four pounds of this stuff.  It’s just a simple roasted turkey breast seasoned with olive oil, salt, and pepper.  I got a wild hair this week to try roasting my own turkey breast. My only prior experience with roasting turkey was Thanksgiving a few years ago… it involved a 5-gallon brining bag filled with seasoned salt water and turkey juice that ended up all over my kitchen floor.  Although I did have to thoroughly disinfect my floor, my kitchen did smell wonderfully of rosemary for several days… 😉  Needless to say, it was time to re-tackle the turkey.

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Steamed Broccolini with Lemon

This is one of my husband P.J.’s go-to dishes… He’s a vegetarian, so he’s been a great influence on me in terms of incorporating more vegetables into my daily diet.  He’s also one of those guys who can grab four seemingly unrelated things from the fridge and create something awesome.  It’s an incredible skill, and I love it about him.  He created this dish to round out our main course options at the inaugural Paleo Dinner Party.  I take no credit for this dish – it’s all him!

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Savory Roasted Butternut Squash with Thyme

These were a HUGE hit at our Paleo dinner party last Saturday. The combo of sweet and savory paired beautifully with our pan-seared roasted pork chops, and they’d also be great as a fall/holiday dish. I highly recommend peeling/prepping your squash ahead of time… it’s not the most fun thing to do, and it seems to take a little longer than you’d think.  Not much fun when you’re trying to pull together your dinner at the last minute.

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A Towering Stack of Simple, Tasty Bone-In Pork Chops

Time for a new protein! I wrote recently that I’ve always been intimidated by cooking steak. As it turns out, same goes for pork chops. I’ve had some dry, icky pork chops over the years, and I was also nervous about under-cooking the pork (as we know, you definitely don’t want to under-cook your pork…). With the recent changes in cooking guidelines for pork and the fact that I’ve made beef filets for the last 4 of 5 meals I’ve cooked for friends/family, I figured it was time to try the pork chop.

I REALLY enjoyed these pork chops, and they were super easy to make. This is going to become a regular weeknight protein for me.

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