Rosemary Pork Tenderloin

A fairly quick and very inexpensive way to prepare a versatile cut of meat such as tenderloin. The recipe calls for:

- 1/3 cup Dijon mustard

- 2 tbsp freshly ground black pepper

- 1 tbsp freshly chopped rosemary leaves, plus 2 sprigs rosemary, with hard woody stems

- 5 large garlic cloves, 2 cloves minced, 3 cloves smashed

- 1 pork tenderloin, about 2 lbs 

In a small bowl, whisk together the Dijon mustard, fresh ground black pepper, chopped rosemary, and minced garlic and mix well. Rub the mustard mixture over the surface of the tenderloin and wrap in plastic wrap. Marinate in the refrigerator for 1 hour. 

Rosemary Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Strawberry-Prosecco Risotto

Tenderloin:

Rub the tenderloin with oil, salt, pepper, and rosemary. Cover with plastic wrap and let it marinate for an hour or two in the refrigerator.

Pecan-Crusted Pork Tenderloin Pinwheels with Carolina Mustard Sauce

I made this recipe some time ago, but could not find the time to post until now, so here it is today. I used:

- 1 pork tenderloin of about 1 lb

- 4 bacon strips

- 3/4 cup coarsely chopped pecans

- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Carolina Sauce: 

1/2 cup prepared mustard
1/4 cup honey
1/8 cup cider vinegar

1 tablespoon ketchup

1 tablespoon firmly-packed brown sugar

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon hot pepper sauce

Pork Tenderloin with Apples

I love cooking pork tenderloin because it is so versatile, partners well with fruit, onion or mustard and cooks up so quickly. It is especially helpful for a mid-week meal, and the recipe I'll show you does not require more than 30 minutes from start to finish.

For 2 persons:

- 1 pork tenderloin (I cut mine in half)

- 1 clove garlic, peeled and cut into slivers

- 1 teaspoon ground cumin

- 1 tablespoon grapeseed oil or canola oil

- 1/2 cup chicken or beef broth

-  1/2 cup white wine (can be substituted with apple brandy or apple cider)

- 1 medium size apple, peeled, cored and sliced - use a good cooking apple such as Jonagold or Fuji (not Red Delicious)

- salt and pepper to taste

Raw Broccoli Salad - Salata de broccoli crud

For this salad the quantities are entirely up to you. I made it for an office party an it was an absolute hit, I could not believe my eyes! Each and every person asked me about the recipe, it was such a success! I used these ingredients:

Cantitatile necesare pentru salata aceasta depind de gustul fiecaruia. Eu am facut-o pentru o petrecere la birou si a avut un succes neasteptat, toata lumea a dorit sa stie reteta! Astea sunt ingredientele:

- 3 heads raw broccoli, very finely chopped (remove the stem completely) - 3 capatzani broccoli, foarte fin tocate

- 1 large red onion, also very finely chopped - o ceapa rosie mare, de asemenea fin tocata

- 1/2 lb Canadian bacon - 200 gr sunca

- mayonnaise (I used homemade mayo - 1 egg yolk, 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard, vegetable oil, salt and pepper to taste, lemon juice) - maioneza (eu am facut-o in casa - 1 galbenus de ou, 1 lingurita mustar de Dijon, ulei, sare si piper dupa gust, suc de lamaie)

- sour cream - smantana

- salt and pepper to taste - sare si piper dupa gust

Put the raw broccoli in a large bowl

Puneti broccoli-ul crud intr-un castron mare

Potatoes and Smoked Ham Sour Soup

Another recipe that is very traditional to me, comfort food simple to make and completely satisfying.

Ingredients:

- 1 bunch scallions, cleaned and finely chopped

- 1 medium onion, also finely chopped

- 2 medium carrots, cleaned and finely sliced

- about 1/3 lb smoked ham, cubed

- salt and pepper to taste

- tomato juice

- sauerkraut juice (or lemon juice), to taste

- 2 tablespoons olive oil

Heat the olive oil in a pot over medium heat, then add the carrots, scallions and onion and allow them to sweat for 5-10 minutes.

Braised Cabbage with Fried Sausage

This is another traditional recipe that my daughter cannot get enough of, and which is very easy to make. Instead of the normal green cabbage, which here seems to be very tough, I used some Savoy cabbage. The sausage is not mandatory, this might very well be a vegetarian side dish.

You'll need:

- 1 medium green (or Savoy) cabbage

- 1 cup white wine (optional, can be replaced with water)

- 2 tablespoons tomato paste

- salt, pepper to taste

- sweet paprika, caraway, thyme, bay leaf to taste

- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Cut the cabbage in half and core each of the halves. Preheat the oven to 400F

Chiftele - Meatballs

Fiica-mii ii plac teribil de mult, si nici nu-s mare inginerie. Se fac repede si se pot asorta la orice garnitura. Puteti folosi orice fel de carne, eu am folosit asa:

- 250 gr carne de porc tocata
- 250 gr carne de vita tocata
- 1 legatura de ceapa verde, maruntita
- 2 catei de usturoi, dati pe razatoare
- 2 oua
- 1 morcov mic, ras
- cimbru uscat
- patrunjel uscat
- sare, piper dupa gust
- foarte putin sos iute
- o lingura sos Worcestershire
- faina
- ulei pentru prajit

These are my daughter's absolute favorites, she eats them like candy. They are very easy to make and go with basically any side dish. You can make them with any type of meat, this is what I used:

- 1/2 lb ground pork meat

- 1/2 lb beef ground meat

- 1 bunch scallions, finely chopped (can be replaced with shallots or 1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped)

- 2 garlic cloves, grated

- 2 large eggs

- 1 small carrot, grated

- dried thyme

- dried parsley

- salt and pepper to taste

- a dash tabasco sauce

- one tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

- flour

- oil to fry