Pork medallions with tangy cherry-pomegranate sauce

This is a surprisingly low-calorie and low-fat dish to make, especially if you trim the pork tenderloin beforehand. The sauce is rich and tangy, and the cherries add little pops of sweetness.

(Shown here with my usual couscous dish - minus the shallot, plus some ground saffron and curry.)

1 pound pork tenderloin, trimmed and cut into one-inch thick medallions

-1/2 tsp salt

-1/4 tsp pepper

-1 tbsp olive oil

-1/2 pomegranate juice (I used POM)

-1/3 c dried sweet cherries

-1/4 c dry red wine (MM: Never cook with something you wouldn't drink!)

-1/4 c balsamic vinegar

-1 tsp cornstarch

-1 tsp water

-1 tbsp butter

Sprinkle both sides of the medallions with the salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a deep frying or stir-fry pan over med-high heat. Add the pork and cook 4 minutes on each side. Remove from the pan, keep warm.

Add the next four ingredients (through balsamic vinegar) to the pan to deglaze, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and boil for two minutes.

In a separate bowl, combine the cornstarch and water, then add to the pan. Bring the sauce back to a boil, stirring constantly, and boil for another minute. Kill the heat and add the butter, stirring until it melts.

Add the pork back to the pan and turn to coat with the sauce. Serve each medallion with a spoonful of sauce, making sure to include those yummy cherries!

Scallops in a garlicky white wine sauce

(Otherwise known as scallops scampi-esque)

My house reeks of garlic and it's totally worth it!

-1 pound pasta

-4 tbsp room-temperature butter

-3 cloves garlic, minced

-1 small shallot, minced

-1/2 tsp salt

-1/4 tsp pepper

-1/2 c white wine

-1 c chicken stock

-1 pound bay scallops

-2-3 teaspoons of fresh or dried parsley (fresh is best!)

Cook the pasta VERY al dente according to the directions on the box.

In a deep sauté pan, melt the butter over med-high heat. Add the garlic, shallot, salt and pepper, and cook until translucent. Pour in the stock and wine, and bring to a boil. Add the scallops, reduce the heat to medium, let the sauce come back to a boil and cook for 10 minutes.

Remove the scallops from the pan with a slotted spoon, set aside and keep warm. Add the cooked and drained pasta to the pan with the sauce and cook for several minutes. Kill the heat, toss the scallops back into the mixture with the parsley. Serve with a little bit of grated parmesan.

Experimental recipe: pot roast (a la Emily)

I'm not going to give you directions on how long to cook this in the oven, because mine was pretty pink in the center...do what works for you.

-3 lb roast, tied
-2 tbsp olive oil
-Salt and pepper
-1 medium yellow onion, diced
-3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
-1 c celery, chopped
-1 c carrots, chopped
-1 can Campbell's French Onion soup
-1 1/4 c dry red wine, separated
-1 tsp parsley
-1/2 tsp thyme
-1/2 tsp paprika
-1/4 tsp nutmeg
-2 pounds potatoes, diced
-2 tbsp ultra-refined flour (such as Wondra)

Heat the olive oil in a Dutch oven over med-high heat. Sprinkle salt and pepper on the roast, sear on all sides until browned. Remove roast, set aside.

Lower the heat to medium, add the onion and garlic to the pan, sautee until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the celery and carrots, cook another 5 minutes. Add the soup mix, 1 cup of the wine and spices, stir well.

Put the roast back into the Dutch oven and bake at 325, uncovered, for one hour. Turn the roast once and add the potatoes, then cook until desired level of doneness.

Remove the roast from the pan, cover in foil and let it rest for at least 15 minutes before carving. Use a slotted spoon to remove and set aside the veg, then strain the liquid in the pan into a gravy separator. Put the Dutch oven back on the stovetop over medium heat, and add the remainder of the red wine to deglaze the bottom. Add the separated liquid and bring to a low simmer. Whisk in the flour and stir for about 3-5 minutes. Serve with the roast.

Holiday dessert: Gingerbread with cream cheese icing and spiced vanilla ice cream

I am very excited to try this dessert tonight, we are having Ryan's parents over for an early Christmas get-together.

Spiced Vanilla Ice Cream

2 large eggs
3/4 c sugar
2 c heavy cream
1 c milk
Seeds from 1 vanilla bean
1 tbsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp freshly grated nutmeg
4 tbsp freshly grated cinnamon
1 tsp dark rum

With your stand mixer on high, whisk the eggs for 2 minutes, until light and fluffy. Slowly incorporate the sugar, a little at a time, and mix for 1 minute more. Turn the mixer to low and add the cream and milk, mix for 1 minute. Add the vanilla bean scrapings, extract, spices and rum, and mix for 2 minutes. Transfer to the ice cream maker of your choice and freeze for at least 1 hour to set the ice cream.

GASP! I made the gingerbread from a box. The horror! I just don't have time to make it from scratch today.

The cream cheese icing is here, just cut the recipe in half if you are using an 8x8 pan for the gingerbread.

Mulled wine

Careful, this concoction will sneak up on you and can lead to headaches the next day!

-2 bottles of inexpensive red wine (we used merlot and tempernillo)
-1 c raw sugar
-1 large orange, cut into sixths
-12 whole cloves, stuck into the peels of the above orange
-5-6 cinnamon sticks, bundled together
-4-6 tbsp of whole mulling spices (star anise, mace, nutmeg, etc), tied in cheesecloth or some other sort of infusing device

Combine all ingredients together and bring to a simmer in a crock pot. Reduce heat to low and serve with cinnamon sticks.

Coconut-rum poached pears

This isn't a make-ahead dessert, but it really is a crowd pleaser! I actually made this for a small dinner party last weekend, and sort of hung out with my friends while I stirred the sauce. Serve warm over vanilla ice cream for a "fancy" dessert!

Note: we make our own coconut rum "for funsies", and it's super easy. Buy a coconut a drill a small hole in the top. Pour out the milk and fill the coconut with about a cup of dark rum. Plug up the top and refridgerate for a week. Strain out the rum through a coffee filter and revel in the yummy!

-1/3 c coconut rum
-1/2 c pear juice (I used "pear nectar" from the Latin foods aisle)
-2 tbsp sugar
-3 large pears, cored and cut into wedges
-1 tbsp butter

In a large sautee pan, combine the rum, pear juice and sugar and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and add the pears, cook for 10 minutes. Remove the pears with a slotted spoon and set aside. Add the butter to the pan and boil the sauce for at least 10 minutes, until the liquid is reduced to a syrup. Kill the heat, toss the pears back into the pan to warm them up, then serve!

Thanksgiving leftovers: Shepherd's pie

This is a tomato-based recipe, instead of a typical beef-broth one.

-4 tbsp olive oil
-1 c onions, finely chopped
-1 c carrots, diced
-1/4 tsp creole seasoning
-1/4 tsp garlic salt
-1/4 tsp pepper
-1/4 tsp thyme
-1 tbsp flour
-1 small can of tomato paste
-2 1/2 c leftover turkey, shredded into small pieces
-1 1/2 c chicken stock
-1 small pkg peas (frozen or fresh)
-4 c mashed potatoes
-3/4 c shredded cheese

In a large Dutch oven, sautee the olive oil, onions, carrots, seasoning, salt, pepper and thyme over medium heat for 5-10 minutes, until onions are very soft. Add the flour, cook 1 minute. Add the tomato paste, cook 1 minute. Stir in the turkey, then add the stock and bring the pan to a boil. Stir in the peas and simmer for about 6-10 minutes, until the mixture is thickened.

Cover evenly with the mashed potatoes, then sprinkle on the cheese. Baked uncovered in a 400 degree oven for 25 minutes. If the top isn't brown and bubbly at the end of the 25 minutes, broil for about 2-3 minutes. Let it sit for about 10 minutes before serving.