Cooking with Christy – Recipes

As part of our Friday night Zoom Parties we are doing our Cooking With Christy segment.  Last week these are the items she made with her Little Sister Eleanor and here are the recipes:

 

Beet and Pear Salad
2 medium red beets2 medium golden beets
2 pears
Goat cheese (or feta or blue cheese)
Olive oil
Balsamic vinegar
Black Cherry Balsamic vinegar (or any fancy balsamic – check out Olive the Best in Port Moody)
Salt and Pepper to taste
Directions:
Cut the beets into quarters, boil until soft (takes about 20 -30 minutes), remove from water and allow to cool. In the meantime peel and slice pears, crumble the cheese. Once the beets have cooled slice them in whatever size is right for you . Mix together and enjoy!! I didn’t include measurements for the oil and vinegar because I didn’t measure it – start with a little and add as your own taste needs.

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Proscuitto Wrapped Peaches with Brie

Thinly sliced prosciutto (10)
2 peaches (3 if you like to sample while you prep) sliced fairly thickly
½ wheel Brie or cheese (get the good extra creamy stuff – it’s worth it. I used Comox Brie, made in Courtnay, BC, cut into 10 wedges
Balsamic reduction or your favourite fancy thick balsamic (Seriously – go to Olive the Best  in Port Moody, you won’t regret it)
Directions:
Wrap 1 peach slice and 1 brie wedge together in the prosciutto, skewer with shish kabob skewers (or toothpicks), grill on the BBQ for 2 minutes, drizzle with balsamic and enjoy!!

 

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Garlic Peppered Pork Tenderloin

1 pork tenderloin, cut in half
2 tbsp peppercorns, beaten with a hammer to create thick cracked pepper (put them in a ziplock before beating so they don’t end up all over your kitchen floor)
1 large or 2 small cloves garlic, smashed with the flat side of a big knife, then finely chopped
Kosher salt (approx 1-2 tsp, less if you are watching your blood pressure)
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp olive oil
For the Sauce:
1 cup blueberries
2 tbsp Black Cherry Balsamic vinegar (or your favourite fruity booze – red wine, port, sherry, berry liqueurs – be creative!)
¼ cup beef broth or any kind of demi glace
1 tbsp fresh thyme or sage
Salt and pepper to taste
1 shallot (or ½ a tiny onion, or ¼ regular sized red onion), finely chopped

1 tbsp olive oil.

Directions:

Rub the garlic, pepper, salt and cinnamon on the pork, put in a ziplock bag, add the oil and any bits of seasoning that got left behind. Massage it all in the bag, remove extra air and put in the fridge for at least an hour. I can’t give you exact cooking times or temperature as I was working on a little coal BBQ and just checked and turned it regularly until I cut it open and saw only a little bit of pink (yes, you can eat pork that is cooked to just medium. It’s delicious)
While the pork is cooking, heat the oil over medium heat and then add the onion/shallot. Cook until translucent then add everything else, smashing it all together and simmer until it looks and tastes like sauce and not just onions and blueberries (seriously, I cook like I dance – everything by feel. I really have no idea how so many things turn out well)
Enjoy!

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Cherry Pie

For the filling:
1 bag of fresh cherries from Kin’s Farm Market, pitted
½ cup sugar (or up to 1 cup – I never use as much as the recipes call for)
¼ cup corn starch
1 tbsp lime or lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla
½ cup water

For the crust:
Use the recipe and method on the side of the Crisco Vegetable Shortening box. It’s foolproof. Or buy pre-made shells (I am really terrible at pastry)
Directions:
Make pastry dough and refrigerate. While dough is in the fridge, coat cherries with all ingredients, add water, and simmer while stirring frequently until cherries are cooked and sauce has thickened. Remove from heat and allow to cool while you make the pie crust. I will not include directions for this, as Crisco is a better authority on the matter. Pour in cherry filling, top with pastry, bake at 375 for 40 minutes to an hour.