While The Cat's Away...

...the Chef will play.  Sally spent the holiday weekend at an annual conference for her profession. So while she was gone, and I was house/cat/dog sitting,  I made some of the dishes that I love, which she's not particularly fond of.

Pork Sirloins with Tomatillo-Green Chile Sauce

Not a dish from a specific Latin culture, but it borrows heavily from Mexican cuisine. All my own invention.  As you'll see the sauce is good for other things too.

3 Pork Sirloins

3 large Tomatillos

1 small can Diced Green Chiles

1 Cubanelle chile or a seeded, deveined Anaheim, Poblano or similar mild chile

Cumin to taste

Pepper Medley to taste

Smoked Paprika to taste

1 Tbsp Masa Harina (corn flour) for thickening

Take the papery outer husk off of the tomatillos and slice them up fine. Remove the end from the cubanelle and chop into small pieces. In a small pot combine the tomatillos, and the chiles. Season with cumin and a grind or two of Pepper Medley. Simmer on low until everything is tender and falling apart -- about 15 minutes. Then add a dusting of the masa, and whisk to help thicken the sauce.

Meanwhile, oil your griddle or electric skillet and start frying the pork sirloins. Dust each side of the meat with cumin, smoked paprika and pepper. Fry on medium heat until just cooked through. I cover them with a skillet lid to help keep the moisture in. Nothing worse than dried out pork!

I served myself a sirloin steak with the sauce and a helping of Tropical Rice -- jasmine rice cooked with a packet of the Sazon Tropicaltm spice blend.

The sauce is also fabuloso on Chicken or firm white fish like Cod, Mahi mahi, Sea Bass, etc.

More Tomatillo-Green Chile Sauce Ideas

Breakfast Burrito

A couple tablespoons of leftover Tomatillo-Green Chile sauce stirred into a beaten egg and then scrambled makes a great Latin-flavored breakfast burrito. 

Chilaquiles

I discovered this dish in the village of San Franciso de Nayarit, Mexico quite a few years ago. Leftover tortillas and eggs scrambled together with a sauce or salsa (usually green not red) make a fabulous breakfast. Add pieces of cooked chicken for an excellent lunch dish, too.

Day old, or left-out-overnight tortillas are best. Cut or rip them into pieces and fry with some oil until some are nearly black, some are crispy, and others are still soft. Then pour beaten eggs overall and as they start to scramble, add some of the Tomatillo-Green Chile sauce and continue scrambling until done to your taste.

Ham & Cheese Cornbread

A great thing to do with leftover holiday ham. Manchego is a Spanish goat cheese, moderately hard. I happened to have just a small piece left. You could substitute a hard white cheddar.

1 box Jiffy tm Corn Muffin mix

1 Egg

1/3 cup Half & Half

2 cups cubed Ham

1/3 to 1/2 cup diced Manchego cheese*

Smoked Paprika for dusting

Combine the boxed mix with the half & half and the egg. Add the ham and stir to combine. Pour into a small loaf pan and tap to settle the mix. Dust with a little smoked paprika, then sprinkle the cheese dice on top and press the pieces into the surface. Bake 20-25 minutes @ 400 F.

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

I made this as a surprise dessert for Sally when she got home from her conference on Sunday.  As a kid, I  grew up with a huge rhubarb 'bush' in the backyard, and I've always loved the tart-sweet flavor of rhubarb sauce on ice cream or just in a bowl, plus rhubarb pie (with or without strawberries).

2 cups diced Rhubarb

2 cups quartered Strawberries

3 Tbsp Corn Starch

6 Tbsp AP Flour

1-1/2 cups Sugar - white, brown or mix

1/2 tsp Vanilla extract

1 tsp Orange zest

1 prepared Graham Cracker Pie Crust

Mix the dry ingredients - corn starch, flour, sugar, vanilla and orange zest. To this add the cut fruit, toss to combine and let it sit for half an hour or so.

Pour the fruit into the pie crust. With the filled pie on a baking sheet, bake at 425F for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 375F and cook an additional 45 minutes. Rest the pie at least half an hour, so it sets up.  Better even if you can leave it until the next day before cutting. Can be garnished by additional halved strawberries and then topped with whipped cream for serving; or English style, topped with custard.

Strawberry-Rhubarb Sauce

I had about a cup of cut strawberries and a cup of rhubarb pieces left, so I simmered them with 1/3 cup dark brown sugar, 1 cup white sugar, about 1/8 tsp cinnamon, juice of half a lemon and most of a cup of water. When the fruit was cooked (15 minutes or so), I mashed it with my Pampered Chef tm 5-blade masher (you could also spin it in a blender), then transferred the sauce to a screw top jar and stowed in the fridge when it cooled. Will make a fabulous topping for ice cream, pound cake, etc.