I Must Not Forget This Dinner - Swiss Alps Chalet Style

Best.
Dinner.
Ever.

Okay, best dinner in awhile. Except we had the lime pork tenderloin again the other day and that was still pretty good.

Here's what's up. It just snowed today in Albuquerque, gave us a nice dusting in the city and the nearby Sandia mountains look nice and covered. It's been cold, it's been windy, we got big, fat flakes for a little while and Adeline wanted to go run around the neighborhood with me in the flakes. It was fun! After some 50 and 60 degree F temps, it was starting to feel like winter again with the 30 to 40 F (it's still February, after all!) and we went with it.



Somebody pinned a yummy looking asparagus dish on Pinterest. It looked good but I didn't pin it. Going back, Pinterest has a pretty bad search engine so it was hard to find what I was looking for, and I don't remember who pinned it. I found some other even better looking asparagus dishes. Then I just had to get asparagus, puffed pastry, smoky Gouda (was supposed to be Gruyere, oops!), and prosciutto (for another day).



::Swiss Alps Ski Chalet Dinner breakdown::

Salad
-Fresh Express Sweet $ Crunchy (on sale at Albertsons) with green and red butter lettuce
-Topped with diced bits of Golden Delicious apples and a little bit of grated smoked Gouda
-Lightly drizzled with Braswell's (cheap at Ross, if they still have it) Vidalia Onion and Peppercorn

Main Entrees
-Pan-fried chicken breast with salt, pepper, a little Balsamic, and some Herbs de Provence on top, just a hint
-The Tart de Resistance - The Asparagus Tart with Gruyere, er, well, smoky Gouda, because I messed up. It was still super-good! Made me think of a cheese fondue with asparagus!

Side Dish
-Golden Delicious apple slices on a plate (keep the cheesy fondue chalet theme going!)
-Pasta Roni Shells & White Cheddar in case your toddler is fussy and won't eat the tart, and also if your chicken is a little dry because you slightly overcooked it



Heavenly! I took pictures of the tart, but the girl who originally posted the recipe has better picture. I had one minute to snap mine before the hungry masses wrestled the camera away from me so we could fill our hungry bellies. I try to have dinner ready at 6 p.m., but tonight it was more like 6:30 p.m. And the tart technically only takes a little over a half-hour to make and bake!

I went all out, but it was fun. It was another successful cooking adventure! Heeya! Onto the next one.

-Danelle

I'm going to repost the recipe in case her webpage goes down or something.

Asparagus Tart with Gruyere
Shaina Olmanson is the home cook and photographer behind Food for My Family and Olmanson Photography, and a daily contributor to Babble.com’s Family Kitchen Blog.
Inspired by Martha.
Yield: 4-6 servings

Ingredients:
1 sheet puff pastry dough, thawed
1 pound thin asparagus spears
1/3 cup sour cream
2 egg yolks
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
3/4 cup Gruyère, shredded (I got and used smoky Gouda, but I do know there is a difference. It's hard chasing a toddler around a grocery store. Try it sometime! It's like the shopping Olympics! The 100 meter dash!)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Unfold puff pastry dough and Roll into a 14x10" rectangle on a lightly floured surface. Move the puff pastry to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Score the dough 1" from the edge all around the rectangle with a knife. Dock the inside rectangle by poking it lightly with a fork in approximately 1/2" spaces. Bake for 15 minutes.
While the pastry is baking, prepare your asparagus spears by rinsing and removing the woody ends. Set aside. In a small bowl, mix together sour cream, egg yolks and Dijon mustard. Stir in 1/4 cup of the Gruyère.
Remove the puff pastry from the oven and spread the sour cream mixture evenly over the inside rectangle. Top with the remaining Gruyère cheese and layer with the asparagus spears. Return to the oven and bake for 15 additional minutes until cheese begins to brown lightly and asparagus is cooked.
Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly. Slice using a pizza cutter and serve.

Pork Tenderloin - Double whammy tenderloin weekend

About two weeks ago, I was checking the expiring meat at Wal-mart and saw a nicely priced pork tenderloin. I had never made a pork tenderloin but probably a year ago, Adam and I watched a great Alton Brown show where he went through the method of cooking a pork tenderloin. I bought it, froze it, and talked to Adam about cooking it. He recommended that I use the Alton Brown recipe.

I finally got around to thawing and cooking the tenderloin and it was FABULOUS! In this installation, I used the Pork Wellington recipe by Alton Brown. It is such a great recipe! I look forward to using it again. Come on Wal-mart, keep those cheap expiring meats coming!

Don't forget to add puff pastry, prosciutto, and fresh thyme to your shopping list. And pork tenderloin if you don't already have one. Oh yes, and some dried apple (but I forgot and in a pinch ended up using fresh diced apples, and dried thyme). Target had the first two ingredients, but no fresh thyme. And if your tenderloin comes in packs of two, like ours did, then you can make my next posted recipe, Honey Lime Chili Grilled Pork Tenderloin, also by Alton Brown. It was also exquisite!

Mmm, the puff pastry just takes it to another level. It looks like fancy catered wedding food.

Pork Wellington recipe from Food Network
By Alton Brown
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/pork-wellington-recipe/index.html

Recipe listed here as well, in case the unthinkable happens and Food Network shuts down or something.

Prep Time:30 min
Inactive Prep Time:10 min
Cook Time:30 min
Level: Easy
Serves: 4 servings

Ingredients
1 whole egg
1 tablespoon water
1-ounce dried apple rings
1 whole pork tenderloin, approximately 1 pound
4 1/2 ounces thinly slice prosciutto ham
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
1 teaspoon all-purpose flour
1 sheet puff pastry, thawed completely
1 tablespoon whole-grain mustard

Directions
Place a rack in the upper third of the oven and heat to 400 degrees F.

Whisk the egg and water in a small bowl and set aside. Place the apple rings into the bowl of a mini food processor and process for 30 to 45 seconds or until they are the size of a medium dice. Set aside.

Trim the pork tenderloin of any excess fat and silver skin. Slice the tenderloin down the middle lengthwise, creating 2 separate pieces. Lay the tenderloin pieces next to each other head to tail, so when laid back together they are the same size at the ends.

Lay out a 12 by 16-inch piece of parchment paper on the counter and arrange the pieces of prosciutto in the center, overlapping them enough to create solid layer that is as long as the tenderloin. Top with a second piece of parchment, and using a rolling pin, roll over the prosciutto to help adhere the pieces to each other. Remove the parchment paper and sprinkle the prosciutto with the salt, pepper, and thyme. Set the tenderloin down the middle of the prosciutto. Spread the dried apples in between the 2 pieces of tenderloin and push back together so the apples are held between them. Using the parchment paper to assist, wrap the prosciutto around the tenderloin to completely enclose in a package.

Sprinkle the counter with flour and roll out the pastry to 12 by 14 inches. Spread the mustard thinly in the center of pastry and lay the prosciutto wrapped tenderloin in the center of the pastry on the mustard. Fold the puff pastry up and over the top of the tenderloin, then roll to completely enclose, brushing the edges of the pastry with the egg wash in order to seal. Turn the tenderloin over so the side of the tenderloin with the double thickness of pastry is underneath. Pinch the ends of the pastry to seal.

Brush the entire pastry with the egg wash. Place the tenderloin on a parchment lined half sheet pan and bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until the pork reaches an internal temperature of at least 140 degrees F.

Remove the tenderloin from the oven, transfer to a cooling rack and let rest for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.