Treat or Treat

It's hard to believe it's Halloween already.  Time flies when you spend your weekend cooking.  I thought I would approach the Halloween  theme in the food for the Table.  The menu is a real treat with no tricks involved.  Here is what is on the table:

Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Mustard Fruit
Stuffed Pumpkin with Cranberry-Pecan Bread Pudding

Michael Symon is one of my favorite Food Network chefs.  His food is simply prepared and flavorful.  This recipe for pork tenderloin is no exception.  It just took more planning as the fruit and the pork marinate for specific periods of time.  First the fruit: in a sauce pan simmer one Bosc pear cut in small pieces with red wine, sugar, red wine vinegar, salt, whole-grain  mustard, and mustard seeds.  Pour the hot liquid into a jar over dried apricots cut in half and dried cranberries.  After it cools, put a lid on it and place in the refrigerator for a couple of days.  The pork is marinated in a plastic bag overnight.  The marinade is chopped cilantro or parsley, which ever you prefer, Dijon mustard, toasted ground coriander and cumin seeds, kosher salt, smoked paprika and the zest and juice of one lime.  The marinade is poured over the meat, turned to evenly coat and sealed.  The meat is grilled on all sides and finished in the oven.  After it has rested, slice and serve over a bed of arugula.  The mustard fruit is spooned over the top.  A drizzle of EVOO brings it all together. This is an excellent dish.  The meat is tender and the crust has a bright flavor.  The fruit is both sweet and tart.  It would be lovely at a dinner party, however, I am happy to have leftovers  for the rest of the week.

The stuffed pumpkin was something I have not done as a sweet.  I have used a baked pumpkin shell for both soup and stew.  This was very different and quite tasty.  The pumpkin top is removed and saved.  The seeds are cleaned out of the inside and then the inside is brushed with a bit of melted butter and sprinkled with brown sugar.  Eggs, sugar, melted butter, and half & half are whipped together.  The recipe called for cubed raisin bread, but I don't care for raisins so I chose a loaf of Parmesan olive bread.  The egg mixture is poured over the bread cubes and toasted pecans are added.  The pudding is baked in a square pan along side the pan with the pumpkin.  After about 25 minutes remove both from the oven and spoon the pudding into the pumpkin and return to the oven for another 15 minutes. With the pumpkin top on, the dish makes an impressive presentation.  The pudding is spooned on to a plate being sure that you get some of the cooked pumpkin too.  A vanilla lemon sauce is drizzled over it all.  In a saucepan, put a split vanilla bean, water, sugar, cornstarch, and salt.  Cook until smooth and thickened.  Stir in butter, grated lemon zest and juice and heat through.  Remove the vanilla bean before using.

Capital Brewery in Middleton has another terrific beer to serve, Island Wheat Ale.  The perfect beverage for the meal.

There were lots of new and interesting techniques and flavors on this table.  I will prepare the tenderloin again as a regular fall entree.  The pumpkin bread pudding has lots of possibilities and I will pursue other fruits and breads. I expect that next week turkey will be featured on the Table. This time of year I could have it weekly in many ways. I love the way the house smells while it is cooking.

Have a great week; stay warm.  I will be attending a cookbook signing for another one of my Food Network favorites, Ina Garten. Her new book  "Foolproof", is wonderful and I am anxious to try some of the recipes in the next weeks.