Beer Battered Fish Tacos with Creamy Lime Guacamole

Avocado, halved, pitted, and peeled
1/8 cup sour cream
1 tbsp minced red onion
1 tbsp chopped cilantro
1 1/4 tbsp fresh lime juice
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

In a medium bowl, mash the avocados, sour cream, red onion, cilantro, and lime juice. Season with salt
and pepper

1 pound whitefish cut into 2 inch pieces
3/4 cup beer
3/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt

Combine flour, salt and your favorite beer. Stir together until smooth (batter will have the consistency of
thickish pancake batter). Add fish pieces to flour mixture. Coat thoroughly. Heat canola oil in a tall-sided
heavy pot/pan over medium-high heat. Slowly add battered fish to oil and fry 3-6 minutes total. Remove
from oil and drain on a paper towel. Sprinkle with sea salt.

To assemble each taco, spread a dollop of guacamole on a tortilla. Top with a piece of fish, a few tomato
slices, and a large spoonful of shredded red cabbage. Serve with hot sauce and lime wedges.

Apple-Stuffed Pork Loin with Cider Sauce

Ingredients:

2 Tbs. olive oil

2 cups chopped apples

1 cup chopped yellow onion

1 garlic clove, finely chopped

1/4 tsp. dried thyme

Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

1/2 cup apple cider

1 boneless pork loin, 2 1/2 lb.

1/4 tsp. dried thyme

Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

1 cup apple cider, plus more as needed

2 tsp. cornstarch

Directions:

To make the stuffing, in a large fry pan over medium-low heat, warm the olive oil. Add the apple and onion and sauté until golden, about 5 minutes. 

Stir in the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the thyme, and season with salt and pepper. Add the apple cider and boil, stirring occasionally, until the cider is absorbed by the stuffing, about 5 minutes. Let cool slightly. 

Position a rack in the center of an oven and preheat to 400°F. Have ready 4 pieces of kitchen string, each about 18 inches long.

Butterfly the pork loin by making a slit down its length, cutting just deep enough so that the loin opens up to lie flat like a book. Do not cut all the way through. Spoon the stuffing evenly onto the meat. 

Close up the loin and, using the strings, tie at even intervals so it assumes its original shape. Push in any stuffing that escapes from the ends. Sprinkle the surface with the thyme, and season with salt and pepper. Place the loin in a baking pan and add 1/2 cup of the cider to the pan.

Roast the loin for 30 minutes. Baste with the pan juices and add the remaining 1/2 cup cider to the pan. Continue to roast, basting at least twice with the pan juices at regular intervals, until the meat is firm to the touch and pale pink when cut in the thickest portion, or until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the meat registers 150°F, about 45 minutes more.

Transfer the loin to a cutting board and cover loosely with aluminum foil. Scrape the pan bottom to dislodge any remaining bits, then pour the pan juices into a measuring pitcher and add additional cider as needed to measure 1 1/2 cups total. In a small saucepan, combine 1/4 cup of the pan juices and the cornstarch, and stir until the cornstarch is dissolved. Then add the remaining pan juices. Bring to a boil over medium heat and cook, stirring, until the sauce is slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasonings. Pour the sauce into a warmed bowl.

Cut the loin into slices and arrange on a warmed platter. Serve the hot cider sauce on the side.

*Note: you can do with a LOT less onions than this recipe actually calls for.*

Source: http://www.williams-sonoma.com/recipe/apple-stuffed-pork-loin-with-cider-sauce.html

Bruschetta Chicken

Ingredients
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup Sun-dried tomato dressing
4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (6 ounces each)
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1/4 cup dry bread crumbs
1 tablespoon butter, melted
2 large tomatoes, seeded and chopped
3 tablespoons fresh basil, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Directions
Place dressing in a shallow bowl and dip chicken in dressing. Place flour into a large ziploc bag.  Drop chicken into the bag and shake until chicken is well coated.  Place in a greased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking dish.

Combine the Parmesan cheese, bread crumbs and butter; sprinkle over chicken.

Loosely cover baking dish with foil. Bake at 375° for 20 minutes. Uncover; bake 5-10 minutes longer or until top is browned.

Meanwhile, in a bowl, combine the remaining ingredients. Spoon over chicken. Return to the oven for 3-5 minutes or until tomato mixture is heated through.

Source: http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/recipe?id=7228336

Gordon Ramsay's Beef Wellington

Dennis requested that I make Gordon Ramsay's beef wellington quite a while ago but I finally got a chance to make it today.  I found the recipe online, but it was in metric measurements.  D'OH!  But after some looking, I was able to find a page where someone had converted the recipe into US measurements.  It is a quite involved recipe, especially as I decided to make my own puff pastry.  So I started out cooking early today.

Ingredients

.88 lbs beef fillet

.88 lbs mushrooms

4 slices  Prosciutto ham

English mustard for brushing meat

.44 lbs puff pastry (half of the puff pastry recipe linked above)

2 egg yolks

8 new potatoes

1 clove garlic, crushed

1 sprig fresh thyme

2 large baby gem lettuce

Salt and pepper

Olive oil

Mustard vinaigrette, optional

Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.  Heat olive oil in a large pan and sear the meat on all sides (just brown each side). 

*Tip, try to get one large fillet.  Unfortunately, I was not able to get a large enough single fillet from the grocery store butcher.  :\

Let it cool and then brush it with the mustard.  

Chop the mushrooms in a food processor to make a puree. 

Throw the puree in a hot pan with no oil and sweat out all of the liquid. Let the water evaporate and then set it aside to cool.  

*Note, the mushroom puree will shrink considerably and will smell horrible as it cooks.

Lay four slices of prosciutto ham down on a large piece of cling film, slightly overlapping.

Then brush with mushroom mixture.  

Put the beef in the middle of the ham and roll the ham around the beef using the cling film. Twist the ends of the cling film to tighten the roll, then refrigerate it for 15 minutes to let it set.  

Roll your puff pastry and then brush the edges with an egg wash (1 egg beat with 2 tbsp water). Roll the pastry over the beef completely covering it. Cut off any excess pieces. 

Egg wash the top. Put your roll back in the fridge for 5 minutes. Egg wash again, score the top and bake for 35-40 minutes. Let it cool for 10 minutes before slicing. 

Par boil the potatoes in salted water. Quarter them and leave the skin on. Sauté in olive oil and butter with the garlic and thyme, until browned and cooked through. Season. Remove the thyme and garlic before serving.

Separate the outside leaves of the baby gem (leaving the smaller inner ones for salads) and very quickly saute them in a pan of olive oil with a little salt and pepper – just enough to wilt them.

Serve hearty slices of the Wellington alongside the sauteed potatoes and wilted baby gems. A classic mustard vinaigrette makes a great dressing.