"Shelter at Home" Dinner- Ina's Herb Marinated Pork Tenderloins

Our world is in such an unprecedented state as we learn one day at a time what it means to "shelter at home" and "social distance" ourselves by staying at least 6 feet away from one another due to Corona Virus.  Today was the first official day of "lockdown" in Santa Clara County (along with other spots in the US) so we here are just dipping our toes into our new separated reality. Several other countries have already been experiencing this limited way of life - I wish we could tap into their wisdom on how to best navigate this strange isolated existence.

Last night,  I made dinner for my family as well as my parents.  I made dinner INA STYLE with her Herb Marinated Pork Tenderloins and Garlic Roasted Red Potatoes recipes along side steamed green beans. Totally delish! So if you are looking for a menu for one of the many nights ahead of you that you will have "in house,"  this is a good one to try.

Wishing you all well!!

Here are the links to these yummy recipes:

INA's Herb Marinated Pork Tenderloins
INA's Garlic Roasted Red Potatoes

Getting the ingredients ready

Dinner for my parents ready to wrap up

My sweet son delivers dinner to his Grandparents on his solo wheel

Slow Cooker Pulled Pork with Oil & Vinegar Slaw

Graduation time is full of fun parties and gatherings with family and friends. Pulled pork is an excellent dish to make in the morn in the crock pot and it is ready to go when you get home from festivities. I made an oil and vinegar slaw to go with our sandwiches (you gotta pile that slaw on there along with bbq sauce!) because my husband is not a big fan of mayo. Usually I add radishes that add a nice crunch and color to the salad, but I didn't have any on hand.

Slow Cooker Pulled Pork

2 tablespoons canola oil

4 lb. boneless pork shoulder, cut into 3 equal pieces

1 yellow onion, finely chopped

3/4 cup cider vinegar

3/4 cup tomato ketchup

1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar 

1 Tbs. Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp. dry mustard

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. freshly ground pepper

Soft sandwich rolls, split and toasted, for serving

Make the Sauce:

In saucepan over medium heat, saute onion until soft, about 5 minutes. Add vinegar, ketchup, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until mixture begins to bubble. Put pork in bottom of slow cooker and pour sauce over pork. Cover and cook until pork is very tender, 4 to 5 hours on high or 8 to 10 hours on low.

Transfer the pork pieces to a platter. Using a pair of forks, shred each piece of pork, removing and discarding any large pieces of fat. Skim the excess fat off the sauce, return the pulled pork to the sauce and stir to combine. Serve the pork and sauce a top sandwich rolls. I like to add more bbq sauce, too. Serves 6 to 8. 

Recipe adapted from Williams Sonoma

Oil and Vinegar Slaw

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

2 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons canola oil

1 bag (16 ounces) shredded cabbage mix

1 teaspoon salt

salt and pepper

Mix vinegar and sugar. Add oil. Add cabbage to dressing and season with salt and pepper. Toss to combine.  Adjust seasoning. Let stand 20 minutes. Re-toss and serve.

Recipe courtesy of Rachel Ray

Sherry Glazed Spareribs

It's been all about ribs for me recently! In addition to the short ribs, I found a package of pork shoulder that was labelled "country style"- they are boneless pieces cut from the rib end of the pork loin which are great slow roasted with a dry rub or barbecue sauce.  This recipe is savory and sweet- the sauce thickens as the ribs bake and although it ends up looking a bit like regular barbecue, they have a wonderful Asian flavor. Delicious!

Sherry Glazed Spareribs

3/12-4 punds pork spareribs or "country style"
1 15 ounce can tomato sauce
1/2 cup cooking sherry
1/2 cup honey
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons minced onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400 °. Season ribs with salt and pepper and place on rack in shallow roasting pan. Bake, uncovered, for 40 minutes until tender. Drain off all fat.

Combine remaining ingredients and pour over the ribs. Reduce oven temperature to 350°.  Bake, uncovered, 1 to 11/2 hours more, until tender. Baste periodically.
Serve with savory rice and a seasonal green veggie. Enjoy!

Recipe from Overlake School Cookbook

Pot-Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Potatoes and Carrots

It's so fun getting ideas for meals from friends and family- that's what this blog is all about, really...sharing ideas! Anyway, my sister-in-law Paige and I were talking about our family's favorite meals and she said made a pot-roasted pork that her family loved, so I thought I would try it last night. Even though I had a small pork loin (1½ pounds) , this recipe was delicious! I added a lot of potatoes because my kids like the potatoes (and not the cooked carrots so much :) and served it with sauteed kale for a little color.  It is a delightful change up to the traditional beef pot roast and worth a try~

Pot-Roasted Pork Loin with Potatoes and Carrots

1 pork loin (1½ to 2½ pounds- or whatever size you have)
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 carrots, peeled and cut into chunks
3-4 russet potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
½ onion cut into large cubes
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ cup chicken stock (I used a concentrated batch of Better than Bouillon, which added great flavor) 
¼ cup white wine
couple sprigs rosemary
kosher salt and pepper

Rinse pork loin and dry well. Generously sprinkle all sides with kosher salt and pepper. Heat olive oil in dutch oven over medium high heat and brown all sides of pork loin. Take pork loin out of pot and put potatoes, carrots, onions and garlic in bottom, then add chicken stock and wine. Put pork roast on top of vegetables and top with sprig of rosemary. 

Cover top of pot with foil and then add the lid. Bake at 350° for 45 minutes to an hour (depending of size of roast) or until internal temperature of roast reads 145°. Enjjoy!


 Better that Bouillon is awesome - you can find it at most grocery stores like Safeway and keep it in your refrigerator. Great for soups and any time you need chicken stock. 

Breaded Baked Pork Chops

This morning I went for a long walk with friends to celebrate a dear friend's birthday. During our post-walk coffee, we talked about a broad spectrum of topics... even the subject of pork chops somehow came up and how I have never been able to master cooking them. A few of my friends mentioned how awesome breaded baked pork chops can be and I thought I would try it.  I made an adaptation of Deb Perelman's tasty looking recipe for crunchy baked pork chops (just took out a step and a few ingredients to make it easier) and they were delicious- not all dried out like pork chops usually are when I saute them. You could take even one more step out of this recipe if you use pre-made breadcrumbs, but the homemade ones add a very yummy crunch.

Breaded Baked Pork Chops

4 boneless center-cut pork chops
4 slices hearty white sandwich bread (I used the heals from loaves of Buttermilk bread)
1 small shallot, minced
2 medium garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1/8 cup plus 2 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour
2 large egg whites
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

salt and pepper

Pulse bread in food processor until coarsely ground, about eight 1-second pulses (you should have about 3 cups crumbs). Transfer crumbs to rimmed baking sheet and add shallot, garlic, oil, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Toss until crumbs are evenly coated with oil. Bake at 350° until deep golden brown and dry, about 15 minutes, stirring twice during baking time. 

Place 1/8 cup flour in pie plate. In second pie plate, whisk egg whites and mustard until combined; add remaining 2 tablespoons flour and whisk until smooth.

Set oven to 425°. Spray wire rack with nonstick cooking spray and place in rimmed baking sheet. Season chops with salt and pepper. Dredge 1 pork chop in flour; shake off excess. Using tongs, coat with egg mixture; let excess drip off. Coat all sides of chop with bread crumb mixture, pressing gently so that thick layer of crumbs adheres to chop. Transfer breaded chop to wire rack. Repeat with remaining 3 chops. 

Bake until instant-read thermometer inserted into center of chops registers 150° about 20- 25 minutes. Let rest on rack 5 minutes before serving. Enjoy!