Growing up, my mother had one signature dish that only I looked forward to: Pork Tenderloin.  Her version was marinated and accompanied with a nice spicy white sauce. I thought she was a great chef (and of course she is) but turns out, it is one of the simplest recipes ever.  So simple, in fact, it can be prepared on a week night. I typically make some form of rice or couscous as a side and throw together a green salad and call that dinner!

PORK TENDERLOIN FOR A WEEK NIGHT
Serves 4 – 6

Ingredients
For the Pork Tenderloin
2 1/2 – 3 1/2 pounds fresh pork tenderloin
1/4 c soy sauce
1/4 c bourbon
2 tbsp brown sugar

For the Mustard Sauce
1/3 c sour cream
1/3 c mayonnaise
1 tbsp dry mustard
1 1/2 tsp vinegar
1/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp chopped scallions

To Make
Marinate Pork Tenderloin (In Advance, 3 hours but up to 1 day)
Ideally 12 – 24 hours before planning to cook, mix together soy sauce, bourbon and brown sugar and place together with pork tenderloin in a large ziploc bag.  Squish bag so marinade gets all around the meat and put in refrigerate until ready to use.

Make Mustard Sauce (In Advance, 1-3 hours, but up to 1 day)
Ideally 3 hours before serving, mix together smoothly all ingredients for Mustard Sauce including sour cream, mayonnaise, dry mustard, vinegar, salt and scallions.  Refrigerate until ready to use.  Note that dry mustard should be adjusted to taste depending on your tolerance for heat.

Cook Pork Tenderloin
Heat oven to 325 degrees or a grill to medium.  Remove pork from marinade.  Cook pork tenderloin to desired doneness. If baking in oven, bake 1 hour – you can reserve some marinade and baste during first 30 minutes if desired. Once pork is done, allow to rest for 10 minutes for juices to redistribute.

To Serve
Slice pork on the diagonal, 1/2 inch slices and reassemble on platter.  Serve with mustard sauce (additional fresh scallions can be sprinkled on top for serving).

Everyone loves a muffin.  The problem is, muffins are often too sweet, too sticky or don’t have enough stuff in them!  And, sometimes they simply take too long to make.  My Mum is a fabulous baker, as was my grandmother, and there are a few recipes in our family that have been handed down over the years that are just too perfect to tweak.  So, when Saturday morning comes and my girls want a home baked treat, I typically reach for my “go to” muffin recipe that is just right – I call them “Mum’s Muffins.”  You can put anything you like in them, from berries to chocolate chips.  I typically do a mixture of blueberries, blackberries and rasberries but they are just as good with a single type of berry or chocolate chips.  The delighter?  They take about 20 minutes to assemble and pop in the oven and another 25 to cook so they are ready to enjoy in under an hour!

MUM’S MUFFINS
Makes 16 muffins

Ingredients
6 tbsp unsalted butter
1 1/4 c sugar
2 c flour, unsifted
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 c milk
2 large eggs
1 generous pint of berries (blueberries, rasberries, blackberries etc)

To Make
Heat oven to 375 degrees.  Cream butter and sugar in stand mixer (can use hand mixer).  Add eggs one at a time and beat well.  Sift together flour, salt, baking powder and add mixture alternately with milk, mixing on medium-low after each addition.  Fold berries into batter.  Line muffin tins with muffin papers and fill almost to the top (I use a small ice cream scoop to do this).  Bake on lower middle rack for 25 minutes.  Check for doneness – if they are really brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean (save for berry juice), remove the muffins from the oven.  If not, bake for another 5 minutes.  Note: I typically put  my muffin pan on top of a baking sheet but this is not necessary. Cool for at least 10 minutes before serving.

Optional: sprinkle lightly with a mixture of sugar and cinnamon 2 minutes before coming out of the oven.  (My family finds this unnecessary, but some like it)

To Serve
Remove muffins from pan and arrange on a platter.  Hungry hands can remove the muffin papers themselves before they dive in!

Another 10:00 p.m. arrival home after one of those super-hero, multi-role days as a working mother and I am starving.  Worse, my kids – who have finished soccer practice not even an hour prior – are also starving.  Everyone knows I don’t believe in going hungry and so I am always seeking that “single dish, light but hearty, 10 minute concoction” that will serve as a late night meal and satisfy everyone.  Lately, I have been heading to the pantry for a couple of cans of chick peas and adapting a recipe I first saw in Bon Appetit some time back to my tastes and liking.  The good news is that it is filling without being heavy and healthy while still tasting great!  Add some rustic Italian bread on the side and it works just as well for lunch or a light dinner.

CHICKPEA SALAD
Serves 4

Ingredients
2 15oz cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
4 tbsp chopped basil (fresh)
4 tbsp chopped Italian parsley
4 scallions chopped fine
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 lemon, squeezed (approximately 4 tbsp juice)
1/2 c. grated Parmesan cheese (or more, to taste)
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
Kosher salt
Freshly ground pepper
4 cups arugula

To Make
Drain chickpeas in a colander and rinse well.  Transfer to a large bowl and add basil, parsley, scallions, garlic and lemon and mix well.   Add cheese and adjust as needed to taste.  Add olive oil, salt and pepper to taste and mix well.  Can be made to this point ahead.  If making ahead, cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

To Serve
Chickpea salad can be served cold or at room temperature.  Immediately prior to serving, add arugula and toss well.

One of my daughters is simply NOT a morning person.  Did I say NOT A MORNING PERSON?  Contrast this with me, who is “instant on” immediately upon waking as well as the fact that she is also 16 years old and you have a recipe for a terrible start to your day (no pun intended).  I completely understand not feeling like eating early in the morning but at the same time, I also believe that eating in the morning is exceptionally critical to being productive, not to mention jump starting that metabolism (again, while I don’t subscribe to the “diet” thing I do believe in the science behind it).  Tori is a foodie, despite her youth, so “just anything” never suffices which usually leaves me with two options as her mother:

1. Don’t worry about it
2. Make something she will eat

I expect that while this is only my 5th post, you can figure out where I land.  Typically, this means either pancakes or an egg sandwich.  Not so interesting right?  But it works.  The egg sandwich recipe is not so original – egg cooked over easy, american cheese, salt, pepper and some good toast with real butter – recipe not worth the blog real estate.  But the pancakes….. that is a different story.  This is my mother’s recipe.  Delicious, quick, easy and fool proof.  Not to mention a reasonable and appropriate quantity.

GRAMMY’S PANCAKES
Makes 8 medium sized pancakes 

Ingredients
1 1/4 c. sifted flour
3 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg, beaten with a fork
1 c milk (I often substitute buttermilk)
2 tbsp vegetable oil (canola oil, bacon fat or whatever you like in the fat category)

Preparing the Batter
Sift together dry ingredients (don’t skip this step, it matters).  Combine egg, milk and oil.  When ready to cook, add to dry ingredients and stir until just combined – batter should be lumpy.  If desired, add chocolate chips or blueberries BUT, if you do this, be sure to coat them with a tablespoon of flour so that they distribute evenly in the batter.

Making the Pancakes
Heat nonstick skillet over medium heat.  When drop of water sizzles if put on pan, it is ready. Put a pat of butter in the pan and swirl to coat.  Using a large ice-cream scoop, drop batter into pan.  When holes begin to form on top, flip pancakes.  (check to see if browned though – once browned on bottom, even if holes have not formed, flip pancakes).  Let cook for 30 seconds and remove from pan.

To Serve
Once cooked, serve immediately.  But, if you need to “hold” them, put them on a wire rack, set over a baking pan, in a 200 degree oven until ready to serve.  Once cooled, you can keep them in the fridge and toast them in the toaster the  next day! Don’t forget the pure Vermont maple syrup!

So, my family LOVES chocolate molten cakes.  I had been making them and trying to perfect a recipe for years and then, back in 2005, I went to Italy for one of those big birthdays.  As part of the trip, I took a cooking class and oddly enough, one of the recipes that was part of the class was for chocolate  molten cakes.  It seemed a bit odd to me since I never had associated Italy with purely chocolate desserts (and we are of Italian heritage).  Regardless, this became the base for my now perfected recipe.  What follows is my version, adapted to my family’s tastes.  It works every time and the best part is that they can be made in advance (hours, days or months)!

SUSAN’S MOLTEN CAKES
Makes 6 individual cakes – be sure to make ahead 

Ingredients

• 150g (approx. 5.5 oz) bittersweet or semisweet chocolate (I use Callebaut, typically a mixture of both kinds)
• 150 g (3/4 c) sugar
• 150 g (10 tbsp) unsalted butter
• 20-30 g (2-4 tbsp) flour, sifted
• 3 eggs, whisked and set aside

Butter and flour (6) 4 oz ramekins.  (Note: You can use other sized ramekins but the recipe will make different numbers; 6 oz ramekins will yield 4 molten cakes, 5 oz ramekins yield 5 but I find the portion of the 4 oz to be just right).

Making the Cakes
In a double boiler (or a heat proof bowl set over simmering water), melt chocolate, sugar and butter together.  Once melted, off heat, add flour and whisk rapidly until incorporated.   Add eggs and whisk rapidly again until mixture is shiny and glossy (go fast so that you do not end up with scrambled eggs in the cakes – adding the flour before the eggs is critical to avoiding this fiasco).  Pour into ramekins and cover with plastic wrap (push wrap onto chocolate) and set in freezer for a minimum of 2 hours but up to 2 months!

When Ready to Cook
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Remove ramekins from freezer and place however many you are baking onto a cookie sheet. Bake for 20-22 minutes.  Watch carefully towards the end of the baking time.  The top should be puffed and cracked but slightly underdone when you look at it in the center. (Note: if you are using 6 oz ramekins, it will take a little more time)

To Serve
Turn ramekin onto plate and slide out cake (it will be upside down).  I typically insert a knife into the center to let the chocolate ooze out for presentation.  You could, of course, eat the molten cake directly out of the ramekin but I prefer it turned out onto a plate because you can then add ice cream, raspberry sauce or whatever you choose.

Enjoy being the star of the evening!