Grandma Schneider's Red Cabbage

I made a large pot roast today and thought what to have with it. In the veggie aisle at the market I spotted some great looking heads of red cabbage. I love red cabbage that is made properly. The horrible jarred stuff is sickeningly sweet and tastes nothing like the traditional German recipe.  I was lucky to grow up right behind the house where Grandma Schneider watched her grand kids. Her chocolate chip cookies were famous in the neighborhood, but her German dishes were the real stars. The simple side dish of red cabbage would be pared with her home made spaetzle and her beef roulade, or sauerbraten. Grandma was born in Germany and left just before the war, and made it to the U.S. via South America.  My mom was clever enough to get this recipe from her while she was still with us.

Ingredients

1 good size head of red cabbage

1 large onion diced

1 diced granny smith apple

1/4 cubed bacon

1/2 cup bacon fat

3 Tbsp. sugar (i use splenda)

1 tbsp. salt

6 whole cloves

3 bay leaves

1/3 cup white vinegar

2/3 cup water

Directions:

1) Remove outer leaves of cabbage and cut into reasonable size pieces (some chiffonade, and some in squares). Pour the water and vinegar on the cabbage and lightly toss. Let it sit for 1/2 hour. 

2) Brown the bacon and then the onions in the bacon fat (you may need more bacon fat than the amount rendered, That's why I always save bacon fat). 

3) Add all the other ingredients to the cabbage and bacon/onion in a large pot. Cook on medium low for about an hour stirring occasionally. The cabbage will cook down a lot, but this will still provide 6-8 servings.  Don't forget to yank the bay leaves prior to serving.

Red cabbage stays well in the fridge for weeks, and is one of those things that actually taste better when re-heated.  A lot of German food is anything but light and healthy, but this side dish has little to no carbs. Once you have tried this red cabbage, you will never buy one of those jars again.

Pork Parmigiano??

I love veal parmigiano, but hate paying $18.00 per pound for the veal. A few years ago I was thinking what to do with a pork tenderloin. You know what I mean..one of these things:

I never liked cooking them whole, especially when they came in a horrible marinade in the cryvac. They always dried out and had little flavor, but the texture was ideal for slicing, pounding and substituting for veal scallops. Since that discovery, I have made parm, picatta, milanese, and any other veal dish with the tenderloins.  I went to the market yesterday for something to make as a special appetizer for our "Sunday Cocktails" with friends, and seeing the plain (unmarinated) ones on sale,  I grabbed one and a hunk of motzarella. I decided to make mini-pork parms, and they really came out great. With the one pound tenderloin, I made about 20 pieces, that could be picked up with fingers or cut with the side of a fork on a plate. Here's how I did it:
 I trimmed any silver skin and fat from the filets, then sliced the pork thinner than the above picture and pounded each peiece out to about 1/8" thick. I skipped the flour step, and just dipped each piece in the beaten egg/water mixture and then breadcrumbs, and sauteed them in medium high olive oil for about 2 minutes per side, till they were golden brown.  I layed them out on a large baking pan apart from each other. Then I sprinkled a little freshly grated Reggiano Parmigiano on top, and then spread out a tablespoon of homemade marinara sauce on each. Then I covered the top with grated motzarella. I then baked them in a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes and they came out perfect.
The key was to not use a lot of sauce, but just enough for flavor. You could pick it up with your hands and not get dripping sauce down your chin. They went quite nicely with Makers Mark Old Fashions, and Cosmopolitans (the 2 cocktails of the day I served).
Ingredients:
1  one pound pork tenderloin without poisonous marinade
2 beaten eggs with 2 tablespoons of water mixed in (helps crumbs adhere)
Enough Plain bread crumbs to coat all the scallops, with a little salt and pepper added
Good olive oil, adding to the pan when it would get low between batches
1/2 cup grated Regggiano Parmigianno
A cup or so of homemade marinara sauce (one good tablespoon per scallop)
Enough freshly grated motzarella to cover sauce and scallop
 
The next thing I want to try is making salami out of the tenderloins. In one of my 50 Italian cookbooks I remember seeing this recipe and dog earred the page. I will have to dig it out and give it a shot. Here is a link to site that has a recipe if you are game to try it;
http://thepauperedchef.com/2008/11/saucisson-of-pork-tenderloin.html
The finished salami looks great and is very low on fat. If you see a string of salamis hanging in my window, you'll know I found the original recipe.

Great Dining in Saint Augustine

We visited The Tasting Room last week in Saint Augustine and were blown away by the service and food. We sat in the courtyard and were treated to a culinary feast. I love Tapas and must say this is the closest I've come to the flavors of Barcelona (one of my favorite cities). The three of us (Me, Jersey Pammie, and Indiana Erik) had 11 or 12 small plates between us and found only one weak one. The vichysoise was not good, but everything else was outstanding. We especially liked the Spanish Caesar Salad, with serrano ham and manchego cheese. Also recommended are: Serrano and fig preserves on toast, ham & cheese croquetas, prawns in garlic, moorish spiced pork skewers, and the charcuterie platter. They also have one of the best Spanish wine lists I have encountered with pages of selections. I had a reserve Rioja that went well with all the food. Our waiter, Michael was attentive and helpful. They have numerous specials in addition to the menu. Web site:

http://www.tastetapas.com/index.aspx



If it's a nice evening sit outside in the courtyard. (You can even smoke there.)



Majestic Elegance Punta Cana

A Palapa is a wonderful thing! You lay on a lounge chair under it, and read, drink, eat, or just stare at the waves. We just got back from 8 nights at the Majestic Elegance resort in Punta Cana and really don't want to be back in Jersey. We did our homework and Tripadvisor ranked this resort #3 out of the 96 resorts in P.C.  Our room was perfect and the 3 pools, 7 restaurants, 9 bars, were just what we needed in February. Our good friends, The Rooneys, joined us, which made it even better. We had been to the Dominican Republic 3 previous times, but this was our first to Punta Cana. We had no desire to do any excursions, and never left the property.  It may have been the ideal winter break. The best new cocktail I had, was the Dirty Monkey. Kind of like an alcoholic Yoo-Hoo. It was a nice diversion from the Presidente beer and the vodka and sodas.

The staff at this place were the friendliest most helpful people anywhere, and if there weren't so many other places I'd like to visit, I would return there in a heartbeat. I already miss the swim-up bar for my 3 P.M. monkeys.