RPI: Pistachio Crusted Schnitzel w/ Cherry Beet Chutney

The Lowdown:

I've come to really enjoy RPI. At first I always seemed to think of it as a contest -- shocking really -- everything seems to be a contest with me. I had the quirkiest desire to out do Kristy. Which, if you've read her posts you'll know it can be quite daunting. She is a lot more grounded when it comes to cooking. As in, she is much better at planning and executing her plan. Either way, I felt this competitive nature detracted from my over all experience of it. So, as of the last few RPI posts, I've tried to maintain a casual approach. By that I mean, leave it till the last minute. You know, let fear of not being on time kick in. It's a sort of primal instinct (?). Well, maybe not so primal. But whatever it is, it always inspires me to get my ass in gear.

I'm not sure where the inspiration came from for this dish. I had cherries that were over ripe. I had beets, as I always do. I love chutneys. I love pork. The RPI was pistachio. I love schnitzel. I love food that is easy and fast. Well, that solves that. That must have been the train of thought.

I love schnitzel. I love it for breakfast with eggs on it. I love it for lunch in a sandwich. I just love it any way really. But until now, I've never strayed away from the usual way of making it. RPI doesn't like the usual way though. In fact, the whole concept behind RPI was to get the back of your ears wet (is that really a saying?). Wow, if that is a saying it is really stupid. It's actually weirding me out. Furthermore, when did experience start to equal wet ears? Seriously. Way to think that one through creator of said saying.

Oh, I almost forgot to mention! I won RPI again! It seems ironic to gloat about winning when my first paragraph was about not making everything a competition. Bah! We've had a pretty well rounded set of ingredients thus far for our RPI missions. But one thing has been missing. A nut. Well, other than Kristy that is. So, it only seemed logical that one should be selected to play around with (that sounds so wrong when talking about nuts). I'm embarrassing myself now. I'm just going to stop writing.

The Playlist:

2 medium Beets, finely chopped

1 lb Cherries, pitted

5 cloves Garlic, minced

3/4 cup Champagne berry vinegar

3 tbsp Honey

2 tbsp Olive oil

2 tsp Cloves, whole

2 tsp Coriander, whole

1 tbsp Pepper, whole

2 Cinnamon sticks, whole

2 oz Port

1 Pork tenderloin

1 cup Pistachios, crushed

3 Eggs

1 cup Brown rice flour

1 tsp Mustard seed, crushed

1/2 tsp Pepper, ground

The Skinny:

1. In a tea ball combine the coriander, pepper, and cloves.
2. In medium sauce pan: combine tea ball full of spices and the remaining first tier ingredients. Cover and simmer on medium until beets are cooked thoroughly. Remove tea ball and cinnamon and allow chutney to set.
3.  In separate bowls: beat eggs, combined flour and pepper, and combined mustard seeds and pistachios.
4. Using a meat tenderizer, pound the pork (or chicken) until it is as thin as possible before tearing.
5. Heat oil in a large skillet.
6. Dredge the tenderized pork in the flour, then the eggs, then the pistachios. Ensure that it is thoroughly, and evenly coated.
7. Place the schnitzel into the heated skillet and cook (usually about 1-2 minutes per side).
8. Serve with the chutney.

Stay Rad -h

Featured on: Chef in Training, Food Renegade, 33 Shades of Green, Premeditated Leftovers,

Cactus Jelly Bourbon'd Bacon Tacos

Good morning to you darlings!

So if you follow me @ Gastronomical Sovereignty, you may know I take part in this little thing called Foodie Pen Pals... And by little, I mean gargantuan. It's over 1000 members strong and each month we swap packages all around the world just stuffed with incredible food stuffs. It really is amazing to have so many food bloggers, non-food-blogger bloggers and blog readers connect over such vast distances!

This past month a woman named Tenecia had me as her assignee. You can read more about her here or check out her blog, Boobs, Barbells and Broccoli. One of the things she sent me was a locally crafted Cactus Apple Jelly. 

Um, first response: heck yeah! 

And my second response: what the ef is cactus apple jelly?

Now, the average person might spread that baby on some whole wheat toast, or a sesame seed bagel maybe, or if they were feeling really adventurous... dare i say, some homemade, from-scratch pancakes...? Oooooh, that's living on the edge!

But I'm no ordinary person. And neither is Tenecia. I wanted to do abnormality justice damn it!

Instead, I threw a good half jar into a small saucepan, reduced it down with a 'lil bourbon - because we all know bourbon makes everything better - and then used it as a glaze...for bacon.

Because if bourbon doesn't make everything better, bacon sure does. Mmmmm bacon... err bourbon... uhhh bourbony bacon.... mrraaaawwwwlllll.... (that's drooling in type form).

Tenecia also included a package of hand made tortillas from her area so what else could I possibly make besides cactus jelly bourbon'd bacon tacos?

Cactus Jelly Bourbon'd Bacon Tacos

(printable recipe) - serves 8 as an appetizer or 4 as a main.

Ingredients:

1 Lb. Happy Bacon, chopped.

8 Oz. Cactus Apple Jelly (though regular apple jelly would suffice).

1 Oz. Bourbon.

Handful or Two of Fresh Arugula.

1 Ear of Fresh Corn.

1 Pint Fresh Tomatoes.

Some Sour Cream (for serving).

8 Organic Corn or Flour Tortillas.

What to Do:

Place a pot of water over high heat and bring to a boil. Add the corn and allow to cook until tender. If it's fresh from the farmer's market it will cook much faster (approx 3 minutes); if it's store bought, hang on for 7-10. Drain, allow to cool to touch and then using a steak knife, saw the kernels off the cob. Set aside. 

As the corn cooks, dice the tomatoes and wash and dry the arugula. Sprinkle both lightly with salt and toss the arugula with a touch of good quality olive oil.

Place a large frying pan over medium-low heat. When hot, gently and carefully place the bacon in the pan. Cook until crispy, flipping half way through - be careful! The grease is a hot one! Drain on a paper towel lined plate and set aside. 

Turn your oven to 300 degrees F. Gently heat the taco shells as you finish the recipe. Alternatively, you could do this in a microwave for 60 seconds with the tortillas wrapped in a towel.

Wipe out the pan and add the jelly and bourbon, Reduce until relatively thick and sticky. As it cools it will get thicker. If it gets too thick, just reheat.

Add the bacon and stir well.

Throw all the ingredients into separate bowls and build your tacos...then...fill up your glass with one of these...and....

Eat!

What gets your creative motor running? What inspires you?

This post is linked up with Cast Party Wednesday; Whole Foods Wednesday @ This Chick Cooks; Whole Food Wednesdays @ Beyond the Peel; Frugal Days, Sustainable Ways; Showcase Your Talent Thursday; Full Plate Thursday; Tastetastic Thursday; Foodie Friday; Fight Back Friday; Fresh Bites Friday.

RPI: Mission Goat (aka ew)

Warning: I am not a happy girl. This is a post about goat. And as luck Haydn would have it, I don't like goat.

Actually, when Haydn won our last match of Rock Paper Ingredient I was pretty stoked that he selected goat. I was all, "rad! i've never had goat. this is going to be awesome!"....

....3 days later... 

i. wanted. to. die.

Okay, maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration. But my nose certainly wanted to curl up inside itself and shut out the world. It smelled like live barn yard animal rotting away in arsenic and iodine.

In all honesty: I didn't try it. 

I was so put off by the scent of the cooking meat I couldn't bring myself to put it in my mouth. 

Funny enough, Haydn and I both selected a Moroccan approach.. John enjoyed it - good on him. I'd have hated to see it go to waste.

Of course I adore Haydn for being so adventurous (and dashing) and selecting such a unique ingredient. Well done, friend. I'm sorry I couldn't do it.... that's a hard limit for me.

Obviously I didn't keep my full recipe for this dish. However if you click here, you'll get the basic idea. Sub goat for the lamb. 

RPI.... you may have beaten me this round, but next time, I'm gonna burnin this mother down!