I read a recipe on Better Homes & Gardens recently that caught my attention. It was a beef stroganoff recipe where the sour cream sauce was mixed together, then poured over the meat and simmered. This may be a common way of doing it, but it’s not something I was familiar with. When adding sour cream to a sauce, I usually whisk it in at the end.

I have been in a rut recently — I haven’t done anything honestly new. Sure, I make things that taste different, but it’s really the same thing, just differing a few ingredients.

Lorraine defrosted a pork tenderloin and asked me to make scallopini, something with a wine sauce. We haven’t done that recently (lots of grilling) so it would be a nice change. I was going to get out white wine but thought of the stroganoff recipe. Since I had a brand new container of sour cream in the fridge, I brought up one of my few remaining bottles of 2016 Chocolate Orange Port, and set to work!

Lorraine really liked this one! It’s not low fat, but it’s really easy to make, and it’s done in 40 minutes start to finish.

Pork-Port Stroganoff

• 1 pork tenderloin, cleaned of silverside, cut in 1″ slices, pounded 1/4″ thick
• 1 Tbsp butter
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• paprika salt
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 cup sweet red or white wine (port or Marsala work great!)
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 1 tsp ground cardamom
• 1 tsp Pampered Chef Greek seasoning
• 1/2 tsp paprika salt
• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper

Heat the butter and oil in a large, deep skillet or saute pan. When hot, brown the pork in batches on both sides, sprinkling lightly with paprika salt. Add more oil if needed. When browned, remove to a large bowl and cover to keep warm.

While the meat is cooking, whisk the sour cream, wine, stock, cardamom, Greek seasoning, salt, and pepper until smooth.

When all the pork is cooked, add the meat back to the pan and spread out in a single layer if possible. Pour the sour cream sauce over the top.

Simmer for 15 to 20 minutes or until the sauce is thick. Watch for burning. If it gets too thick, add a bit of chicken stock and cook 1 additional minute.

Serve over pasta.

Notes:

I was given a large jar of paprika salt for Christmas. When this runs out, I’m going to try mixing 1 Tbsp paprika with 4 Tbsp salt. This is just a guess and I won’t know for sure until I try it.

Unfortunately for the world, the Fazekas Winery 2016 Chocolate Orange Port is not generally available. Substitute a commercial port or Marsala, or a cream sherry. A dry wine will work, but the sweet wine adds character.

If you don’t have the Pampered Chef Greek seasoning on hand, substitute any “Greek” seasoning or Herbes de Provence.

The pepper listed was skipped, as pepper can bother Lorraine’s stomach. I have a grinder on the table containing a pepper blend (black, white, red, & green) so I ground some over my plate.

Today’s recipes are stream of thought.

Lorraine wanted pork tenderloin, so I quick defrosted a package in room temperature water in the sink. With just us, I cook 1 tenderloin that night and the other a night or two later. (two tenderloins are in the package)

The first one I cut in chunks and put in a ziplock bag with olive oil, 2 Tbsp allspice, 1 Tbsp seasoned salt, and 1/2 Tbsp ground black pepper. This is a half-batch of the lamb shish-kebab recipe, which I’ll cook tomorrow night.

The other tenderloin I cut in chunks and pounded flat with a meat mallet. In a ziplock bag I put olive oil, 1 tsp paprika, 1 tsp seasoned salt, 1/4 tsp ground black pepper, and 1 tsp ground ginger.

Last weekend I bought shallots for the recipes we made, and had some left over. Recently I read a recipe for shallot straws, so I went in my own direction.

Fried Shallots

• shallots, sliced 3/8″ thick
• half-n-half
• corn starch
• salt
• olive oil

Pour half-n-half into a bowl. Add sliced shallot and mix gently. Let set for 15 minutes.

Place cornstarch on a sheet of wax paper. Remove shallots from the half-n-half, shake off excess, and place on cornstarch. Sprinkle gently with salt. Sprinkle cornstarch on top, then shake off excess. Do this in batches until all shallots are coated.

Heat 1/4″ olive oil over medium-high heat. When hot, reduce heat to medium and fry the shallots in batches, turning once when golden brown. Drain on paper towels.

Paprika Pork

• 1 pork tenderloin

MARINADE:

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp seasoned salt
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper

COOKING:

• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 Tbsp butter
• salt & ground black pepper
• 2 Tbsp minced garlic
• 2 cups stock (vegetable or chicken)
• 1/4 cup half-n-half
• 2 Tbsp cornstarch

Cut the pork in 1-1/2″ chunks and pound to 3/8″ thick with a meat mallet. (cover with plastic wrap to avoid splatters while pounding)

Mix the marinade ingredients in a large ziplock bag (gallon size). Add pork and mix well. Marinate in fridge at least 6 hours, or overnight.

Heat oil and butter in a large saute pan. Add pork, in batches, and fry until browned on both sides. Remove from pan and keep warm.

Add stock to pan and bring to a boil. Add garlic and correct salt & pepper if necessary. Mix half-n-half and cornstarch. Add to stock, stirring constantly, until thick. Turn off heat and stir pork into sauce. Serve over pasta.

Notes:

I used the leftover half-n-half and cornstarch from the shallots. Waste not, want not.

Lorraine REALLY liked this one and asked me to record the recipe.