Torty Bites: Fall Appetizers

Now, I love Tortiere more than just aboot anything, I've already blogged one recipe for it; but I have found that sometimes the pastry can be a little...heavy. Not MINE, of course, but in general, it's a hearty dish with potato and lotsa meat, and yeah, I thought maybe if I broke it up into smaller pieces and used some delish phyllo pastry it might make a fun bite. I also used the pork / extra lean beef blend that I liked so much in that recipe above, but mixed it up somewhat.

These are a great appy idea for a fall party; prep 'em and bake 'em just as people are walking up. Then stuff in your face, because MY BOB these are delicious!! No sharesies for the Torty Bites! Jk, this makes 36, you'd better. I think I am liking small bites and mini quiches so much these days because you can have a taste of something without committing to eating an entire serving of anything. Check it oot!

You will need:

I medium red potato, peeled (sigh) and chopped
1/2 lb medium ground pork
1/2 lb extra lean ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped fine(ly)
1 celery stalk, minced
3 garlic cloves (or less, not everyone is married)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp sage
1/4 tsp ground cloves
Pepper. Lots of pepper
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
Bitta nutmeg
1/2 cup beef stock
3 sheets phyllo pastry


Prep!! Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, take your phyllo pastry out of the freezer. About three hours ago. Awesome! But for reals, you will need to let the pastry thaw for about three hours, so take it out, and then two hours later start preheating your oven.

Peel and chop your potato, dump in a small pot full of water and bring to a boil. Get that sucker going right away while you do the rest of your prep, like...chop your onion and celery finely and mince your garlic.

Heat a large saucepan (not non-stick: sticky) over medium-ish heat and add the meat mixture; season lightly with salt and pepper. That sounds disgusting. But totally isn't! After a couple of minutes, when it's breakable-upable with a flat-ended wooden spoon, add the onion and celery.

After about 5 minutes, when the meat is mostly cooked through and the onions are translucent and the celery is...green, add in the garlic and cook for one more minute.

Keep breaking up the meat into smaller and smaller chunks, we don't want any meatballs in these here bites. Add in the thyme, sage, salt, pepper, ground cloves, bitta nutmeg, Worcestershire sauce and stir to coat.

Looks...exactly the same. But smells different! Honest!

Check your potato, if cooked through, drain and dump into the pot. Add in the beef stalk and squish the potato while swirling around the sauce until there are no big chunks of potato or liquid left. Then taste and adjust seasoning as required. How about pepper? There's always room for pepper. And nutmeg.

 

Set aside to cool slightly and work on your phyllo dough. You should be aware, if you aren't already, that phyllo dough is as tasty as it is a pain in the behind to work with. You have to be very careful not to tear it, and any freezer burn at all will make the sheets cling to each other like Bachelor contestants at a mixer with Regulars.

You want to lay out three sheets and spray each of them individually with oil. Normally, you would use butter to brush the sheets with, but I'm not looking to use all my dang calories in one place, y'all. Mama needs her SmartPop. Anyway, I like to lay them out on a cutting board, spray and flip, then fold in half and cut into 6 pieces. Cut along the back spine and voila! You have 36 pieces to use.

Push the oiled sheets gently into the holes of a well sprayed mini muffin tin, leaving bunches on the outside.

Fill each well with meat mixture; I like to use a tablespoon-sized cookie scoop, but a spoon would just as well. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes, until the edges of the pastry are just browed.

Leave in the tray for 2 minutes to cool, then pop out onto a wire rack and enjoy! They're best hot, so serve immediately or just get them in your face. There is no judgement here, only lub. They come to 22 calories each, so that's not even bad at all!

Closer...

All up in it's grill!

Pork Medallions with Blueberry Salsa

A good friend sent me some amazing (shot!) blueberry salsa; it pairs perfectly with pork tenderloin, which tends to lend itself well to lighter flavours as well as being low in calories. 

Should you  not have an awesome blueberry salsa connection, any fruited salsa or chutney would work, maybe even a marmalade. I think one of the recipes I collected from my fambly involved a chutney, hmmm, will have to have a look-see. I will throw it up here if so, double recipe! Here is what I did:

You will need:

Monday: Tortiere

This falls under the Fambly Week umbrella; my high school best friend's mom (holla Julie!!) made the best tortiere I've ever had, and it was always awesome when I could sneak some. Unfortunately she passed before my BFF was into cooking, so her recipe was never passed on. I've tried a few commercially available ones, they just did not do it for me, so I figured I would give it a shot on my own.

This is traditionally a pork meat pie, but I wanted to try a couple of variations, see what gave the best flavour. I tried all pork, half pork / half beef and half pork / half turkey. The turkey blend just did not have enough meaty flavour, so it was between the beef and all pork. I went with the beef mixture, but I really think either would work.

You will need:

For the crust:

2 1/2 c all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 c butter, cold and UNSALTED
1/4 c lard, cold
6-8 Tbsp cold water
1 egg white

1 lb extra-lean pork
1 lb exra-lean beef (or just use all pork - it's your pie, sailor!)
10 oz potatoes, 2 medium
2 celery stalks
2 small onions
3 garlic cloves
1/4 c red wine
1/2 c beef stock
1/2 tsp each nutmeg, ground cloves, thyme
1 bay leaf
Salt, pepper

I just ate the carrot, decided not to use it. It was nummy, though!

Turkey / pork at 12, Beef / Pork at bottom right, all pork plus pork at bottom left

First, get your crust ready. It needs time to rest and break down gluten and blah blah. So, measure your flour and salt into a wide bowl, add in the cold butter and lard. Work it in with a pastry blender or two knives, until it looks like itty bitty pea / crumbs.

Make a well in the center and start adding in your cold water by the tablespoon. Swirl it with your fingers, adding enough so that it feels cohesive without being gooey. We do not ever want gooey.

Once it will hold together in a ball, break it into two balls, wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Gluten blah blah destroying something or rather, make it so!

On to prep! LOTS of prep! Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Peel your potatoes, (sacrilege, I know, but I wouldn't want people wandering across a potato peel and having it throw them off completely), chop them up and bring to a boil in a pot of water. Cook for 10-15 minutes until poke-able, drain, mush and set aside. While they are boiling, chop your celery and onions into a fine dice, mince your garlic. That's not actually a lot of prep, maybe it just felt like it because I did three types. Anyway!

Cook your meat in a LARGE saucepan, breaking apart as you go. I really like it to be as fine as possible, but you may like chunky-style. It's your pie, sailor! Do as you will. Break it down somewhat, cooking until all of the pink is gone, about 8-10 minutes. Drain off the fat.

Add everything else in. Seriously, dump it all in there, including the potato. It's gonna take a little while, mix it carefully in that pan that totally looked big enough, didn't it? Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer for 25 minutes. Take the lid off and let simmer for another 5-10, until the liquid is almost all gone. Taste! Add more pepper, probably more thyme, salt, whatever. Taste again!

 

Roll out half of your dough, I suggest this awesome pie roller measuring mat, because it's pretty much idiot proof. Drape your rolled out dough over the pie plate, brush with egg white. Roll out the other half of your dough, leave it on the mat while you fill your pie.

Add in the meat filling, top with the rolled out crust.

Mush together the outside ring, make it as pretty as humanly possible. Or you-ly possible. Slice a few vents in it, brush with egg white and bake for 40-50 minutes, until golden brown and flaky-looking.

It's a happy pie!

Also a ginormous pie

Happy and now with a tan!

This worked out to 450 calories per slice, and there are 8 servings in one huge pie. That is super high, but we could still in a nice refreshing salad with this and have a little bit of dressing. Like dot it on.

Enjoy!

Monday: Orange Ginger Pork with Roasted Potatoes

I love the flavour of this pork; potatoes balance it well but a nice brown rice would also complement. I have found a lot of orange-included meals tend to be over-sweet, that is not the case here. If anything, I would watch your pork peppering, it can get a little spicy.

You will need:

1 c orange juice
1 tsp cornstarch
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 shallots, minced very finely
2 Tbsp ginger, peeled and minced - about 2 inches or so
2 garlic cloves, minced (sensing a theme?)
1\4 to 1 tsp red pepper chili flakes
1 1\2 c chicken stock, divided
1 Tbsp soy sauce
2 - 1 lb pork tenderloins
Salt, pepper
1 Tbsp butter

1 lb red potatoes, mini or you-chop
1 Tbsp olive oil
Kosher salt, pepper, dried thyme leaves, oregano

Not pictured: garlic. It is like Where's Waldo every time!

Obviously not a whole pound, although it is a big fella

First, preheat your oven to 400 degrees. I've done these potatoes on here, but now have greatly scaled back the amount of olive oil used, from 1\4 c to 1 Tbsp. Olive oil is good for our hearts, but we probably shouldn't bathe in it. Cut your mini-potatoes in half or chop your bigguns into bite-sized pieces.

Drizzle with the oil and sprinkle on the seasonings, stir with a spatula (of course!) and throw in your warmed oven. I usually use parchment paper, but I am lazy today. Or maybe I just feel like scrubbing a pan later, who really knows? Bake for 45 to 60 minutes, stirring with your spatula every 15.

You can also use already-cooked potatoes, as in microwaved or left over from the night before, just adjust your cooking time accordingly. 15 minutes is long enough to get a nice crunchy brown crust. Now I'm making myself hungry.

Now you can start the pork! To prep your pork, trim off all of the silverskin and fat; then slice each tenderloin into 2-inch-thick pieces. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Go half this thick

Then, set aside two tablespoons of the orange juice, stir in the cornstarch.

Heat the oil in heavy-bottomed saucepan, add the shallots, ginger and chili flakes and cook until the shallots are almost golden, a couple of minutes. Add in the garlic, just one more minute!

Add in the rest of the orange juice, 1\2 c chicken stock and the soy sauce, bring to a boil. Turn down and let simmer until it reduces enough for a spoon to leave a trail across the middle of it.

Add in the cornstarch mixture and let boil for another minute. Set aside and keep warm. Heat the butter in a non-stick frying pan, brown the pork in batches and set aside to keep warm.

Deglaze the non-stick saucepan with 1\2 c chicken stock, scrape all that amazing flavour into the sauce saucepan and warm through. Add up to another 1\2 c chicken stock to get the consistency you like.

I separated this into 6 servings at 215 calories per serving; added in some broccoli and the roasted potatoes at 140 calories and we are all good!

Enjoy!