Apricot Stuffed Pork With Potatoes And Brussels Sprouts Recipes

APRICOT-STUFFED PORK WITH POTATOES AND BRUSSELS SPROUTS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees. On a large rimmed baking sheet, toss together potatoes, brussels sprouts, and oil; season with salt and pepper. Roast for 15 minutes, tossing once.
• Meanwhile, combine apricots, shallot, and jam in a small bowl; season with salt and pepper.
• Place pork on a work surface. Holding a chef's knife parallel to work surface, make a pocket by cutting lengthwise down center of tenderloin, stopping about 1/2 inch from other side (avoid cutting all the way through). Open, and stuff with apricot mixture. Spacing evenly, tie 3 to 4 pieces of kitchen twine around pork to close pocket. Season with salt and pepper.
• Remove baking sheet from the oven when sprouts and potatoes have roasted 15 minutes. Toss, and push to sides of baking sheet, then place pork in center. Roast until an instant-read thermometer inserted in thickest park of pork (avoiding stuffing) registers 145 degrees, 25 to 30 minutes. Let rest 5 minutes before slicing and serving.

CRANBERRY-APRICOT STUFFED PORK CHOPS

Steps:

• Put the dried fruit in a small bowl. Pour 1/4 cup boiling water over the fruit and set aside for 10 minutes to soften. Drain, reserve the soaking water. In a mini-processor process the fruit with the nuts, butter, fennel and half the shallot until finely chopped. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to a small sealable plastic bag or pastry bag. Snip about a 1/2-inch opening in the corner of the plastic bag. With a small paring knife, make a pocket starting from rounded side of each chop. Set the tip of the bag inside the pocket and press a quarter of the stuffing into the chop. Repeat with the remaining chops and filling. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Pat the chops dry and season with salt and pepper. In a large saute pan, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Brown one side of the chops, until well browned about 5 minutes. Use tongs to hold the chops and sear the edges of the chops. Turn and brown the other sides of the chops, about 2 minutes. Transfer the chops to a baking sheet and bake until an instant read thermometer inserted into the center of the chops registers 135 degrees F, about 15 minutes. While the chops are in the oven make the sauce. Drain the oil from the saute pan. Off the heat, add the Calvados and the remaining shallots. Return the pan to the heat, taking care since the alcohol may flambe, and cook over high heat until the alcohol is reduced by half and is slightly syrupy. Add the broth and the fruit soaking liquid and boil down until the liquid is reduce by about a third. Add the cream and continue to simmer until it thickens slightly. Whisk in the mustard. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add any juices that have accumulated on the baking sheet to the sauce. Divide the chops among 4 warm plates or a large platter. Pour on the sauce and serve.

APRICOT-STUFFED PORK TENDERLOIN

Steps:

• Cut a lengthwise slit down the center of the roast to within 1/2 in. of bottom. Open roast so it lies flat; cover with plastic wrap. Flatten to 1/2-in. thickness. Remove wrap; sprinkle with cheese, apricots, thyme, garlic, salt, pepper and cayenne., Roll up jelly-roll style, starting with a long end. Tie at 1-1/2- to 2-inch intervals with kitchen string; secure ends with toothpicks. Transfer to an 11x7-in. baking dish coated with cooking spray. Brush tenderloin with butter. Bake at 375° for 30-35 minutes or until a thermometer reads 160°. Let stand for 5 minutes before slicing.

APRICOT-STUFFED SPICE-RUBBED PORK LOIN

Steps:

• Combine first 7 ingredients in a small bowl. Combine apricots and capers; set aside. Trim fat from pork. Cut a 1-1/2-inch-wide horizontal slit into the end of pork; cut through to the other end of pork to form a deep pocket using a long, thin knife. Spoon apricot mixture into pocket; pack using the handle of a wooden spoon. Rub surface of pork with cumin mixture. Place pork on a broiler pan coated with cooking spray. Insert meat thermometer into thickest portion of pork. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour and 55 minutes or until thermometer registers 160 degrees (slightly pink).

ROSEMARY-SCENTED PORK LOIN STUFFED WITH ROASTED GARLIC, DRIED APRICOTS AND CRANBERRIES AND PORT WINE PAN SAUCE

Steps:

• Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 250 degrees. Heat oil in a small skillet over medium-low heat. Add whole garlic cloves and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and golden, about 5 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon; reserve oil.
• Turn pork loin fat-side down. Slit lengthwise, almost but not quite all the way through, to form a long pocket, leaving a 1/2-inch border of unslit meat at each end. Brush cavity with some of the reserved garlic cooking oil, and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper and 1 Tb. of the rosemary. Line cavity with sauteed garlic and apricots; sprinkle in cranberries. Tie loin together with kitchen twine or heavy-duty string at 1 1/2-inch intervals.
• Brush with remaining oil, and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Set roast, fat-side up, diagonally or curved (so it fits) on a large, lipped cookie sheet or jellyroll pan. Warm 1/4 cup apple jelly along with the minced garlic and remaining rosemary. Brush mixture onto meat.
• Roast until a meat thermometer stuck into the center registers 125 to 130 degrees. (Start checking at about 1 1/2 hours.) Remove from oven; raise oven temperature to 400 degrees. Brush loin with pan drippings, return to oven, and continue to roast until the loin is golden brown and a meat thermometer stuck into the center registers 145 degrees F (63 degrees C), about 20 minutes longer. For even more attractive coloring, broil until spotty brown, 3 to 5 minutes.
• Let roast rest 15 to 20 minutes; transfer to a carving board. Stir juices around pan to loosen brown bits. Pour through a strainer into a small pan, and stir in port, chicken broth and remaining 2 Tbs. of jelly; bring to a simmer. Mix cornstarch with a couple of tablespoons of cold water; whisk into sauce. Simmer until lightly thickened. Slice pork and serve with a little sauce.

APRICOT GLAZED ROASTED BRUSSELS SPROUTS

Steps:

• Sprouts -- Heat your oven to 425 and line a baking or cookie sheet with parchment paper. To prepare the sprouts, I peel the first outside layers of leaves off if brown or wilted, then cut in half lengthwise, keeping the stem in tact. This will keep the sprouts from falling apart. You can trim the stem a little if it is brown, but usually buying them today either at markets or in a grocery store they are very well cleaned.
• In a small bowl add the sprout halves, olive oil, dill, salt and pepper and lightly toss. Put on the baking sheet with parchment paper and put in the oven.
• Baking -- Cook 12-15 minutes and then check. At that point, I like to flip them over so they brown equally on both sides and cook another 10 minutes until tender but still have a little bite to them. I don't like them too soft. But please cook them to the texture you like.
• Sauce -- As the sprouts are roasting add all the ingredients for the sauce (jam, vinegar, lemon juice and zest) in a small pot and heat on medium low and let it simmer for about 5-10 minutes.
• Finish -- After the sprouts are done place in a large serving bowl and drizzle with the apricot glaze.
• Enjoy! This is great served with some roasted chicken or a pork roast, mashed potatoes, etc. It reminds me of Fall food and comforting meals. Growing up Fall and weekend dinners always seem to have braised meats, slow cooked vegetables from our summer garden, and sprouts were always a part of it and always a favorite.

BRUSSELS SPROUTS AND APRICOT SAUTE

Steps:

• Melt butter in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add sprouts and apricots to the skillet. Drizzle water over the sprouts mixture. Pour syrup over the the mixture. Saute sprouts mixture until sprouts are wilted, 5 to 10 minutes.
• Stir lime juice into sprouts mixture just before removing from heat.