This recipe comes from my friend Jules Silver at ClubSauce.com. His web site offers some great gourmet products and may be the only site on the Internet offering all of More Than Gourmet’s products including Demi-Glace Gold you always here me talking about.

I have no problem plugging my buddy Jules because I know the products he markets, I use a lot of them myself, and Jules offers some of the best service you can find on the Net.  Jules handles all orders himself so I know he takes good care of his customers.

In his spare time, Jules likes to dabble in the kitchen and has recently come up with his own line of products called Splash that are Pomegranate Reduction Sauces. They’re excellent for making sauces or adding a little extra flavor to soups and stews but I also like them on fresh fruit and ice cream.

Here’s Jules recipe for pan seared pork loin with his

Pomegranate Port Reduction Sauce
Servings: 4 

Ingredients:

1 2-3 lb pork loin
1-tablespoon garlic, chopped
1-tablespoon herbs de Provence  (typically contains rosemary, marjoram, basil, bay leaf, thyme)
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup dry red wine
1/3 cup chicken stock
1/4 cup Splash! Pomegranate Port Reduction Sauce
Fresh ground pepper to taste 1/4-cup fresh pomegranate seeds, optional
 
1. Pre heat oven to 325°. Rub pork loin with 1-tablespoon extra virgin olive oil until lightly coated. Sprinkle with herbs de Provence rubbing it into the meat and then set aside.

2. Combine 1-tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, garlic, and herbs de Provence in a sauté pan over medium low heat. As garlic starts to brown add wine and reduce until the mixture has a slight syrupy consistency.

3. Whisk in the roasted chicken stock and the pomegranate port reduction sauce until blended. Remove pan from the stovetop. Heat a separate skillet with a heat resistant handle over medium-high heat. Add the pork loin and quickly sear on one side and then turn so that both sides have slightly browned.

4. Using a brush lightly baste the pork loin with the sauce mixture and then place the skillet with the pork in the oven. Cook for about 45 minutes or if using an instant read thermometer 150°, basting every 15 minutes with the sauce.

5. Remove the pork loin from the skillet to a dish and allow to stand for 5 minutes before carving. Place the meat on a carving board and pour any juices from the plate back into the saucepan. Return the pan to the stove and warm over medium low heat.

Carve the pork loin at a diagonal in 1/2-inch slices. Place the sliced pieces of pork on each plate. Spoon the sauce on top. Sprinkle with pomegranate seeds and serve.

If you have spent any time on my web site, you know I am a huge fan of preparing sauces…pan sauces, classic French style sauce and everyday simple sauces. As Fernand Point, the man considered to be the father of modern French cuisine said, “It is the sauce that distinguishes a good chef. The Saucier is a soloist in the orchestra of a great kitchen.”

Now that may be taking it a bit far, but I do believe if you know how to prepare sauces, you can turn an ordinary sautéed chicken breast into something special. Same with a pork chop and even a steak that can usually stand on its own. See my Steak with Wild Mushroom Sauce or Grilled Steak with Peppercorn Sauce.

The trick to making great sauces at home is having the right ingredients. The reason professional chefs can serve you an incredible rich, velvety brown sauce in your favorite restaurant is because they have spent hours, sometimes days preparing stock reductions and demi-glaces.

Most of us home cooks don’t have the time or the desire to put the time and effort into making classic stock reductions for soups, stews, braises and sauces. Sure, we have no trouble making a batch of chicken stock for homemade chicken soup but how many of you want to spend two days making a demi-glace? Not me.

Good News For Home Cooks

Good news for us is there are now companies making some very good commercial stock reduction products that we can use to make great sauces in our own kitchens. Some are better than others and it’s my goal this year to try as many products as I can find and give them a taste test.

In the meantime, my current favorite commercial brand is More Than Gourmet’s Demi Glace Gold and any of their other classic stock reductions that include chicken, fish, lobster, veggie, duck, veal and a few others. I have been using these products for years and I can honestly say these products have elevated my cooking more than any other line of products. I can now make the same sauces that I’ve enjoyed in many of the fine restaurants I’ve been fortunate to dine at.

 Now I’m not saying there aren’t better products on the market. I’m sure there are cheaper brands but most of those are pure chemicals and not using all natural products. If there is a brand you recommend me trying, please let me know and I will give it a go.

If you want to learn more about making sauces at home and read more about these products, I suggest you go to www.gatewaygourmet.com. There you will find dozens of sauce recipes, many of them featuring More Than Gourmet’s products, plus ingredient breakdowns and where to purchase them.

Who Said The Holidays Are Over?

Better yet, one of those sources is now offering the entire More Than Gourmet product line at 20% off.  This is an incredible opportunity to try these products and start making restaurant quality sauces in your own kitchen. But you’ll want to hurry because the sale ends this Sunday, January 7, 2007.

So go over to GatewayGourmet.com and take a look at these products and their recipes and if you like what you see, take advantage of the sale going on at ClubSauce.  The sale ends on Sunday and I don’t think you’ll find prices like these anywhere.

Sunday was a rainy dreary day, perfect for cooking and watching football. It was one of those days I didn’t mind chopping, mincing and dicing while watching the Eagles beat up on  the Washington Redskins.

When I asked my wife what kind of stew she’d like me to make, she immediately responded, “Veal!” So we went to the market and picked up some cubed veal meat for stew and one of our favorite stewing vegetables, leeks.

This is really a very simple recipe and the results are fantastic. I used a cup of demi-glace because I always have it on hand in the form of Demi Glace Gold but you can substitute 1 cup of homemade beef stock or even try homemade chicken stock.

As good as this meal is the night you serve it, it’s even better as leftovers after all the flavors have a chance to meld together.

Ingredients

4 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 pounds of cubed veal stew meat, most likely from the shoulder or leg
Flour
3 leeks
10 oz golden pearl onions
3 cloves garlic
½ cup Ruby Port (you can substitute any Port or even try Sherry or Marsala wine)
1 - 14 ½ oz can of plum or diced tomatoes
1 cup demi-glace (check out GatewayGourmet.com)
5 fresh sage leaves or 3 dried
3 tablespoons fresh parsley
Salt & freshly ground pepper
8 oz package of fresh white mushrooms

Prep the ingredients

Leeks are usually loaded with sand and grit so it’s important to clean them well. I like to chop the white and tender green parts and wash in my ancient salad spinner.

The pearl onions are the most tedious prep in this recipe. You have probably seen recipes that say to pour boiling water over the pearl onions and the skins will just fall off. No way. Doesn’t happen. Yes, it does help some, but you’re going to end up peeling them with a knife and your fingernails so be patient.

Peel and mince the garlic and if you are using whole plum tomatoes, pour them into a bowl and cut up into pieces.

Chop the parsley and slice the mushrooms.

How to Make Veal Stew at Home

Preheat the oven to 300°F.  Put some flour into any bowl (I used a soup bowl) to dredge the veal cubes with flour. You can season the flour if you like with a little salt and pepper or your favorite dried seasonings. Be sure the veal is dry before dredging.

(more…)