Are You Viewer 1,000?

The time has come, the doctor said, 

To talk of many things.

Of your weight gain and triglycerides,

And the failure of your heartstrings.

Of why your blood pressure is boiling hot,

Any how long you wish to be a live Earthling.

Yeah, so it's time for The Diet to resume.  Oh well.  Look for a lot of fish and chicken posts!  I get red meat once a week, so I will be sure to live it up on those days.  What is especially sad is that this last week was Spring Break, and today was the first day I could actually grill.  Stupid weather.

In more important news, I noticed that my hit counter is approaching 1,000!  Will you be my 1,000th visitor?  If you are, take a screenshot and send me the picture as proof!  Heck, use a camera and take a picture of your screen if you have to!  I've got a prize for you!

Earlier today The Bride picked out two recipes.   I began the preparation today with the side, the Grilled Polenta With Mushroom Ragout on page 85.  

This recipe was going to take a while because you have to make the polenta and then let it set up in the fridge for several hours.  I began by mixing the milk, water, corn meal, and dried thyme.

This began to fluff up immediately, so I prepped its container by laying in some plastic wrap.  This would help with its removal later.

It set up, the cornmeal was fully cooked, and it just needed some time in the fridge.  The next several hours would be spent using a large volume of obscenities at various projects around the house.

A few hours (and a lot of profanity) later, I was ready for dinner.  I pulled out what I needed for the Pork Tenderloin Wrapped in Pancetta on page 181.  

After trimming the silverskin (as seen in an earlier post) I began making the rub.   Using the kosher salt as an abrasive for mincing the garlic is a great technique. Once that was started, I mixed in the pepper and rosemary and continued mincing until I had a nice consistency for the rub.

From here it was easy.  Step one, rub the meat.  Insert adolescent joke here.

Step two, add the pancetta (an Italian bacon made from pork belly).

Step three, tie up with butcher string.

Once those were ready, I made sure I rehydrated my dried mushrooms.   To make a long story short, I had been doing a lot of Provencal cooking this winter, and came across a mushroom ragout that I thoroughly enjoyed, especially when made with an exotic blend of dried mushrooms that I can buy at my local Meijer's. 

As most of these were too small for skewering, it was time to break out a new toy!  Last fall I bought a grill vegetable wok on clearance.  I finally got to use it!

The recipe calls for chicken stock, but in the process of rehydrating the mushrooms, you get this deeply flavored stock.  Why waste it?

For the ragout, begin by sauteing your onions.

While they are doing their thing, you can begin grilling the mushrooms.

If you have timed it well, you can add the grilled mushrooms right to your onions!

Then add in the other liquids (including your chicken awesome mushroom stock).

The tenderloins were on the grill by this time, and were, in fact, nearing completion.  It was time to pull the polenta out of the fridge.  The best tool to cut it, I figured, was my pizza cutter.

Aren't these beautiful?  With these pulled off the grill, and the polenta on the grill, I was almost ready!

The polenta came off the grill looking rather nice, and now it was just a matter of plating!

I plated, poured the wine, and everything was looking like it should!

All in all, this was a nice dinner.  The tenderloin was well seasoned, albeit a little dry.  Pork tenderloin can do this rather quickly, but as you can see in the picture, there were still plenty of juices.  I just think that it needed a sauce more than anything.  The polenta was also a nice touch.  I admit to never making polenta before, but it was easy and made for nice side.  The mushroom ragout, however, was a miss.  The French make a much nicer one, and if I make this again I would use my other recipe.  I will still take plenty away from this recipe, especially in regards to technique.  I like the paste/rub, and the wrapping of protein with pancetta is a nice touch as well.  Using indirect cooking with the pancetta is key, as flare-ups would otherwise be a problem.  So in conclusion, I'm glad I made these two recipes, but neither will be seen (at least directly) by company.  

Don't forget!  If you are my 1,000th visitor and can prove it, I've got a prize for you!