I Am A Chef - A Spring Menu

Karina, this one's for you!  When I started my blog, in August 2010, I was writing for myself...to capture snippets of my life that gave meaning to my existence.  But as with all blogs, it soon developed a life of its own and sometimes I feel like the radio disk jockeys that I used to listen to when I was in high school saying to their audience..."And this next request comes to us from Karen, in Kalamazoo..."

Saturday, Karina mentioned to me, "You have not posted any recipes for a while...I am waiting for the next one."  Since last night's dinner was especially enjoyable, I am going to capture it in today's blog.

Yesterday was a glorious Spring day in Southern California.  The sun was shining when we woke up, the hummingbirds were in abundance as I watered and tended to my vegetables in the garden, the air was refreshing as we sipped a drink on the front porch...so as I peered into the refrigerator and pantry I was looking to carry that feeling to the dinner table.  Here is what we enjoyed:

Dry-Rubbed Pork Tenderloin with sliced Cherokee Black Heirloom Tomato, Arugula and slivered Parmigiano Cheese

Last week I read of this wonderful rub on Robin's blog, The Gardener of Eden.  Robin lives in Pennsylvania and we have become virtual friends through blogging.  Her husband, "The Italian" makes huge quantities of this rub and uses it on pork and fish.  Go to the blog here for the recipe.

Here is how I prepared the pork:
Pat the tenderloin dry and work the Rub over all sides of it, wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate it for 2 hours. (You can refrigerate it overnight.)
When ready to cook, preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Heat some olive oil in a large skillet, saute a little minced garlic in oil.
Seared the tenderloin on all sides until it dark and crispy.
Place in a baking dish or leave in the skillet if the skillet can go into the hot oven.
Roast in oven for about 20 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 160 degrees.
Remove and let rest for 5 minutes before slicing.
Arrange on plate with fresh arugula (from my garden) and sliced tomatoes (Farmer's Market).
Using a potato peeler, peel off cheese from large hunk onto arugula.

While the pork is roasting, prepare the Lemon Spaghetti:

Meyer's Lemon trees are gifting the world with lemons right now.  Last week I came home to find that my little neighbor, Sophie aged 11, left a bag full on my porch.  Nothing says Spring more than Lemon Spaghetti.

While pasta water is coming to a boil, saute one large or two small shallots in some olive oil until it is soft and transparent.
Add a couple of ladles of pasta water to the shallots and let it simmer gently for a couple of minutes. Turn off heat.
Just before the pasta is ready, turn heat on under the shallot mixture, add 1/4 cup of fresh lemon juice to it.
Bring back to slow simmer and add 1/4 cup of heavy cream and about 2 Tablespoons of fresh lemon zest.
When spaghetti is al dente, drain and add to the lemon cream mixture right in the skillet and mix it in until it is completely covered.
Let it cook a minute of two in the sauce and it will begin to absorb the liquid and not be soupy. Listen carefully and you will hear the sound of the drier spaghetti.
Drizzle 2 Tablespoons of Olive oil and work it in so the spaghetti "smiles!"
Remove from heat and add 1/2 cup of grated cheese, ground black pepper and 2 T. finely sliced fresh basil leaves.
Serve with additional cheese.

Earlier that day I had prepared some Roasted Bell Peppers that I served as the side dish...the "contorni!"

Using colorful peppers (red, yellow, orange or green) I roast them on top of my gas stove until they are blacked on all surfaces.
Place in a brown paper bag and let them cool and steam.
Remove from bag and work off the char with your hands, removing the stems and seed core.  Do not use water on the peppers...it takes away the flavor.
Tear pepper into slices.
In a little bowl combine 6 anchovy fillets that you have chopped finely  (This disappears into the dish and adds a subtle complex flavor) with 1 T Olive oil and about 3 T of capers and about 1/4 cup of pitted black Italian olives chopped (you can use any olive but I prefer some dried olives we get at a local Italian deli.)
Mix into the peppers using your hands to coat complete.
Serve at room temperature with a crusty Italian bread.

We enjoyed this meal and it was not that complicated to prepare.  After eating, as Jay and I sat sipping the last of a nice Italian wine, we commented to each other that even though our seasons in Southern California are subtle, we do feel the natural rhythms of the year and this meal felt like Spring!

Buon Appetito!