Fall Goodness

I don't generally do much in the way of recipes here at CwJ, but I concocted a few things recently that have worked out really well. One dish in particular, the first one below, is one I'll definitely be doing for Thanksgiving.

Roasted Squash with Bacon and Apples

6 slices bacon, cut into 1" squares
1 onion, cut ~1/2" dice
1 apple, cut ~1/2" dice
1 acorn squash, peeled, seeded and cut ~3/4" dice
salt and pepper to taste
maple syrup, as needed

Preheat the oven to 400*.

In a saute pan, render the bacon over medium heat (in other words, cook it but don't get it crispy). Remove with a slotted spoon and reserve. Saute the onion in the bacon fat until soft. Remove with a slotted spoon and reserve. Turn the heat up a bit, add the apple, and let the pieces sit there until they start to brown (if you leave the heat down, they'll get soft before they caramelize). Remove with a slotted spoon and reserve. Add the squash and cook until it browns a bit. It should still be firm.

Place the squash and reserved bacon/onions/apples into a greased baking dish, toss it all together to combine, season with salt and pepper, and place in the oven. Cook until the squash is almost done, 10-12 minutes or so. Remove from the oven and drizzle several tablespoons maple syrup over the top. Return to the oven and cook until the squash is soft enough for your liking.

Another option you have -- and this is what I did -- is to cook everything in a cast-iron (or other oven-safe) pan. This way, I left the squash in the pan, added the reserved items, and then put the whole thing in the oven rather than using a baking dish. One less thing to wash this way. Oh, and I didn't have any on hand, but sage would be a nice addition.

Pork Tenderloin with Apples and Calvados

1 pork tenderloin, ~1#
oil, as needed (canola, vegetable; not extra virgin olive oil)
salt and pepper, as needed
1 apple, cut ~1/2" dice
1/4 C Calvados (apple brandy)
1/2 C chicken stock
1/4 C apple cider
2 TB butter

Preheat the oven to 400*. In the oven, place a cookie sheet lined with foil, and on top of this place a rack of some sort (roasting rack, cooling rack, whatever you've got).

Get a saute pan, large enough to hold the tenderloin, screaming hot. Season the tenderloin liberally on all sides with salt and pepper, grease it up with some oil and place it in the pan. Sear well on all sides, then transfer to the rack in the oven.

Pour any excess fat out of the pan, add the apples and let them caramelize. Reserve. Deglaze the pan with Calvados (please be careful pouring alcohol if you're using a gas burner!), scraping the good stuff off the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Let this cook until nearly dry, then add the stock and cider. Simmer while the pork finishes cooking.

Check the pork after ten minutes or so. You're looking for something in the 145* range for internal temperature (that's still slightly pink, which I know scares people with pork, but it's cool). When you get there, remove from the oven and cover loosely with foil. Let it rest for a good five minutes before slicing, or you'll be sorry.

While the pork is resting, finish the sauce -- simmer until it's a nice sauce consistency, then remove from the heat and stir in the butter. Keep that butter moving so the sauce emulsifies and isn't greasy. Season to taste. Slice the pork into thin medalions, and serve with the apples and the sauce.

Now, if I were being really snobby about things and I wanted to serve these two items together, I'd take the apples out of the squash dish in order to not have two items with apples on the same plate.