What's cookin'?

This weekend I found myself in the kitchen quite a bit. I tried out a couple new recipes and I even threw one dinner together. Something, I rarely do. I prefer to follow a recipe, that's why I could never be a chef. At best, I'm a cook.

Paprika Spice Rubbed Pork Tenderloin

The Rub

Yield: About 1 cup

1/4 cup paprika
2 tablespoons salt
2 tablespoons ground cumin
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon garlic powder

Coat tenderloin with rub and bake in oven at 400 degrees, about 30 minutes or until a thermometer registers 155°.

We loved the flavor and the pork was nice and juicy. A definite keeper!

For dessert, I gave what's known as saltine toffee or christmas crack a try.


One sleeve of saltines
Two sticks of butter
One cup of sugar
One bag of chocolate chips (I used semi-sweet)

Cover a cookie sheet with foil and grease foil. Place crackers tightly on cookie sheet.

In a saucepan, boil butter and sugar. Pour over crackers, spreading evenly. Bake at 400 for 5 minutes.

Remove from oven and pour milk chocolate chips over the top, spreading chocolate evenly as the chips begin to melt.

Chill, then break into bite-size servings.

The first bite was great, but after that it way too sweet. I'll try it again sometime but I'll cut the sugar in half and maybe cut down on the butter, too. Maybe then it'll be more to our liking? We'll see.



Last night's dinner came together while we were shopping at Glazier's. First, we got Red Snapper from the fish counter $3/lb. Then, grabbed baby potatoes and sugar snap peas for sides. I've only worked with baby potatoes before, so I winged dinner.

I baked the Red Snapper at 400 about 15 minutes. I seasoned it with Tony's Creole Seasoning and pepper, dotted it with a bit of butter - no more than a tablespoon for all three filets.

I sauteed the snap peas in a tablespoon of half butter and EVOO, seasoned them with garlic, salt and pepper. They took about 5 minutes.

I boiled the potatoes, I topped mine with Tony's and Frank topped his with a dollop of sour cream.

Dinner was quite tasty. I was pleased. The Red Snapper and the snap peas were a big success. We'll surely be eating them both more often.