Emergency pork situation

NewFrockTuesday

Ive friends coming over for dinner tonight and want to do something really nice for them. Due to working late every night this week, I havent had a chance to get anything done and Im starting to panic a bit.

I have a pork fillet inthe fridge and not much else. i have about an hour and half - max 2 - to get a starter, main and dessert done. Im based in the city centre so I reckon I can leggit around town at lunch to get whatever I need.

Has anyone any suggestions for a simple starter a and a nice prok and spud recipie? Im going to cheat and get the dessert - unless someone has an uber quick recipie - in M&S.

Thanks in advance.

kmick

This one is nice - you dont really need the rashers though. Also the apples are a luxury.

Ingredients
25g/1oz butter
1 onion, finely chopped
175g/6oz fresh white breadcrumbs
1 lemon, juice and grated zest
2tsp fresh thyme, chopped or 1 tsp dried
handful of fresh parsley, chopped
1 egg, beaten
2 large pork fillets, about 450g/1lb each in weight
6 back bacon rashers, rinds removed
1 tbsp oil
4 eating apples
2tsp plain flour
425ml/¾pt chicken or vegetable stock
salt and pepper



Method
1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4. Melt the butter in a small pan and gently fry the onion for 5 minutes until softened and slightly browned. In a bowl, mix together the breadcrumbs, lemon zest, herbs and a good sprinkling of salt and pepper. Add the onion and the beaten egg and mix well.
2. Split each pork fillet almost in half down the length and open out. Spread the stuffing down the length of one fillet, then cover with the other, cut-side down.
3. Stretch the bacon rashers with the back of a knife, wrap around the pork and tie at intervals with string. Transfer the stuffed pork to a roasting tin, drizzle with the oil and roast for 45 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, quarter, core and thickly slice the apples and toss in the lemon juice. When the pork has roasted for 45 minutes, add the apple slices to the tin, stirring the pan juices around to coat the apples. Return to the oven for a further 20-25 minutes until the apples are tender and the pork is cooked. Test by piercing the thickest part with a fine skewer - the juices should run clear. Transfer the pork and apples to a warm plate, cover with foil and keep warm while you make the gravy.
5. Put the roasting tray on the hob and stir in the flour. Gradually stir in the stock until the gravy starts to thicken and becomes smooth. Simmer for 5 minutes, taste and season if necessary. Cut the pork into thick slices and serve with the apples and gravy.

kmick

Nice Ripe, Firm Vine Tomatoes, sliced
Fresh basil, leaves carefully chopped as not to bruise
Fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced
Extra virgin olive oil
Balsamic wine vinegar
Salt and pepper

Assemble the salad with slices of tomatoes, basil leaves, and mozzarella slices. Sprinkle extra virgin olive oil over the salad. Add a dash of vinegar and a very light sprinkling of salt and pepper. For a completely different flavor, you can substitute the mozzarella with thin slices of Parmesan.

NewFrockTuesday

kmick, thanks for that! I love that starter too but I have a really nice cheeseboard for after so Im not keen to have a cheese starter. Sorry, should have mentioned that.

I was half thinking about buying a really nice pate here in town - I know, cheating again! Could you reccommend a somewhere?

Id have preferred to le the pork sit overnight if I was to stuff it. Id clingfilm roll it and let it relax into a good strong saussage. I dont have that sort of time today unfortunately.

I made beef stroganoff on Monday so doing that is out as the bf wont eat it again.

kmick

Nice Pate
Avoca at the end of grafton turn left at molly malone
Marks and Spencers

Blub2k4

A simple one for the pork would be pork filet with leeks, mushrooms and garlic cream.

Ingred:
olive oil
1 or two leeks
1 clove garlic.
carton of cream
mushrooms (optional but nice)

This one is easy.
Chop the leeks garlic and mushrooms and pop them in the pan with some olive oil and sweat the lot together. Then add the carton of cream and reduce it a small amount, after a few minutes reducing add the pork fillet which has been chopped into strips (trim your fillet first to remove the connective tissue on the outside of the strip). Further reduce the lot of it in the pan and unusually for a cream based sauce you want this one to split, the splitting leads to a lot of extra flavour.

Normally this would be served with rice, but boiled spuds would be fine too.

Another option would be to butterfly filet steaks and serve them with fried potatoes and split gherkins.

NewFrockTuesday

Thanks for the help. I ended up not using the pork fillet - im having it tonight!

Friends didnt come over until Sat night due to time constraints on both sides. I was looking at the fillet in the fridge on Sat morning and I thought "No way is this going to feed 5 and 1/4 people. So for the menu, I put togeather a plate of nibbles - salamis,different smoked meats, chorizo and olives. For main course we had chicken chasseur and tuniaian orange cake - still warm and vanilla i/c for dessert. A cheese board of a mature cheddar, a young stilton, a mature gubeen (my fav) and a ripe brie finished off the meal.


Im having the pork fillet tonight with muatard sc and chive mash and asparagus.


So thanks for all the help kmick and blub - much appreciated.