On the Eve of Christmas Eve I was ready for the festivities....but not quite ready for the Christmas Eve table setting and menu... I had a lovely pork tenderloin and wanted to try a recipe for Mashed Potato Muffins shared by Joanne W on Gather.com recently - get the original recipe HERE. For my changes read below.
The menu consisted of Citrusy & Garlic Rub Encrusted Pork Tenderloin sprinkled with Apple Wine, made by our friends Brenda and Kevan (and roasted in our clay cooker); Mini Mashed Potato Muffins and although I had set my heart on a Watercress Salad...since our source didn't have any available for cutting I settled for Petit Pois with Rosemary Seasoned Butter.
I couldn't find my standard sized muffin tins so used a 12 count mini-muffin pan with removable bottom. It worked great.
A simple meal to herald the Holiday in style...
The small calamondin oranges are from our tree...the blue plates were a Freecycle find!
Variations:
Use grated sharp or medium sharp cheddar instead of the ricotta for more umpf
Or
Use grated jalapeño cheese
I used fresh chopped/minced rosemary but fresh chopped/minced dill or chives or garlic chives would work well.
The recipe doesn't call for them, but I went on ahead and added the beaten egg yolks to the mix separately before folding in the egg whites. I liked the results.
For the breadcrumbs at the botttom of the mini-muffin cups I used fine ground panko.
For those who are gluten intolerant you can either ignore the use for
breadcrumbs in the bottom of the pan or there is a brand that carries gluten free panko -
http://kinnikinnick.com/rss/src/Kinnikinnick-Introduces-Gluten-Free-Panko-Style-\
Br.html
I never though candles can be these sexy! Definitely makes any meal more palatable!
Posted by: gibson dinnerware | April 15, 2012 at 02:38 AM
Thank you, Diane! Happy New Year!
Posted by: Sonia | December 30, 2011 at 12:52 PM
Lovely as always Sonia. Everything looks wonderful.
Posted by: Diane | December 30, 2011 at 07:21 AM