Have any of you seen the show on MTV Catfish?

If you have seen it, you probably understand my complete fascination. If you haven’t seen it, the whole premise is that people meet and fall in love with strangers on the internet who for one reason or another won’t meet up in person. So the host of the show does all the research to find out if they are an actual person or not and then tries to get them to meet their online love face to face. Whether or not they are the person they said they were.

Most of the time, for one reason or another the person has lied and is not really who they say they are. Shocking. Some of the people you see and know on a daily basis aren’t who they say they are.

In spite of all the lying and drama, I’ve gathered one thing from this show. Everyone is just looking for some love. Even the people who have lied, lied because they thought the other person wouldn’t love them for who they really are.

Here is my theory on the whole thing. If you feel that you need to lie about certain aspects of your life in order for someone to love you, maybe you should start thinking about all the things you don’t like about yourself and work on them. There is no perfect person in this world and all you can do is be a person you like. If you love you, someone else will have no trouble.

Dishes are kind of the same way. Nothing is ever perfect. You can throw a bunch of stuff together but it won’t work out unless you like the ingredients.

These ingredients might seem odd or quirky together, but they just sing.

You will need…

1 lb pork tenderloin

2 tablespoons whole grain mustard

3 peaches, halved and pitted

1 red onion, sliced into ½ inch rings

¼ cup basil, roughly chopped

1 tablespoon vegetable oil, plus extra to brush the grill

Salt and pepper to taste

Start by lightly brushing the grill with oil and preheating it to a medium high heat.

While the grill is heating, rub down your tenderloin with the mustard and season well with salt and pepper.

Use the tablespoon of oil to lightly brush the flesh of the peaches and the onions. Season both with salt and pepper and set aside.

When the grill is hot, add the pork, peaches and onions to the grill.

Cook the peaches and onions about 5 minutes a side. When the peaches have good grill marks and the onions are tender, remove from the heat and let cool slightly.

Cook the pork for 15 to 20 minutes, turning every 2 to 3 minutes. 

Until the internal temperature is 140 degrees F. Remove the pork from the heat, cover with foil and let it rest for 10 minutes.

While the pork is resting, dice the peaches and onions and toss in a bowl with the basil. Season well with salt and pepper.

When the pork has rested, slice into ½ inch thick slices.

Top with peach salsa and serve hot.

Love and Beer Floats

Angela 

Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Peach Salsa

1 lb pork tenderloin

2 tablespoons whole grain mustard

3 peaches, halved and pitted

1 red onion, sliced into ½ inch rings

¼ cup basil, roughly chopped

1 tablespoon vegetable oil, plus extra to brush the grill

Salt and pepper to taste

Start by lightly brushing the grill with oil and preheating it to a

medium high heat.

While the grill is heating, rub down your tenderloin with the mustard and season well with salt and pepper.

Use the tablespoon of oil to lightly brush the flesh of the peaches and the onions. Season both with salt and pepper and set aside.

When the grill is hot, add the pork, peaches and onions to the grill.

Cook the peaches and onions about 5 minutes a side. When the peaches have good grill marks and the onions are tender, remove from the heat and let cool slightly.

Cook the pork for 15 to 20 minutes, turning every 2 to 3 minutes. Until the internal temperature is 140 degrees F. Remove the pork from the heat, cover with foil and let it rest for 10 minutes.

While the pork is resting, dice the peaches and onions and toss in a bowl with the basil. Season well with salt and pepper.

When the pork has rested, slice into ½ inch thick slices.

Top with peach salsa and serve hot. 

It’s been six months now since I left my job of ten years to embark on a new path.

Not only has it been a totally crazy blur, it has been an amazing ride. I’ve learned so much at my new job both about my industry and about my life. Travel has become a major part of my work life and for that reason, I haven’t been able to get wild and crazy in the kitchen lately.

Since my brother gave it to me for Christmas, I have been DYING to play around with my ice cream maker attachment for my stand mixer. I’ve contemplated all the crazy combinations I would make like raspberry with chocolate chips and vanilla wafer crumbles or pistachio with bacon.

But alas, when it came time that I had time, I realized I need to crawl before I could walk. It became clear that I needed to tackle something that was pretty simple before I went and got crazy with expensive ingredients and silly techniques.

And while I can’t wait to get crazy with frozen treats, I highly recommend trying this home made vanilla classic. Everything is better homemade!

You will need…

3 cups half-and-half

½ cup sugar, heaping (not leveled off the top)

8 egg yolks

1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise

Start by scraping the seeds out of the vanilla beans and adding the seeds and the pods to a medium saucepan.

Add the half-and-half and sugar to the saucepan with the vanilla. Bring to a simmer over medium heat and stir until the sugar is dissolved. When the sugar has dissolved, cover with a lit and let steep off the eat for 30 minutes.

In a large stainless-steel bowl, whisk the egg yolks. Very gradually, whisk in ½ cup of the hot cream.

Once the ½ cup is incorporated, slowly whisk in the rest of the cream.

Pour the mixture back into the saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until the custard chickens. About 10 minutes. The custard should be thick enough that it coats the back of a spoon.

Strain the custard into a large stainless-steel bowl that is set in an ice bath and discard the vanilla beans.

Stir occasionally until the custard is thoroughly chilled. Pour the custard into an ice cream maker and churn according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Churn until the ice cream is set but not hard. It should be the consistency of soft serve.

Pour into an airtight container and freeze for 2 to 3 hours.

Serve solo or with your favorite apple pie.

Love and Beer Floats

Angela  

Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

3 cups half-and-half

½ cup sugar, heaping (not leveled off the top)

8 egg yolks

1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise

Start by scraping the seeds out of the vanilla beans and adding the seeds and the pods to a medium saucepan.

Add the half-and-half and sugar to the saucepan with the vanilla. Bring to a simmer over medium heat and stir until the sugar is dissolved. When the sugar has dissolved, cover with a lit and let steep off the eat for 30 minutes.

In a large stainless-steel bowl, whisk the egg yolks. Very gradually, whisk in ½ cup of the hot cream.

Once the ½ cup is incorporated, slowly whisk in the rest of the cream.

Pour the mixture back into the saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until the custard chickens. About 10 minutes. The custard should be thick enough that it coats the back of a spoon.

Strain the custard into a large stainless-steel bowl that is set in an ice bath and discard the vanilla beans.

Stir occasionally until the custard is thoroughly chilled. Pour the custard into an ice cream maker and churn according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Churn until the ice cream is set but not hard. It should be the consistency of soft serve.

Pour into an airtight container and freeze for 2 to 3 hours.

Serve solo or with your favorite apple pie.