Recipe: Maple-Rosemary Satay Skewers with Wild Rice Salad

I have neglected this blog. For that, I am sorry. :( Today I come bearing a recipe that I brought to a friend's for dinner recently. I promise it is full of delicious and because it's made with maple syrup it's totally Canadian.

You will need:

1-2 Pork Tenderloins (depending on how many moochers you're feeding; I used 1.5 to comfortably feed four)

1/4 cup maple syrup (the real stuff, if you put Aunt Jemima's in there I will slap you through your monitor)

3 Tbsp. lemon juice

3 Tbsp. soy sauce

2 Tbsp. grainy Dijon mustard (or any mustard you like)

2 Tbsp. chopped fresh rosemary (if you don't have fresh, you can use dried, it'll still turn out okay. You might want to use a bit more in that case. Caveat: if you use dried rosemary, there will be loads of it sticking to your skewers, which can be a bit offputting to picky eaters.)

Bamboo skewers (remember to soak your skewers in water for at least ten minutes before you use them, or they will burn!)

Procedure:

Easiest recipe on the planet.

Combine everything except the tenderloins in a ziploc bag. You might want to use a little bit more maple syrup if you have it, or a little bit more mustard. It just depends on your taste.

Cut the tenderloins in half widthwise (so they're half as thick) and then into strips.

Dump the strips into the bag, seal it, put it in the fridge and walk away for at least four to six hours, preferably overnight. Make sure your ziploc bag is sealed. You do not want this stuff leaking all over your fridge.

The next day (or four to six hours later, whatever) thread the marinated tenderloin strips on to your bamboo skewers. Yes, it is messy. Be a man. Toss out the rest of the marinade and run to the sink to wash your hands like a little girl.

Throw the skewers onto the grill for about ten minutes. Watch them like a hawk. They will burn quickly if you're not careful.

Serve hot, warm, or cold, just don't leave them out too long. They taste good with a spicy thai sauce or a peanut sauce to dip them in.


For the salad:

2 cups cooked wild and brown rice mix (depends how much you're making, again. You could use just brown rice if you want, just wild rice, whatever. Just don't use white rice, or it will turn out mushy.)

Chopped pecans

Green onions, chopped (one or two should be fine)

Dried cranberries

Dried chopped apricots

Parsley

Dressing of your choice (nothing creamy - go for Greek, Italian or maybe a vinagrette. This is not the time to indulge in your personal obsession with Ranch.)

Procedure:

Put your two cups of chilled rice in a bowl. Add all ingredients to the bowl.

Dress the salad lightly. The salad should be pretty flavorful all by itself, so think of the dressing more as another ingredient rather than the source of the flavor as with lettuce-based salads.

If you screw up and add too much, don't worry about it, the rice will soak up some of the extra dressing so nobody will know how hard you fail.

Chill until serving. If you have to leave it in the fridge for a while, cover it with saran wrap to keep the rice from drying out.


Both recipes were modified from ones by Julie van Rosendaal.