Martin's

Based on a recipe that had been handed down in the family, Mr and Mrs Martin "proofed" their way through the Pennsylvania Dutch country and created the potato roll that has added a whole new dimension to the word sandwich. Great Product. Many have tried to duplicate the sweet taste of their roll, without success.

After forty years, Martin's is still a family owned and operated bakery; though they say their biz has "risen" a bit - with a 200+ thousand square foot bakery now servicing supermarkets up and down the East Coast. The Martins and their staff take great pride in maintaining the same gold standard in quality with their baked goods that gave them the stellar reputation they earned back in the 1960s.

Martin's Buns and my Pork BBQ Sandwich are a perfect match. Give it a try!

GEORGE HIRSCH’S PORK BBQ SANDWICH 

Makes six servings | From George Hirsch Living it UP! TV series 
BBQ'n makes friends | chefgeorgehirsch.com

1 1/4 TO 1 1/2 pounds pork tenderloin 
1/4 cup Pork Rub 
2 Tablespoons olive oil 
6 soft rolls or hamburger buns 
1 1/2 cups shredded cabbage 
1 cup Q Sauce 

One day prior or two hours before cooking dry rub the pork tenderloin. 
Rub pork spices over pork tenderloin and refrigerate until ready to cook. 

PORK RUB: 
2 Teaspoons each powdered garlic, paprika 
1 Tablespoon each black pepper, rosemary, thyme, Chipolte rub 

Q SAUCE: 
1/4 cup BBQ Sauce 
1/4 cup Steak Sauce 
1/4 cup Hoisen sauce (Chinese BBQ sauce) 
2 Tablespoons ketchup 
2 Tablespoons cider vinegar 
Mix all ingredients. Serve sauce warm or at room temperature. 

TO COOK PORK: 
Pre Heat Grill to high heat or 375 degree oven. 
Rub olive oil over pork tenderloin. Place pork tenderloins on high heat and grill to golden brown turning once on all sides (Use a roasting pan if cooking in oven). Lower heat to medium, cook until pork is fully cooked about 15-25 minutes (see *Tip Below). Remove from grill and let meat rest 5 minutes before slicing. 
Slice pork tenderloin very thin, pile high on soft buns. Drizzle Q Sauce over meat, top with finely shredded cabbage. 

NOTE: To decrease the cooking time in half (approximately 10-12 minutes), butterfly the meat in half lengthwise. Make a cut 3/4 through the pork tenderloin. Use four skewers across the meat to keep the meat from curling up when on the grill. 
- Make extra dry rub and keep in a tight container for quick access on future preparations. 

Savory and Sweet Brunch

In French it’s know as le grand petit déjeuner or big breakfast, literally "the big little lunch". Against the wishes of the Académie—the typical French person refers to the phrase "American's brunch". Whether you call it le grand petit déjeuner or just brunch, it's an ideal time of day to serve a mixture of savory & sweet dishes, like my baked ham & biscuits + muffins.

Start with sweet Blueberry Nut Muffins. Today is the savory portion; a Spring Easter time favorite, Ham with a Honey Glaze served with my Warm Biscuits.  

CLICK HERE for more ham glazes and sauces.

Pain de Mie

I'm sure you'll agree the aroma of freshly baked bread is comforting during the cold winter season. Pain de Mie is just another way of saying a fresh baked pullman loaf of bread (a long rectangular loaf). Do you prefer yours toasted with butter or jam? Or, maybe you fancy a simple egg salad, tuna salad or BLT sandwich? You might want to go for the full energy classic combo of peanut butter and banana.

Baking really is a science and baking bread successfully proves that there are so many factors to consider when thinking about how your loaf is going to bake-up. For example, the air temperature, the quality of the flour, the type of liquid used - are all to be taken into consideration. But, I'll spare you and won't turn this into a Baking 101 Class. I've given you a basic but fail-safe recipe should you want to bring out your inner most boulanger (bread baker).

Pain de Mie

Recipe by Chef George Hirsch | Makes 1 loaf

2/3 cup milk

2 teaspoons instant yeast

1/4 cup nonfat dry milk

1 cup water

6 Tablespoons sweet butter, softened

2 1/4 teaspoons salt

3 Tablespoons sugar

3 Tablespoons potato flour

4 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

For Full Recipe

Blueberry Nut Muffin

The Blueberry Nut Muffin is the most popular muffin! No sweat if fresh blueberries are not available, a good quality frozen berry will do just fine. Note, I usually stock up my freezer with summer blueberries for recipes just like this. Oh, and blueberry just happen to be my favorite muffin too!

 

Tip: Did you know? Tossing blueberries with flour before adding them to the batter will keep them from sinking to the bottom of the muffin during baking. 

Blueberry Nut Muffins
Recipe by George Hirsch | Makes 10-12 muffins

For the topping:
1/3 cup lite brown sugar
2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 Tablespoons nuts, walnuts or pecans, chopped into 1/4 inch pieces
1 Tablespoon sweet butter

In a small bowl, mix together brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, and nuts. Blend butter in with a fork until mixture is crumb like.

For the muffin mix:
1/2 cup sweet butter, room temperature
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tablespoon flour for coating blueberries, plus greasing muffin cups
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups fresh blueberries
1 cup pure cane granulated sugar
2 large eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon grated orange zest
1/2 cup milk

Grease a regular size 12-cup muffin pan with butter and dust with flour, banging out excess flour; or use muffin cups liners.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. 

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. 

In a separate bowl use a mixer to cream butter and sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Add vanilla and orange zest to beaten eggs, then add eggs one at a time, mixing until eggs are absorbed. 

With the mixer on low speed, add flour mixture and milk in three stages, mixing until all are incorporated.  Do not over mix. 

Toss blueberries in a fine strainer with about one Tablespoon of flour to lightly coat. Using a rubber spatula, fold in 1 1/2 cups of the blueberries. With an ice cream scoop or large spoon, place batter into muffin cups filling each cup to three quarters full. Add remaining 1/2 cup of blueberries on top of the muffins and divide crumb topping over muffins.  

Bake about 25-30 minutes, until muffins are golden brown. Check muffins half way through and rotate if oven temperature is uneven. Test with a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin and it should come out clean; or when touched lightly the muffin should have a slight resistance to finger pressure.  

Remove from oven and allow muffins to cool in pan for 10 minutes, then remove muffins from pan.

Tip: Did you know? Tossing blueberries with flour before adding them to the batter will keep them from sinking to the bottom of the muffin during baking. 

Dedicating today's Muffin Monday's post to the Blueberry Nut Muffin, the most popular muffin! No sweat if fresh blueberries are not available, a good quality frozen berry will do just fine. Note, I usually stock up my freezer with summer blueberries for recipes just like this. Oh, and blueberry just happen to be my favorite muffin too!

Quiche or Tart

Some people think the bigger the better. OK, if you like that kind of stuff. But I've always made my quiche tart-like in delicate proportions. Meaning, packed with flavor, but reaching only an inch high - which is the height of my tart pan. Makes sense, right?

But, more important than the height is the bottom crust. No soggy bottom on my quiche/ tart. Pre-bake lightly, cool, and then your ready to add the filling and resume baking. You are guaranteed, a fully baked non-soggy crust.  

Broccoli Ham Quiche

Recipe by Chef George Hirsch | Makes six servings 

1 nine inch pre-baked pie crust
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1/4 cup sweet onion, chopped
1 cup broccoli florets, cooked & chopped
1 cup Smoked Ham, chopped
4 eggs, well beaten
1 pint half & half
2 Tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon hot sauce
Pinch fresh grated nutmeg
Fresh ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. 

Beat eggs with half & half, parmesan cheese, hot sauce, nutmeg, and pepper. 

Add olive oil to sauté pan, heat ham, cook onions and broccoli until slightly tender. Cool and put in pre baked pie shell. Pour egg mixture over the filling and place in oven. 

After 20 minutes, the eggs begin to set, lower the heat to 350 degrees for 4-5 minutes, until firm yet moist.