So I’m all for trying new foods. And I’m all for trying to cook foods I’ve never cooked before. What happens when you combine the two? Either potential for culinary greatness or utter, disappointing disaster. Such is the case with my recent Pan Seared Pork Loin with Apple-Balsamic Reduction Sauce and Sautéed Kale. Can you guess which one I never ate/cooked before?
Since I was stuck with several bunches of kale that were leftover from an event (we had planned to use the kale for garnish along some salads and side we had prepared for a birthday party but somehow were forgotten at home), I decided I’d be better off cooking them rather than letting them go to waste. I had heard of recipes using kale and when I did some online searching, it kind of had the appearance of spinach. Heck, I’ve loved spinach since I was a kid. I remember my dad telling me that spinach was made from the snot of the Sea-Hag from the Popeye cartoons. So, either I learned to ignore his suggestion or I had some weird tendency to enjoy the mucous of fictional cartoon characters, but regardless I learned to love spinach.
So it can’t be all that different, can it?
As for the Apple-balsamic reduction sauce, I had a better idea what to expect. I like apples and I like balsamic vinegar. I also like hummus and I like hot wings but that doesn’t mean they’d taste great together (or would they? I think I’ll make an experimental batch up the next time I’m watching Turkey play Syria in Goat Soccer). Making the sauce was easier than I expected: I just sautéed onions and apples in olive oil and butter, then added apple cider vinegar and balsamic vinegar. After running the reduced mixture through a sieve, I returned it to the pan to reduce some more.
And the results? The Apple-Balsamic Reduction Sauce was……..awesome! The sautéed kale was……..awful! Granted, it was my first time coking the dish and I’m sure I could have improved upon it had I made it before, but it had a sour flavor to it (and it wasn’t the “good sour” from the splash of lemon juice I added while I was cooking it) and I felt like a farm animal as I chewed….and chewed….and chewed. Perhaps that explained my tendency to use the floor as a bathroom and make animal noises. Or, perhaps that’s just a typical Tuesday night for me.
They say that kale is very good for you. So is tree bark, but I’m not going to go bite into the next shrub I see…
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