Dinner Party Recipes

I was asked for recipes from a small dinner I had last night for a writer friend, my gentleman friend, and Princess Bonnie. Maggie Mae (my standard poodle) digested every bite we took, of course. The meal was yummy, if I do say so myself.

As an aside, I use only organic, natural ingredients. When I say whipping cream, I mean real whipping cream you make with a mixer --not "Cool Whip." Since I'm allergic to soy and corn, I've learned to return to nature, and use only real food. I'm a firm believer in Michael Pollan's In Defense of Food.

FWIW, just like my novels these recipes emerged from my imagination (or were altered drastically from the original). :)

Pork Loin with Spinach

Ingredients
Serves 4
* 1 large garlic clove, finely chopped
* 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
* 1 teaspoon coarsely chopped fresh rosemary and/or chopped thyme
* 1 tablespoon plus 4 teaspoons olive oil
* 1 3/4 pounds pork tenderloin (about 2)
* 3/4 teaspoon coarse sea salt
* Freshly ground pepper
* 1/2 - 1 pound spinach, washed well (may substitute frozen, if necessary)
* 1 large lemon, scrubbed and sliced

Directions
1. Put olive oil in bottom of large crockpot or Dutch oven (if using oven, preheat to 325).

Place onion slices and some coarse salt in bottom ( henceforth, dish refers to either
crockpot or Dutch oven).

2. Place pork in dish; sprinkle with herbs and seasonings (reserve some salt & pepper).

Layer spinach over pork with garlic and lemon slices. Sprinkle remaining salt & pepper (to
taste) over top. Cover dish.

3. Roast in oven, spooning juices over pork occasionally (unnecessary in crockpot), until
thickest part of pork reaches 155 degrees on an instant-read thermometer. Remove from heat; let rest until pork reaches 160 degrees, about 10 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, prepare bread and quinoa.

I serve spinach and broth over the quinoa, and prepared a flax flatbread.

Flatbread Recipe (make while meat is cooking)

Ingredients:
* 2 cups flax seed meal
* 1 Tablespoon baking powder
* 1 teaspoon sea salt
* 1-2 Tablespoons sugar equivalent from artificial sweetener (I omit)
* 5 beaten eggs
* 1/2 cup water
* 1/3 cup olive oil

Preheat oven to 350 F. Prepare pan (a 10X15 pan with sides works best) with oiled
parchment paper.

1) Mix dry ingredients well (I use a large whisk for entire process).

2) Add wet to dry, and combine well. Make sure there aren't obvious strings of egg white.

3) Pour batter into pan. Spread it away from the center in roughly a rectangle an inch or
two from the sides of the pan (you can go all the way to the edge, but it will be thinner).

4) Bake for about 20 minutes, until it springs back when you touch the top and/or is visibly
browning even more than flax already is (basically, texture of cornbread).

5) Cool and cut into whatever size slices you want. Just cut it with a spatula.

Chocolate Mousse:

Ingredients:
* 1 cup sugar
* 1/2 cup Cocoa powder (pure, not drink mix!!!!)
* 2 cup (1/2 pt.) cold whipping cream (real stuff, not fake!)
*2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:
Stir together sugar and cocoa in medium bowl; add whipping cream and vanilla. Beat on
medium speed of electric mixer, scraping bottom of bowl occasionally, until mixture is
stiff. Spoon into serving dishes.

Refrigerate at least 30 minutes before serving. Garnish if and as desired. Cover and
refrigerate leftover desserts. Four 1/2 cup servings.