Thursday, June 11, 2009

What I Had for LINNER: Pork n Greens

Hey there! It's been a sec since I've posted some linner pics. I started this just to kinda give you some insight to my recipe development process as well as show you what I'm eating at home during that period between lunch and dinner. I've actually never given some follow up to these posts, but these are usually what I end up submitting for menus on Cooking for Real. Before I go in to tape, I'm charged with submitting more menus than needed for the amount of shows we'll tape. Then during the pre-production process menus or recipes are removed from those I submitted due to so many different reasons. Many times the number one reason is seasonality, we often tape out of season and that creates a slight dilemma. We also try not to overlap proteins too much within the shows we tape. I can't do 13 beef episodes in a row, not that I don't like beef, but variety of recipes is the best ... like the spice of life :-). It's how I eat. I like to bake and roast and saute and fry and blitz and blend and knead and all that stuff ... pretty much everything, so we also try to make sure we have times where I'm able to do different processes throughout the shows. Other things to take into consideration are 'stunt weeks'. These are best described as usually holidays or special eating holidays to be exact. Summer grilling, Thanksgiving, Christmas and others are episodes we plan and usually tape months in advance. 

Anyway, just a peek inside and now, before I give you a look at what I had for Linner ... take a look at some previous Linner posts that ended up eventually on Cooking for Real.


I'm No Shepherd became Shepherd's Pie with Mushroom Onion Gravy

and ...

Wings 3 Ways turned into Wings 3 Ways

Ok, my linner the other day after a trip to the meat counter was pork loin. I bought two because they were on sale and then while I was walking home I saw some greens in the window of a grocery store and stopped to turn around and buy them. It reminded me of seeing a cute puppy in a window, I couldn't keep walking by I had to go in and buy it. Ick, nasty example to talk about around food, but that's how it felt. The greens looked so good.  That's what I do ... I shop and sometimes buy things in a romantic thought from the past. A great meal, childhood memory or even the fact that it looks good, anything can make me buy something and then when I get home it's all about using it all before it goes bad. Especially fruits and veggies, I'm a sucker for clean or healthy looking produce. I love to eat and I love to cook. The best thing is the internal dialogue while eating. So I decided to use both of my good buys that same day, along with some pineapple that was just sitting on my counter for days. It's almost like reading a really good book ... it can take you places. So, I decided to go to Hawaii, by way of the south. 


I rubbed then seared the pork and made a bed of pineapple, greens, broth and more. Turned out pretty darn yummy and I liked the idea of having it all in one dish in the oven. The greens wilted nicely and things were sweetened by the pineapple and spicy from the seasonings. It went fast. If things go well, it's a future Cooking for Real recipe. I've just submitted it as part of a menu for the next shows I start taping soon. :-). Thanks so much for the support and for watching, if you've caught the show, if not and you've found my blog another way ... I invite you to catch the show. Cooking for Real airs Saturdays at noon (new episodes), Sundays at 9 or 9:30AM and weekdays at 4PM, all eastern standard time. Check here for the full schedule and local listings. Take care and I hope you are enjoying the week!

14 comments:

The Duo Dishes said...

Definitely looking for more pork recipes...something to break the barrier. For some reason, we don't cook with it much, though a nice tenderloin is great. So are the ribs! This looks good though...Yum.

Anonymous said...

I got hooked on your show! You're so funny!!! I love it. I've been using your recepies! Sooo good!

Mary | Deep South Dish said...

I always wondered how they come up with the shows - cool! That pork looks yummy. I'm the same way with food - I'll see something and then gotta have it!

Sunny Anderson said...

the duo dishes, it's the other white meat! i love every cut, every pc. i have 2-3 pork recipes in the next 13 i tape.

admin, i'm glad you found the blog! people say i'm funny, but i think life is really funny - i have nuthin to do with that. love that you are cookin the recipes! i have some new ones i'm working on now for the fall episodes, hope you like them.

mary at my new 30, yeah that's how we come up with shows, but everyone has a different process. for example, i use the fn kitchens to demo and test all my recipes just weeks before taping new shows. it serves so many purposes, but mostly to make the shooting process smooth because every thing is fresh in memory and we can also plan out the different acts better so there are no surprises on shoot day. other hosts have different pre-production routines, i've heard of many and like many of the variations, but i also like our rhythm. whatever works! i'm glad i'm not the only one that shops from an emotional stand point, sometimes groceries are like a nice pair of shoes, you buy them with no idea of what they go with, only that they look gooooood!

D said...

Sunny, You are quickly becoming our favorite show to watch on Food Network. You make meals that we want to eat and can actually make easily...and they always seem to be very well balanced. I am so glad I found your blog! Keep up the great work, and know that you are inspiring a small family out there to create wonderful meals :)

D said...

P.S. - When are you going to publish a cookbook? I will buy one in a heartbeat!

Anonymous said...

Hey Sunny,

I just love your shows! I can't wait to see you next Saturday on TBS--that is too cool!! I, like so many people, have tried most of your recipes and they are always as good as you describe them!!
Hey, how is the garden growing? Haven't gotten an update in awhile...or did I miss it?

Love your shows, love your blog! You just seem like a very cool chick!

Jill

Sunny Anderson said...

d, yaaaaaay! thanks for watching! i'm no chef, but you hit on the exact reason why i wanted to do the show. i feel like what i'm doing is accessible and easy. they aren't once a month meals, they are recipes you can tackle and handle on a daily basis ... if you take care of your pantry :-). i'm glad you found the blog too! a cookbook is in the future!

jill, thanks so much! i just recently watched the movies, so it'll be like dejavu this saturday when it airs. hope you like it! garden is going well, i have some radishes to harvest asap and lettuce to trim ...pics on the way!

Unknown said...

Hey Sunny.

Just wanted to drop you a comment to say I really dig your personality and your recipes! You're one of the reasons I watch Food Network everyday, so keep doing your thing!

p.s. - I'm wondering when the cookbook is coming too!

Much love, from Chicago...

The Food Addicts said...

Hi Sunny,

We just want to thank you for visiting our blog and for your comment! What a surprise to hear from Sunny Anderson, after I've just updated with your pork chop recipe!! That doesn't happen everyday! Keep up the great work with your show on the Food Network (my favorite network of all time). Hope to hear from you again, and we'll definitely be visiting your blog more often!

Anonymous said...

A cookbook! Yay!! I can't wait for it come out! That's funny that you say "linner". We've been saying that for years. Sundays we always have a late breakfast after sleeping in and then "linner" mid-afternoon.

That's so interesting how the recipes get onto the show. I guess I never really even thought about that.

Sunny Anderson said...

jeffrey, thanks man. i'm just bein me. nothing perfect or special, but boy am i a happy person around food! so glad you found the blog and like the recipes. cookbook soon!

the food addicts, hey i cruise by often and was happy to see you tried the recipe. your food pics are yummy, that enough to make a person bookmark! thanks for the support and i hope you like the new recipes i'm working on as we blog :-) ...

cookin mama, yeah, but lemme tell ya that is a lonnnng process. i'll surely blog about it when it turn to action and not just conversations about it. already i see there's so much more to publishing a book than i thought about. that's the best thing about life ... having goals and dreams and realizing in order to get there, you gotta learn and work through new territory. you sunday sounds like my weekends! sleep in, eat a big breakfast/lunch then have an early evening finish. especially with the summer here, i'm grilling at any chance i get!

Andrea and Ben said...

So sorry I called you annoying. Mostly I need to make the blog entertaining for my friends and family or they would never come back to read. You definitely added a flair to my last post ;0) Thanks so much for commenting even though I was being a total brat. I'll be watching! I have a pork loin in my freezer and some super juicy pineapple in my fridge right now - hmmmmm.

BTW - Can I send you a recipe?

Sunny Anderson said...

andrea and ben, i've been called worse and don't mind at all. i am one of those idiots that finds a glimmer of hope or a silver lining in everything. i'm just happy you liked the recipe and now that you say you have a pork loin in the freezer, we may have been separated at birth lol ... you got alot of pork goin on over there! and your secret is safe with me (and comment readers ;-P) about spicin up your blog with opinions. free speech! now, with that pineapple i'd chop it and add some onions and peppers and something like maybe brown sugar and slather it on the loin and roast. or rub, then roast and cook the pineapple down into a sauce. yummy, you make me hungry! i also wish i could, but i can't accept recipes. i'm actually knee deep in my own right now, transferring them from my cooking journals to my laptop for the next shows i start taping soon. btw, welcome to the blog!