I never sleep alone. One side of my bed is always occupied with cookbooks, magazines, and notebooks. The drawback of this, besides occasionally waking up with a pen under my back, is reading food articles and looking at glossy big photos of pasta can and has lead to late night snack attacks. Two of my favorite sleeping companions for the past few months are Thomas Keller’s Ad Hoc at Home and David Chang’s Momofuku. Both books are filled with gorgeous photos and recipes that are meant to inspire and teach. It explains the basics and what you can do with it. So besides the munchies danger, late night cookbook reading has also produced and given me lots of cooking ideas and dishes. One of these dishes is a Roasted Pork Tenderloin Sandwich with Apple and Pickled Carrot Slaw and Caramelized Onion Mustard.

One of the basics I’ve learn is Quick Salt Pickles in Chang’s Momofuku. Thinly shredded vegetables are toss in a 3 to 1 ratio of sugar to kosher salt, and 20 minutes later you got pickles. The recipe can work on a variety of vegetables, but it’s best for carrots, daikons, and cucumbers. Along with the carrots I toss it with matchstick cuts of granny smith apples for a simple and light Apple and Pickled Carrot Slaw. The tartness of the granny smith apple goes perfectly and balances out the sweet and sour flavors of the pickled carrots.

Apple and Pickled Carrot Slaw

This is a quick easy slaw that goes great on top of sandwiches or served on the side.

Ingredients:

1½ cups of shredded carrots

½ of a Granny Smith apple cut into matchstick size

1 tablespoon of sugar

1 teaspoon of kosher salt

2 teaspoon of olive oil

2 teaspoon of lemon juice

¼ piece of jalapeno minced

Directions:

Place shredded carrots in a bowl and add kosher salt and sugar. Mix well and let it sit for 20 minutes.

After 20 minutes, taste it and adjust the flavor if needed by adding more salt or sugar. If it needs more seasoning, let it sit for another 10 minutes.

If it does not need adjusting or after the additional seasoning is added, place shredded carrots in a colander and rinse well under cold running water.

Pat it dry with a paper towel and set aside in a large bowl.

Add the cut apples, minced jalapeno, olive oil, and lemon juice in the bowl with the carrot and toss.

The slaw is ready to be serve. Refrigerate if you are not planning to use it right away.

Like pickling, brining is another must know basic. From Ad Hoc at Home, Keller stresses the importance of brining. It does more than seasons the meat. It keeps it moist, changes the texture of it, and makes a plain piece of pork, turkey, chicken, and even fish into something flavorful and juicy. While preparing the brine is easy, it is something that should be plan a day in advance. The brine needs to be completely chilled and brining usually takes a few hours. The wait is well worth it!

Roasted Pork Tenderloin
Adapted from Ad Hoc at Home‘s Brined Pork Tenderloin

Perfect on sandwiches or eaten alone. This pork tenderloin is a no fail way to cook and keep pork juicy, moist, and delicious.

Ingredients:

1 pound of pork tenderloin, trimmed and cleaned

3 tablespoons of honey

6 bay leaves

2 sprigs of rosemary

.25 ounces of thyme

¼ cup of garlic, about ½ a bulb or 7 cloves, smashed with skin on

1 tablespoons of peppercorn

½ cup of kosher salt

4 cups of water

Directions:

Place water, honey, bay leaves, rosemary, thyme, garlic, peppercorn, and kosher salt in a pot, cover and bring to boil.

When the brine has boil, let it simmer on high for about 10 minutes and pour it in a large bowl to cool.

Place brine in the fridge after it cools down and let it chill over night.

After brine has been chilled, place pork tenderloin in the mixture. The brine is made for up to 2 pounds of meat. Let it brine for 4 hours max. Do not over brine the pork.

After 4 hours, take the pork out and rinse it under cold running water.

Pat the pork dry and set aside. Pre-heat the over to 350 degrees.

In a pan, place about a teaspoon of oil and heat until the pan is hot.

Season the pork with ground pepper on both sides, and place it in the pan. Sear both sides of the pork until brown. Do not cook it all the way through.

Place pork in a roasting pan and cook it in the over for 20 minutes.

Take the pork out after 20 minutes and let it rest for about 10 minutes before slicing it.

To build the sandwich, toast bread (such as a long Italian roll), spread both sides with Caramelized Onion Mustard (recipe below), place about 3 to 4 slices of pork on one side of the bread, top it with the Apple and Pickled Carrot Slaw, place the other part of the bread on top, and your sandwich is complete. ENJOY!

Another inspiration I took from Ad Hoc at Home were the different varieties of mustards featured in the book. From artichoke mustard to eggplant raisin mustard, basically any vegetable that can be puree into a smooth texture can be transformed into a mustard. If Keller could do it with fennel, why not caramelized onion.

Caramelized Onion Mustard

Ingredients:

½ pound of onion, thinly sliced

1 clove of garlic, finely minced

2 tablespoon of whole grain mustard

½ teaspoon of raspberry champagne vinegar

1 teaspoon of honey

Water, if needed

Directions:

In a pan, place sliced onions, garlic, and a little bit of olive oil. Cook until onions are caramelized. Seasoned with a little bit of salt along the way. Make sure onions do not burn. Caramelized onions should be soft and take on a golden brown color.

When the onions are done, place it in an immersion hand blender container or in a blender. I pureed mine with an immersion blender.

Let it cool slightly. Add mustard, vinegar, and honey, and blend until smooth. Add a teaspoon of water at a time if the mixture looks a little chunky.