The "Perfect Food" for Valentine's Day

For as long as I’ve known him, my husband has preached the “gospel” of pineapple.   In his words, “Pineapple is the perfect food.”  He claims pineapple goes with everything.  I can’t count the number of dinner-table conversations that went something like this:

Me:  “But pineapple wouldn’t go good on tacos.” 

Him:  “Sure it would!   How about a pineapple, onion, jalapeno salsa?”

                                   Or:

Me:  “But pineapple wouldn’t go good on liver.”

Him:  “Oh yeah!   Sautéd in the pan with the onions.  Yum!”

So while this all-pineapple meal was in part intended as a gift of love to my husband on Valentine's Day, part of it was to say, "You want pineapple?  I'll give you pineapple!"

The "Perfect Food" Menu

Father's Day Cocktail

Cream Cheese, Pepper Jelly & Pineapple Heart

Cucumber, Tomato & Pineapple Salad with Asian Dressing

Panko-Crusted Pork Cutlets with Pineapple & Ginger Salsa

Roasted Sweet Potatoes & Pineapple

Pineapple Foster

Father's Day Cocktail

I'm sure someone thought of this before me, but I didn't consult a recipe when I made this for a Father's Day at our river camp.

Source:  original

Yield: one cocktail

Ingredients:

Ice

Coconut rum, such as "Malibu"

8 oz. pineapple juice

Club soda

Process:

Fill a tall glass half-way with ice cubes.  Pour in the coconut rum and pineapple juice.  Top off with club soda and stir.  Garnish with fresh pineapple.

Cream Cheese, Pepper Jelly & Pineapple Heart

Source:  original

Yield:  2-4 servings

Ingredients:

4 oz. cream cheese (approximately)

1-2 T. red pepper jelly (I used "Tabasco" brand)

2 T. minced pineapple (canned crushed, drained could be substituted)

1-2 T. minced chives

crackers for serving

Process:

Place a large piece of plastic wrap on a small plate. Place a large heart-shaped cookie cutter on the plastic wrap. Fill the cookie cutter with the cream cheese, smoothing the surface. (You can make the cream cheese heart as thin or thick as you want. Mine was about 1/2 inch.)  Chill cream cheese heart until solid. Unmold on serving plate. Spread the pepper jelly on the heart, then distribute the pineapple on top, leaving some of the pepper jelly visible. Garnish with chives. Bring to room temperature before serving as a cracker spread.

Cucumber, Tomato & Pineapple Salad
with Asian Dressing

I wanted to mix up this menu in terms of "ethnicity."  This salad has a wonderful Thai flavor.

Source:  Gourmet, June 2006

Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients:

1 large garlic clove

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

1 tablespoon sugar

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 (2-inch-long) fresh serrano or chilé, minced, including seeds*

1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon Asian fish sauce

1/2 seedless, or English cucumber, halved lengthwise, then thinly sliced crosswise

1/2 pineapple, peeled, quartered lengthwise, cored, then sliced crosswise 1/4 inch thick (2 cups)*

1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro*

1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh mint

2 medium tomatoes (1 lb. total), cut into 1/2-inch-thick wedges*

Process:

Mince garlic, then mash to a paste with salt using side of a large heavy knife.  Whisk together lime juice and sugar in a large bowl until sugar is dissolved, then whisk in oil, garlic paste, chilé, and fish sauce (to taste). Add remaining ingredients, tossing to coat, and add salt to taste.

* Notes:  I used the jalapeño without the seeds as I didn't want to blow our heads off.  I used a little more pineapple and cut it more in 1/2-inch chunks.  I used 2 Roma tomatoes sliced in 1/2-inch slices, and then I sliced the slices in half.

Panko-Crusted Pork Cutlets with

Pineapple & Ginger Salsa

This recipe has a great Caribbean vibe to it.

Source:  Bon Appetit, June 2007

Yield:  4

Ingredients:

2 ½ cups ½-inch cubes peeled fresh pineapple

2 T.  sugar

2 tsp. minced peeled fresh ginger

¾  c. (or more) water*

½ red bell pepper, diced*

2 tsp. white wine vinegar

4 boneless pork loin chops, trimmed

2 large eggs

1 ¼ c. panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)

salt & pepper*

1 ½ tsp. ground cumin

1/3  c. (about) all-purpose flour

3 tablespoons canola oil

Process:

Stir pineapple cubes, sugar, minced ginger, and 3/4 cup water in medium saucepan over medium-high heat until mixture comes to boil. Reduce heat to medium; cover and simmer until pineapple is soft, stirring often and adding more water by ¼ cupfuls if dry, about 30 minutes. Stir in white wine vinegar.  Season pineapple salsa to taste with salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, pound pork between sheets of waxed paper to ½-inch thickness; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Whisk eggs in medium bowl to blend. Mix panko and ground cumin in another medium bowl. Place flour on plate. Dredge pork in flour; dip into beaten eggs, then turn in panko mixture to coat, pressing to adhere.  Heat oil in heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add pork and cook until cooked through, about 5 minutes per side. Serve pork with pineapple salsa.

Notes:  I found that a lot of water remained in the pan after I had cooked the pineapple, so I drained it off.  I added the red pepper for a little more texture, color and taste. I used a commercial jerk seasoning that contains salt, pepper & spices to season the pork.

Roasted Sweet Potatoes & Pineapple

Source:  Everyday Food, Dec. 2011

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients:

2 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces

1 medium pineapple, peeled, cored, and cut into 1-inch pieces

1 shallot, minced*

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Coarse salt

Process:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. On a rimmed baking sheet, toss together sweet potatoes, pineapple, oil, and cayenne pepper.  Season with salt.  Roast until sweet potatoes and pineapple are tender and golden, 30 to 35 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes.

*Note:  I added the shallot to counter the sweetness of the potatoes and pineapple.

Pineapple Foster

This is a riff on the classic New Orleans dessert Bananas Foster which was first created in 1951 at Brennan's Restaurant.

Source:  Bon Appetit

Yield:  2 servings

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

2 tablespoons dark brown sugar

2 tablespoons dark rum

Pinch of ground nutmeg

1 3/4-inch-thick slice fresh pineapple, peeled, cored, cut into chunks (I cut it smaller)

Vanilla ice cream

Process:

Melt butter and sugar in heavy medium nonstick skillet over medium heat, stirring constantly. Add rum and nutmeg and stir until very thick and syrupy, about 2 minutes. Add pineapple and stir just to heat through. Spoon pineapple and sauce over ice cream.

Note:  I doubled the sauce recipe because it sounded so good!