I’m definitely in my cozy winter cooking mode and craving warm, comforting dishes. This cooked up quickly for a great weeknight dinner. I heated up a loaf of bread and cooked some carrots and dinner was done.

1 1lb pork tenderloin, cut into 8 pieces

1 cup sauerkraut

sage

1 apple, cored and cut into 8 slices

cinnamon

salt and pepper

1/4 cup cider

1/2 teaspoon cornstarch

Preheat the oven to 400. Spread the sauerkraut out on a large piece of parchment, in a space large enough for the pork. Cover with the pork. Season pork with a pinch of sage sprinkled over it. Top with apple slices. Season with salt and pepper and a pinch of cinnamon. Mix cider and cornstarch and pour over and around the food. Seal the packet and bake for 20-25 minutes until a meat thermometer says the pork has reached 145 degrees. Allow the packet to rest about 5 minutes before opening and serving. Serves 4.

I’m definitely in my cozy winter cooking mode and craving warm, comforting dishes. This cooked up quickly for a great weeknight dinner. I heated up a loaf of bread and cooked some carrots and dinner was done. 1 1lb pork tenderloin, cut into 8 pieces 1 cup sauerkraut sage 1 apple, cored and cut into … Read more →

I’m very familiar with Martha Stewart – I unofficially “apprenticed” myself to her for a year on my blog MarthaAndMe – so I have tried many Martha recipes, projects, and products. Martha, have you been reading my blog? Your new Martha Wrap seems to indicate you may have. Martha Wrap is a new product that has parchment paper on one side and foil on the other. Martha touts it as perfect for covering food (she doesn’t believe foil should ever touch food, so she always covers it with parchment, then foil) and there are also recipes on the box for parchment paper packets. I was excited to give it a try.

Let’s get down to the specs first. Regular parchment is 15 inches wide and the roll has 32 feet. Martha Wrap is 12 inches wide and has 40 feet. I paid $6 for a roll on Amazon. Supposedly you can buy it at Safeway for $4.99. I buy parchment at the grocery store for $3.99 (you can get another brand that is longer for $2.99, but I like Wilton).

When I opened my package, the roll was taped shut. When I peeled the tape off, it ripped the paper, so I had to throw the first six inches away. Not an auspicious start. I used it like I use parchment, to make a packet. Because it is not as wide, I had a harder time fitting my food in it. It also meant I did not have have enough paper at the sides to make my usual twist. I like the twist because it completely seals in the juices. If you just fold up your sides, juices tend to run out of the seams in the folds. And that is exactly what happened here. A lot of my juices ran out, making a mess on my baking sheet. Ugh.

Other than that, the paper performed well. I’ll stick with regular parchment though because I just prefer the longer width. It would be possible to work with this to be able to twist the ends, but you have to reposition your food to fit the shorter paper and I think it just makes for an awkward packet.

There are some reviews up on Amazon complaining about the edges of the paper curling up if you use it to line a cookie sheet.  I haven’t tried using it in that way and probably never would, since I use silicone liners when baking cookies. I also probably would never use it in place of foil or plastic wrap.

I’m very familiar with Martha Stewart – I unofficially “apprenticed” myself to her for a year on my blog MarthaAndMe – so I have tried many Martha recipes, projects, and products. Martha, have you been reading my blog? Your new Martha Wrap seems to indicate you may have. Martha Wrap is a new product that … Read more →

I recently bought a package of Paper Chef Parchment Bags to try. These are bags made out of parchment designed for cooking. I loved the concept – just put the food in the bag and fold one end.

I decided to try a new recipe for kale (serves 4)

3 cups packed kale leaves

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 cup part skim ricotta cheese

2 ounces cooked chopped pancetta or bacon

I preheated the oven to 400, placed my ingredients in the bag and shook them up a bit. I placed it on a baking sheet and baked for 15 minutes. I lifted the bag, about to give it another little shake, and it ripped. It had soaked through (something that has never happened to me with parchment paper).

The kale, however, was delicious. I would make this again in a parchment paper packet (kale on the bottom, other ingredients on the top). The cheese gave it a nice bit of creaminess and the pancetta gave it a little smokiness. In the past I’ve been puzzled by kale – it wasn’t a veggie I ate as a kid and so I have been looking for ways to make it. This one is a winner.

Unfortunately, I can’t recommend the bags. It ripped immediately. I also felt it did not create as nice of a presentation. The bag was not flat on the bottom, so you would need to lay it on its side, put your food in from the side, fold it and then cut it open to have a dish you could take from bag to plate easily. With parchment you just unfold and there your dish is sitting.

Maybe if you double bagged the food it would work. I use Wilton parchment and I have never had it rip.

I recently bought a package of Paper Chef Parchment Bags to try. These are bags made out of parchment designed for cooking. I loved the concept – just put the food in the bag and fold one end. I decided to try a new recipe for kale (serves 4) 3 cups packed kale leaves salt … Read more →