Frico Cup Salads and a Dinner

I am still in my salad days,

but wanted to put a different twist on it.

Giada's Frico Cups seemed to be just the thing.

Isn't this a thing of beauty?

But of course man,

and woman,

cannot survive on salad alone.

I found a recipe in a cookbook that I wanted to try.

Of course, the original recipe was for pork loin,

but I only had turkey tenderloin on hand.

Not to worry;

the flavor profiles are similar enough to work.

This recipe, titled "Pork Roast," from the

Jack Daniel's The Spirit of Tennessee Cookbook

calls for Jack Daniel's whiskey, of course.

Not having Jack Daniel's,

I subbed 1/4 cup of my husband's favorite brand.

The other ingredients are:

1 teaspoon vinegar

1 tablespoon brown sugar

2 teaspoons all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/4 cup water

1 bay leaf

1/2 tablespoon dried parsley

I poured the cider vinegar over the tenderloin

in a zip-top bag.

The brown sugar, flour, paprika, salt and pepper

were mixed together and then rubbed

over the tenderloin.

This sat for 1 hour,

allowing the flavors to meld.




Now, on to the frico cups.



I wisely turned to fellow blogger,

Rosie Hawthorne,

for her words of wisdom on the subject
in her blog, "Kitchens Are Monkey Business."



I grated enough Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

to make six frico cups.



At 1/4 cup per frico,

that comes out to 1-1/2 cups of grated cheese.










Each round was placed on a silicon mat

before going in a preheated 375 degree oven for 9 minutes.









Then they cooled for a couple of minutes

before proceeding.







Here, I followed Giada's advice

and placed them in the muffin cups

rather than draping them over the bottoms

as Rosie did.



It is very helpful to have an extra set of hands for this job.



A glass was used to press the cups into the muffin tins.



A paper towel was helpful in blotting the excess oil.


These went into the fridge to cool.








Back to the turkey tenderloin.


I placed the tenderloin in a baking dish
and added the water and whiskey to the dish.

Then the bay leaf was added
and the parsley was sprinkled over the tenderloin.

This went in a preheated 450 degree oven.
After placing the dish in the oven,
turn the heat down to 325 degrees
(or not, in my case).
Oops, I forgot,
and it was a job to clean the dish afterwards.

Bake until the internal temperature
reaches 155 degrees.

Remove from the oven,
cover with foil and set aside for 15 minutes.
The meat will continue to cook,
bringing the internal temperature up to 165 degrees.










The turkey was perfectly cooked,
very flavorful and wonderfully moist.









And dinner is served.

The salad in the frico cup
truly was a nice departure from
the ordinary salad.

A drizzle of Raspberry Honey Mustard Pretzel Dip*
from Robert Rothschild Farms
nicely accented the subtle flavors of the turkey.

*This is the Foodie Daughter's favorite condiment,
so I try to get a jar when I can find it.
Of course,
we rarely use it on pretzels!