Gutsy Cook's Club ~ A Roulade and Quindim

Gutsy Cook's Club is here! Our second posting and we have a delicious, fluffy, moist and flavorful roulade filled with fresh baby spinach and sun dried tomatoes. The original recipe filling was ricotta and arugula. I had baby spinach and sun dried tomatoes already.

For dessert, quindim. According to Victoria, author of The Illustrated Kitchen Bible, quindim is a sweet and rich dessert made popular in Brazil. Filled with coconut milk, coconuts bits, and toasted coconut, we have a light and airy custard.


The roulade could not be quicker and easier to bake up then this recipe. The base is a seasoned roux, the same start as for a tasty gravy or sauce, with Parmesan cheese, eggs (separated so the egg whites can be whipped into fluffy white peaks), and a smidgeon of Dijon mustard. The filling consisted of ricotta with a sprinkling of fresh nutmeg, layered with baby spinach and julienned sun dried tomatoes, then rolled up into the pretty roulade above.


I served the roulade with a double-cut, bone-in elegant pork chop and garden salad.



My only change for the roulade would be to not go as crazy with the julienned sun dried tomatoes. I sprinkled a heavy layer so cutting the roulade into slices was interesting.

The quindim I was going to skip all together but hubby asked why? this morning and I stood there just looking at him. I had no answer. So unlike me too.

For anyone who made the quindim, tell me if yours baked through. Mine did not and I found out too late. After the dessert had chilled for 3 hours. I have a wonderful sugar crust on top but once broken through, I have thick liquid. A delicious tasting thick liquid BUT not the creamy custard I pictured.

I even toasted my coconut flakes. Check out the rest of the Gutsy Cooks to see their versions of this two wonderful recipes by clicking here for the blog list.

I thought I would share the double-cute elegant pork chop recipe because the flavors are brilliant together. You have a tender pork-chop baked in a sweet, tomatoey sauce.

Elegant Pork Chops

(recipe adapted from the original by Virginia Miller, home cook)

4 double-cut, bone-in pork chops

kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

2 cups brown sugar

2 cups low-sodium soy sauce

1 T. molasses

1 3/4 cup ketchup

1 1/2 cups chili sauce, such as Heinz (I can my own so that is what I used)

2 T. French dressing

2 T. Dijon mustard

Directions:

Put pork chops into a baking dish and season with salt and pepper. In a small bowl, whisk 1/2 cup brown sugar, soy sauce, molasses, and 1 cup water and pour over meat. Cover with plastic wrap and let pork chops marinate in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours.

Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Drain pork chops and transfer to a 9 x 13-inch baking dish. Whisk together remaining brown sugar, ketchup, chili sauce, French dressing, mustard, and 1/3 cup water in a small bowl. Pour sauce over pork chops and bake, turning pork chops and basting with sauce occasionally, until pork chops are tender and sauce has thickened, about 45 minutes. Let pork chops rest for 10 minutes before serving.