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OK, I try to cook once in a while, occasionally trying out something new, but usually I cook something that I've done before, with the goal being to get better at one specific dish before moving on to something new.
The recipe that I tried repeating recently was pan fried pork tenderloin medallions with creamy wine sauce (recipe here). I have made this at least twice before, and the second time I tried it, my epicurean brother found it rather good. The third and most recent time I made it, some of the medallions turned out somewhat too pink/raw in the middle - rather disappointing.
There were some differences between the last two attempts. I previously had access to an Emeril Lagasse stainless steel tri-ply cooking set; I had used the skillet frying pan with sloped sides. After the roommate who owned the pans moved out, I was stuck with my old and battered Farberware, probably 40 year old hand-me-downs, and decided to purchase a new set of Calphalon Select Series anodized cookware. However, I've been warned against using medium-high heat with anodized cookware, and fell back onto using the stamped single ply stainless steel fry pan from my old Farberware set. I also in my previous attempts had cut the medallions more at a 3/4" slice than the recommended 1" slice for the medallions; fwiw, thicker medallions means smaller number of medallions and easier to fit in a skillet, thinner medallions means larger number of medallions and had to "shoe-horn" the medallions into the skillet. Finally, the recipe called for using a lid on the skillet; I never used a lid any time that I had made this recipe.
I'm thinking about getting just one stainless steel skillet with a glass top or lid, with multi-layer construction to better hold the heat for searing, but still lightweight enough to pour out a resultant sauce from such recipes as the one in this post. I do have some Lodge cast iron pans that would work very well for searing, but don't have lids for them, and the cast iron is definitely too heavy for my intended use.
I'm open to comments and suggestions regarding the purchase of a new and better searing pan. If someone also wants to critique either my skills or the recipe described, I'm open to that as well.
I really like my Calphalon Contemporary stainless steel skillet - you have to purchase the lid separately. Unfortunately the Contemporary line isn't as easy to find anymore and they (Calphalon) have switched to lower quality pots and pans - sometimes you luck out at Homegoods, TJMaxx, etc.
Yep. I have a 12", a 10", a grill pan, a reversible rectangular pan for the outside grill (all Lodge) and an 8" and 6" pan. The 12" and 10" get the most use and abuse.
Yes, if it wasn't for the sauce being made in the same pan, I'd use the Lodge skillets that I have. But I can't see myself using two hands to heft the cast iron skillet and clench the handle of the spatula between my teeth to coax the sauce out of the skillet and onto the medallions.
Cuisinart Multiclad is a good quality stainless pan. you can find some skillets apart from a full set but it takes a little more work. Keep an eye on woot.com and Amazon clearance deals. Walmart has a lesser line than the Multiclad but I wasn't impressed with it.
I recently bought a carbon steel skillet. All the qualities of cast iron but lighter. I see Lodge makes one that’s pre-seasoned too.
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- sometimes you luck out at Homegoods, TJMaxx, etc.
