Mr. Dips - A Long Overdue Review

 Ok so this was an outing I did solo because my little partner in crime was with her dad that weekend, but I was in Brooklyn so the opportunity could not be wasted. I finally made it to Mr. Dips at the William Vale Hotel at the end of summer. My obsession with this place is more about the Airstream hitch it is housed in, because I guess in one of my previous lives I wanted to travel cross-country in one of those modern homages to the pilgrim way. However, I digress, I did want to try them because their Instagram account constantly tempted me with images of their waffle fries and soft serve ice cream, dipped in whatever flavor the hard shell of the month is (drool worthy for sure). 

Ok so I decided to go all in and had The Hot Bae from their Chixy Dips menu and their Dirty-dipped Waffles, as well as their Blackberry Buttermilk from their Dipsy Doozy menu. Every bite and sip I had was delicious, even if I cut my lifespan by a decade because of it. It was worth it. Here are some pictures of my food as well as some little bird friends who were feasting on the crumbs left by those who came by before me. Oh and this gorgeous heart shaped cloud that just caught my attention while I was sitting on the grass, enjoying my feast.

Needless to say. I will be visiting this certain Mr. again, just will probablyhave to bring my skates with me next time to burn at least some of the calories afterwards. I definitely recommend you visit them withat this and their other NYC locations. Here is the link to their website.

 

 

Slow Cooked Pork Loin in Malbec Reduction

 

I love a good piece of slow cooked meat, and even more so when I can make a nice thick gravy from the juices produced as the meat cooks. There is nothing that can beat the experience of the tenderness of meat that falls apart at the slightest pull from your fork and the taste of it accompanied by that delicious gravy. This recipe was inspired by my beef stew recipe. I didn't use quite as much wine in this one but the tase was tremendous. Here is the list of ingredients:

Pork tenderloin (I used a piece that was about 1 lb)

1 Medium White Onion (cut into slices)

2 Garlic cloves (minced)

8 Medium size white mushrooms (cut into slices)

2 TBSP Olive oil

1 Large Bay leaf

A pinch of cumin

2 to 3 cups of water

1/2 cup of Malbec (or any spice infused red wine of your choice).

Salt and pepper to taste.

2 to 3 TBSP of flour.

In a Dutch oven, heat up your olive oil and sautee the onions, garlic and mushrooms until the onions start to get a little translucent. 

Push the garlic, onion and mushroom mix to the sides and put your pork loin in the center. Sear it on all sides and then add your water and season with salt and pepper to your preference. Add the bay leaf in at this point as well.

Cover and simmer until the liquid in the pot has reduced to half. Now you can add your wine. Cover again and let things simmer until the liquid is reduced by half again.

Start adding the flour a little bit at a time using a whisk to stir the flour in and break up any lumps. Only add enough flour to help things thicken a bit. Once that happens you will be done. The whole process should take about 30 minutes or so, but it is always worth checking your meat to make sure it is cooked through. Once you are sure this is the case you can cut your pork loin into nice thick slices. Serve with your favorite sides and add some of that beautiful gravy along with some onions and mushrooms. Enjoy and savor the fruits of your culinary labor.

Here are some pictures of the cooking process.

#comfortfood #porkloin #winterfood #stews #foodthathealsthesoul