Something To Fill In The Time & The Hunger!

We need something to eat while I write Chapter Thirteen of my “Reaching Out To The City Lights” and as I have a piece of shoulder pork defrosting in my fridge in readiness for tomorrow, I thought I’d share a couple of pork recipes with you just to whet your appetites. Mine is already whetted and impatient from every time I open my fridge door and I see that glorious piece of meat sitting there waiting for me to do wonderful things to it! I can’t wait to get my teeth around the crisp, golden crackling (that’s after I retrieve them from under my bed!)

A friend is popping by this afternoon to show me a painting of mine that I gave him and his wife. He’s had it framed, so I’m looking forward to seeing the end result. A good frame makes so much of a difference to paintings. Paul and Fia already have three of my paintings on their walls. I feel kind of proud that they like them enough to display them in their home. So, while he’s here this afternoon, I will no doubt pop the coke on a couple of bottles of wine, white for him, red for me and we’ll “chew the fat” over an antipasti and a glass or three. I’ll try not to ruin my appetite for tomorrow’s gala dinner of roast pork. I can’t disappoint my dinner guest, who will be me!

Balsamic Roast Pork:

1.1-1.3kg pork boneless loin joint

50g unsalted butter

2 red onions, each cut into 8 wedges

15g fresh rosemary, chopped

250ml balsamic vinegar

6 small green apples

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 180°C/375F; season with freshly ground black pepper. Heat a large frying pan to smoking point, add the meat and seal on all sides for 3-4 minutes, until golden brown, then transfer to a roasting tin. In the same pan, melt the butter then add the onion and rosemary. Sauté for 5 minutes until the onion has softened slightly, then tip into the roasting tin and pour over half the vinegar. Make sure the meat is well coated. Place in the oven and cook for the calculated time, stirring the onions occasionally and basting the pork. Forty minutes before the pork is ready, add the apple halves to the tin and pour the remaining vinegar over. When the apples are tender and the pork is thoroughly cooked with no pink meat, remove the joint from the roasting tin and allow to stand for 10 minutes before carving. (The pork that is...not you!) Place the apples in a serving dish, cover with foil and keep warm until ready to serve. Stir the wine into the juices in the tin and simmer for 3-4 minutes over a medium heat. Serve the pork with the apples and a little juice, with creamy mashed potatoes and lightly sautéed zucchinis/courgettes.

Roast Pork Loin in Horseradish Crust:

Ingredients

1 cup fresh bread crumbs (about 2 slices)

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons drained bottled horseradish, or to taste

2kg/1 lb. boneless pork loin

1 1/2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

1 1/2 tablespoons mayonnaise

Directions:

Preheat oven to 220C/475F. In a heavy skillet cook bread crumbs in 1 tablespoon oil with salt and pepper to taste over moderate heat, stirring, until golden brown. Transfer bread crumbs to a bowl and toss well with horseradish. Pat pork dry and season with salt and pepper. In a skillet heat remaining tablespoon oil over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking and brown pork on all sides, about 5 minutes. Transfer pork to a shallow baking pan. In a small bowl, mix mustard and mayonnaise; coat top and sides evenly with mixture. Press bread crumb mixture evenly onto mustard and roast pork in middle of oven until a meat thermometer inserted in center registers 145 degrees for slightly pink meat (if bread crumbs begin to get too browned arrange a sheet of foil loosely over pork), 25 to 30 minutes. Transfer pork to a cutting board and let stand 5 minutes. Cut pork into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Serve with balsamic-braised red cabbage and onions and boiled new potatoes with chive butter.

Lemon Pork Scallopini:

Ingredients

2 pork scallopini (thin slices of boneless top round or tip), cut in half, about 1 pound total

1/4 cup Italian dressing

2 teaspoons lemon pepper

1/3 cup flour

1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 tablespoon butter

Directions

Brush scallopini on both sides with dressing, season with lemon pepper, set aside. Mix together flour and Parmesan on shallow plate; coat pork generously and shake off excess. Heat butter in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Quickly cook scallopini, about 3 minutes per side. Serve with hot cooked noodles, buttered broccoli spears, sliced tomatoes vinaigrette with blue cheese, and warm dinner rolls.