Pork Roast with Roasted Vegetable Sauce

I like Lidia Bastianich's cooking shows on PBS and I have a couple of her cookbooks. One I bought specifically for a dessert recipe (ricotta dumplings with warm strawberry sauce) that I was shocked not to find anywhere on the internet, despite that it was featured on her show. That was last year. I still haven't made it.


I did, however, use one of her recipes from Lidia's Family Table last night. Finding myself with a large pork loin roast from a supermarket sale I could not pass up, I was trolling through my cook books and found her recipe for Roast Pork Shoulder with Roast Vegetable Sauce. I just happened to have all the ingredients, except leeks, on hand. It is an easy dish to prepare and yields a tender meat with a wonderful sauce. It does take 2 to 2 1/2 hours of cooking time though, so it is a nice weekend meal. The house smelled delicious all afternoon.


I served it up with a mashed rutabaga and potato mixture, and a side of peas. Lately, I am all about sneaking turnips, sweet potatoes, parsnips, and other root vegetables into my mashed potatoes. It is just so much more flavorful and healthy. I think a creamy polenta would also be wonderful with this.

Roast Pork Shoulder with Roast Vegetable Sauce
Serves 6-8

5-7 lb. pork shoulder roast, bone in (I used a 4.5 pound pork loin)
1 1/2 tsp. salt
2 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil (I used a couple tsp.)
4 medium onions, peeled and chopped into 1/2" pieces (I used 1 1/2 extra large ones)
2 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2" chunks (I used three large; we like carrots)
2 medium leeks (white and green parts), rinsed and chopped into 1/2' pieces (I left this out)
3 celery stalks, cut into 1/2" pieces
1-2 cloves minced garlic (my addition)
1/2 ounce dried porcini mushrooms, chopped into small bits (1/4 cup)
1 tsp. whole black peppercorns
1 packed Tbs. fresh rosemary needles (I used about 2 tsp. dried, crumbled)
2 large bay leaves
3 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil (I used a Tbs. or so)
1 tsp. salt, or less to taste
3 cups turkey or vegetable broth, or water (I used canned chicken stock)
1 1/2 cups dry white wine

Arrange rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 400° F. Rinse and dry the roast, leaving fat on top. Rub with oil and salt. Set, fat side up, in roasting pan.

Scatter all chopped vegetables and seasonings (except the 1 tsp. salt) around and toss everything together with oil. Pour the wine and stock into the pan so the cooking liquid is 1" deep.

Roast for an hour then turn the vegetables and return it to the oven for another hour or so. Lydia says the internal temp should be 170° but I think 155-160° is better for a loin roast. You can return it to the empty roasting pan and crisp it up more in a 425° oven, if desired. A glaze of 2 Tbs. B grade maple syrup and 2 Tbs. Dijon mustard can be applied at this time. (I did not return the roast to the oven as it already has a nice exterior).

Remove the pork to a platter to rest. Using a potato masher, crush the cooked vegetables in the juices, breaking them up into little bits. Set a sieve over a saucepan and pour the veggies and juices into it, pressing to release as much liquid as possible. After it settles, skim the fat. Bring the pan juices to a boil and reduce until it is the consistency and flavor you like. Taste and adjust salt and pepper.

She also suggests you can thicken it with some fine breadcrumbs (about 1 tsp. per cup of sauce; then strain again before serving).

Still haven't installed the tile backsplash yet, but...

An aside about my range:
This is a time when I really appreciated the fifth, middle burner on my range. It is the perfect size for roasting pans—great for making gravies and for searing things before an oven braise. When we remodeled the kitchen in this house, I shopped around and ended up getting a GE Cafe range. It had the biggest oven, plus a second oven below, and a fifth middle burner that makes the entire cook surface one level, which I love when I need to move big pans around. It also has a griddle you can use with the middle burner, which I use all the time. It has two high BTU burners that bring things to a boil in a flash and all the burners simmer like a dream—no more burnt rice. It was also a lot cheaper than other stoves I was looking at. I found a good price online which Lowes matched. Then I used a 20% off coupon and got a rebate for free shipping. I got the matching hood too, which I also love.

Buffalo Chicken Meatballs. What's Not to Like?

Shhh. This photo is from Martha's website. I always seem to forget to photo
my food. Mine looked just the same, though perhaps displayed less beautifully.

So, I was watching an episode of the Martha Stewart show over December vacation and it was all about meatballs. One of the many kinds featured was Buffalo Chicken Meatballs. I love buffalo wings, but they are so messy. These are simpler to make and can be eaten more modestly at a cocktail party with a toothpick.


I made them a couple weeks ago, finally. The kids ended up eating dinner at our neighbors' house and Jim was suffering from some sort of digestive upset at the time, so I ate them for dinner alone while enjoying the quiet and a netflix movie. I put extra hot sauce on them and served them with a big crunchy salad topped with blue cheese dressing (BTW, Marie's brand has a good light version). I enjoyed them thoroughly. I brought the rest to a work potluck, where they were eaten right up. 


Sam and Ethan did end up trying them but found them to be too spicy. I would myself classify them as mild, although my Scoville tolerance is considerably more developed than theirs. Or more likely, my nerve endings have slowly been deadened from years of eating spicy foods. I do like foods that give cause a bit of sweat and burn.


Mini Spicy Buffalo Chicken Balls with Blue Cheese and Hot Sauce
Makes about 75 mini meatballs.

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup Frank's RedHot hot sauce, plus more for serving
• 2 pounds ground chicken, preferably thigh meat
• 2 large eggs
• 2 ribs celery, minced (about 1 cup)
• 1 2/3 cups dried breadcrumbs
• 2 teaspoons coarse salt
• Blue Cheese Dressing
• Celery sticks, for serving

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Evenly coat a large rimmed baking sheet with olive oil and set aside.
2. Place butter and hot sauce in a small saucepan over low heat. Cook, whisking, until butter is melted and hot sauce is well incorporated. Remove from heat and transfer to a large bowl; let cool to room temperature, about 10 minutes.
3. Add chicken, eggs, celery, breadcrumbs, and salt to bowl with butter mixture; using your hands, mix until well combined. Roll chicken mixture into firm, 1-inch round balls (I used a 1" ice cream scoop for this) and place on prepared baking sheet; arrange the meatballs in rows so that they are touching on all sides. Transfer to oven and bake until cooked through, about 15 minutes.
4. Take out of oven and let stand 5 minutes before removing from baking sheet. Place on a serving platter and drizzle with hot sauce; serve with dressing and celery sticks.

Check out this and other meatball recipes here.

I survived birthday baking season!

The whipped cream frosting has gelatin in it
to keep it stable. 

Right after the holidays, our family goes directly into birthday season. Jim's was in January. In February, Sam and Ethan celebrated their 9th and 8th birthdays, respectively. For me, it was like a non-stop bake-a-thon. When I was growing up, I got one birthday cake that we ate after a family dinner. Nowadays, the kids have it made—family cake, school cupcakes, another cake for a party with friends. For me, this is five cakes in one month! Thankfully, the boys still are okay with combining their friend parties, or it would have been six.


This year, Ethan, whose birthday comes first, opted for alternative desserts. He asked me to make trifle for his family birthday dinner and lemon bars to take to school. At their friend party (they each chose 2 kids to take skiing--too fun!) they agreed on a lemon poppy seed bundt cake (egg free). Then came Sam's turn. He chose a four-layer coconut cream cake, filled with coconut pastry cream, and topped with coconut whipped cream frosting. He also chose coconut cupcakes with coconut cream cheese frosting to bring to school.


Well, that was a whole lotta baking, I must say. And, while I love to cook, I would not call myself a baker. Do you all do this same crazy multi-dessert scenario for kids' birthdays or am I just particularly insane?  Luckily, it all turned out okay and the boys were happy.  Now, I have until next January before the birthdays begin again.


Really, though, what 8/9 year old asks for trifle? ... or a four layer cream cake?  Where is the great American love for Betty Crocker?

I forgot to take a pic of ours. Although, it is not hard to make an
impressive looking trifle. This one's from Yum Sugar.

ETHAN'S BIRTHDAY TRIFLE BAR

Not only did Ethan want trifle, instead of cake on his birthday, he wanted a make-your-own-trifle buffet. The boys and their friends are big fans of the make-your-own spread, which we often do for tacos and crepes.

In case you have never eaten it, trifle is an English dessert generally consisting of layers of pudding, jams, fruit, pieces of cake, and whipped cream. It is usually served in a glass bowl (we used wine glasses) so you can see the lovely stratification.

The spread for Ethan's birthday was fairly extensive (as is called for on such occasions as one's 8th birthday):

The pudding—chocolate and/or vanilla. I have been using this pudding recipe from Martha Stewart for many years. Just as easy as the box, but much tastier.

The cake—I cheated here and bought madeleines and chocolate pound cake from the supermarket bakery.

The sauces—warmed homemade rapsberry jam and melted nutella.

The fruit—sliced bananas and fresh berries.

The toppings—chopped pecans, peanut butter chips, mini-marshmallows, toffee bits, chocolate chunks.

And, whipped cream, of course! I used the trusty whipped cream whipper for this. It is a must-have kitchen tool in our house.

Photo from Simply Recipes.
Mine actually looked nicer!

Here are some of the other recipe links:

Coconut cupcakes with coconut cream cheese frosting from Simply Recipes. I added a little coconut extract to the frosting, and a little extra powdered sugar since it seemed too thin.

Low-fat lemon squares from Cooking Light. These are a go-to favorite. Sooo lemony. I made a triple batch so we could keep some for home.

Photo from MyRecipes.com

Allergy-free lemon poppy seed bundt cake adapted from the Allergy Free Baker cookbook by Cybele Pascal. One of our guests can not eat eggs so I used this recipe but used regular milk and flour (without xantham gum). 

Coconut cream cake with coconut pastry cream from Zoe Bakes. Instead of the meringue topping she suggests, I topped it with whipped cream frosting. This cake is best eaten soon after frosting as leftovers need to be refrigerated, which makes hardens the cake. Actually, this combo would make a lovely trifle, perhaps with some fresh mango thrown in.

Whipped Cream Frosting from Taste of Home. It does not get great ratings but it works well for me. Double the recipe for a layer cake. I added some coconut extract too.