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.

Chocolate Truffle Cake: What Jim eats on his Birthday

So, Jim just turned 45; gasp! How can that be? He opted for a nice dinner at home of steak in red wine sauce, garlic mashed potatoes, and dilled carrots. I also made wedge salads, which despite their ease of preparation and the fact that they are made with the pariah of leafy edibles, iceberg lettuce, are just so satisfying.


For dessert he asked for a three-layer chocolate cake with a creamy chocolate truffle filling and a dark chocolate ganache. It was actually a recipe he stumbled upon himself in one of my mom's old cooking magazines and had previously made himself with great success. It is a little known fact that Jim does like to make the occasional chocolate confection. Years ago, after he extravagantly bought me a Kitchenaid stand mixer that I did not immediately use, he spent a few months using it himself to make a variety of chocolate desserts. His ganache is exceptional.


So, back to the cake at hand. It took me about four hours to make, bake, and frost it. Even so, the decorations are a little lacking; it is just not my bag. Good thing I had taken the day off from work. Luckily, it was just as delicious as the one he made. I guess anything that has a pound of chocolate, a pound of butter, and a container of heavy cream would tend to taste good.

This cake is superb if you love chocolate. I personally think you need to have a little vanilla ice cream, or even a glass of milk, to balance it. Worth making for a truly special occasion. Time consuming, but not difficult.


Here's a link to the Chocolate Truffle Cake recipe at Taste of Home, which incidentally also has the most delicious fresh Glazed Raspberry Pie that is a go-to summer recipe for me.

Creamy Chicken Soup with Gnocchi and Spinach

Sam loves soup. Sometimes we go to the Olive Garden just for the soup and salad (and dessert). They have a creamy gnocchi soup that both boys like. Last weekend, I was making some homemade stock with the remains of a chicken Jim had roasted and, with urging from Jim and Sam, decided to make my own version. Of course, it is considerably better than the Olive Garden's version. I am sure it is considerably more homemade than theirs, too. I had actually planned to make the gnocchi from scratch but was seduced by the frozen ones at the supermarket.

Rich and chicken-y. A creamy broth with chunks of chicken, little potato gnocchi, and swirls of spinach. Very satisfying on a cold winter night. Balance it out with some delicious bread and a salad.

This is roughly what I did. I never do think to write things down as I go.

1 medium onion, chopped

3 stalks of celery, sliced

2 large carrots, diced

1 Tbs. olive oil

Salt and pepper

1/2 cup Marsala wine

6-8 cups homemade chicken stock, fat skimmed

1/4 cup basil pesto

2 cups chopped chicken

1 lb. frozen gnocchi

1 1/4 cups heavy cream

1 bag fresh baby spinach, roughly chopped

2-3 Tbs. chopped fresh parsley

Sauté onion, celery, and carrots in soup pot. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook over med-high heat until it begins to brown a little. Add Marsala to deglaze pan and cook until nearly evaporated. Add stock and pesto. Bring to a boil; simmer for 20 minutes or so until everything is very tender. Puree the mixture.

Add cream and chicken and bring to simmer. Add gnocchi and cook 5-10 minutes until tender, stirring occasionally. Add spinach and parsley. Cook for another minute or two until spinach is wilted. Taste and add more salt and pepper as needed.

Top Five Recipes for 2010

Between recipes I try from cookbooks, internet, and magazines along with the ones that take shape on their own, I must make more than 100 new recipes every year. I keep the ones I think have merit in my recipe database so I can quickly find them. In 2010, I added about 40 new recipes to the database. All of them are good, but some of them are, IMO, great. Some of the newer ones—like posole, dilly beans, and coconut-banana sorbet—are already included in this blog. So, here I will only include my favs prior to November 2010. They are in no particular order.

Check out the texture!

Coconut Scones
2010 is the year Sam officially went cuckoo for coconut. It started in February with a three-layer coconut cake for his birthday then progressed to coconut pancakes, sorbet, and most recently, scones. Like French toast, I am a bit particular when it comes to scones. I like a crunch to the outside and a tender inside. These scones pleased both Sam and I. 


I like to brush these with extra coconut milk and sprinkle them with some coarse sugar before baking. Like all scones, I cook them on parchment to prevent the bottoms from getting too brown. They are great warm all by themselves, but Sam likes a little jam. A side of sliced, ripe mango is a nice accompaniment. 


Get the recipe from Baking Bites.


(BTW, the pancakes were also quite good, so drop me a line if you want that recipe.) 

As pictured on Epicurious.com with flour tortillas

Fish Tacos
In Spring 2010, the neighborhood cooking group celebrated Mexican food with an elaborate spread. We assembled assorted tamales under Cindy's tutelage, drank margaritas and mexican beer, and had some awesome grilled carne asada a la Shaun and Sarah. Our fiesta also included rice, bean salad, guacamole and salsas, and Diane's from-scratch chicken mole and delicious flan. 


My contribution was Baja Fish Tacos, a recipe from epicurious.com (one of my favorite recipe sources). Sean grilled the fish to perfection and everyone helped make the corn tortillas for them.  Marinated, grilled fish, crunchy cabbage slaw, a creamy lime sauce, and chipotle pico de gallo on a warm corn tortilla—I say muy bueno!! I enjoyed them so much that I made them for Jim and the boys the following week and they received equally favorable reviews.


I used tilapia in place of the mahi, since it holds it's shape nicely, and cooked the fish in my grill basket until just flaking.


Get the recipe from Epicurious.com. I would definitely sub warm corn tortillas for the flour ones they suggest, for flavor and textural reasons. 


For the homemade corn tortillas, I used Rick Bayless' recipe on Food and Wine.com. I used masa harina, of course, because where are you gonna find fresh corn masa in the gringo-land of VT? 


BTW, these tacos are gluten-free.

Butternut Squash and Carmelized Onion Lasagna
I thought I had better include a recipe of my own making or everyone reading this will start to fear I have no imagination in the kitchen. The Winter 2010 edition of Edible Green Mountains, which I likely got a a local market had a recipe for butternut lasagna, which inspired me to create this. Their recipe actually included pasta, whereas mine is more of a gratin really.

In this dish there are alternating layer of thinly-sliced butternut squash, carmelized onions with rosemary and sage, a creamy Marsala sauce, toasted pine nuts, and mozerella and parmesan cheeses. It is an elegant and savory winter dish that could served as a main meal or a hearty side. Sorry, no picture. Maybe if I make it again I will take one and post it. Until then, just imagine the cheese browned on top, the bubbling sauce, some well place sage leaves for contrast. Enough said.


2 small-medium butternut squash, peeled and sliced (1/4”)

Cooking spray

Fresh thyme sprigs (a handful)

2 Tbs. butter

1 1/2 large sweet onions, sliced thinly

1 tsp. fresh sage, finely chopped

1/2 to 1 tsp. dried rosemary

1/2 cup Marsala wine

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup flour

2 1/2 cups 1% milk

3/4 tsp. chicken flavoring (I use “Better than Bouillon Reduced Sodium”)

Freshly ground pepper

1/2 tsp. thyme leaves

Pinch or two of freshly grated nutmeg

1 Tbs. pine nuts (toast lightly for best flavor)

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1/2 cup shredded parmesan

THE SQUASH: Preheat oven to 400° F.  Spray baking sheet(s) with cooking spray and add squash slices in a single layer. Spray with cooking spray. Sprinkle lightly with salt and top with some fresh thyme sprigs. Roast 15 minutes or so, until tender.  Set aside.

THE ONIONS: Meanwhile, sauté the onions and sugar in butter over medium-low heat until totally wilted and caramelized. Half way through the cooking add salt to taste and herbs.  Set aside.

THE SAUCE: Deglaze the pan you cooked the onions in with the Marsala and reduce until almost gone. Add butter and flour to make a roux. Cook for a minute then whisk in the milk, chicken flavoring, and herbs. Cook stirring constantly until thickened. Add pepper and salt, if needed.

THE ASSEMBLY: Layer ingredients in 8 x 8” baking dish.  A little sauce, a layer of squash, onions, nuts, cheeses, etc.  End with sauce and cheese. Top with some whole fresh sage leaves to add a little decorative touch. Bake uncovered at 350° for 15-20 minutes until bubbly and cheese is beginning to brown.

Picture from La Cucina Italiana

Tortellini en Brodo
This is a traditional dish from the Emilia Romagna region in Northern Italy, an area known worldwide for its pork products from Bologna and Parma, fine basalmic vinegar from Modena, and, of course, Parmiggiano Reggiano cheese. The tortellini are stuffed with mortadella, prosciutto, and pork (I used chicken) and float in a delicate beef and chicken broth. It is a simple, yet time-consuming, dish to prepare. I liked it so much I ate it everyday for a week. This should give you an idea of the quantity we made.


We had a lot of fun making these together in our cooking group. It is most definitely a group activity, which I think kids would also enjoy helping with too. I was going for authentic here so took the time to prepare the broth ahead of time using the recipe below. It was subtle and satisfying, but I am not sure I would go to the effort or expense again any time soon. A nice homemade chicken broth would suffice, I think. 


Get the recipe from La Cucina Italiana Magazine. The only change I made was to use 3 chicken thighs, poached with onion and herbs in place of the pork in the filling. If I would also make the stock with less water as I had to boil it down a little in order to concentrate the flavor enough for my liking. The stock and uncooked tortellini could easily be frozen, separately.


We also made a mushroom-filled tortellini in mushroom broth, which is a good vegetarian option.

Photo from Habeas Brulee

Chewy Maple Cookies

Jamie brought these to our Fall-themed cooking group. Sooo good! Sweet and chewy, with an incredibly intense maple flavor. He found the recipe on the food blog Habeas Brûlée. If you like maple, these will not disappoint. Of course, you'll want to use Vermont syrup.

Get the recipe from Habeas Brûlée.

These are a few of my favorite things

My love for cooking extends to all aspects of it. I collect cookbooks, recipes, and even cooking tools. Recently, I collected a variety of antique kitchen tools and appliances. Enameled colanders, wooden mixing bowls, food scales, hand crank coffee grinders and percolators, bakeware, butter churns, flour sifters. They are displayed atop my cupboards. 



I appreciate the nostalgia of these old cooking items. They are just the kind of things that would have been used in our old Victorian house over the course of its 115 years of existence. I find that very cool. Somebody 50 or 100 years ago used these things in the everyday acts of preparing food and drink for their family. I have a few little tools from my mother, grandmother, and Jim's grandmother too. I like to think a little of their energy is left in them. Just another way cooking connects us, this time to our predecessors.


Can you tell what they are?

One of the cooking magazines I read, perhaps Bon Appetit, does one page interviews with top chefs and other celebrities and often the interviewer asks about can't-live-without ingredients or tools. I am always fascinated by this (I am sure it could be the voyeur in me needing to know what is in their cupboards or fridges). 


So I was thinking: what would I answer? While I have drawers and cupboards and storage bins of things that don't even fit in my kitchen, there really only a handful of things that I just can't do without. These are my favorites. What are yours?

Pam's Favorite 

Kitchen Tools 

(in no particular order)

• Chef's knife—I have 10" and 8" Henkels' chef's knives. I like the sturdy feel and ease of cutting. I try to keep them sharp. Even just a cheap sharpening tool can make a big difference in how well it cuts. 

• Microplane—ginger, garlic, citrus zests, lemongrass.  What did I ever do before the microplane?

• Lemon juicer—I use fresh lemon juice in many things. My lemon juicer has a built in strainer for the seeds and pulp. Easier than using a reamer and strainer.

• Heavy duty griddle—The kids love pancakes of any kind as well as french toast. I have a two-burner stovetop griddle as well as a built-in cast iron griddle on my stove. We also use it regularly to make quesadillas, grilled cheese, flatbreads and pizzas. 

• 12" covered saute pan—I make most everyday meals in this. From searing to saucing to serving it up. This pan does it all.

• Favorite spatula—the $0.79 yellow plastic spatula I got when I was 18. It is thin and flexible and has a tapered edge. It is great for getting under difficult to maneuver foods and doesn't scratch pans. I have never found one just like it since.

• Mini food processor—nuts, small amounts of bread crumbs, small amounts of herbs, whipping flax, mincing onions. Just used it tonight to make a lime and herb sauce to dress up some halibut. Very convenient.

• Mini-food slicer—I have a small, hand held version of a mandolin. It creates uniform slices (some extremely thin) quickly. Great for slicing apples for the dehydrator, thinly slicing onions, and slicing potatoes to fry up for brunch.

• Immersion blender—Great for pureeing hot soups and sauces right in the pan. I also use it for mixing batters and making smoothies right in their cups. A quick rinse is all it takes to clean it off. I rarely ever use my regular blender at all.

• Pressure cooker—I use this a lot in winter. It cuts down the time of braising and stewing from hours to minutes. Brown rice in about 11 minutes, unsoaked, dried beans in 35. A major time saver.

• Measure All Cup from the pampered chef. This is a plunger style 2 cup measurer just right for measuring those tricky or messy things like shortening, peanut butter, honey. It adjusts for any size and automatically scrapes the sides for you.

• Scoops with squeeze action handles—I have a few sizes of these. So perfect for filling muffin tins (we make lots of those), evenly apportioning cookie dough, and making meatballs too. Much neater than hands or spoons.