ROAST PORK

Pork is just not what it used to be!  It has been bred to be lean and now has no flavour, we all know you need some fat for deliciousness.  When my fabulous son-in-law was here for Alan's birthday he made superb Pork Burritos for our beach party.  We started with boned pork shoulder (from Costco, of course!).  He had a chunk left over and prepared it for me to roast at a later date.  The piece was about a foot square, probably about 3 pounds of meat.  He added some orange peel, sage leaves and garlic then rolled it.  I was able to use my new 'food loops' which had been a Christmas gift from Charlotte's glamorous Mum, Anke (thank you Anke, I love them!).  He gave me the following instructions to cook it:

Sear the meat over a medium/high heat.  Transfer to oven at 300 degrees F.  Add some chicken stock to the roasting pan with some booze and aromatics. I used a halved medium sized onion and some more sage leaves.  Roast for about 3-4 hours, basting frequently. His instructions were to cover the pan while roasting which I did not notice at the time.  I did have to top up the stock in the pan but it meant that the meat got really crispy and I have decided it is the way to go.  So with all this learning I did a roast pork shoulder today and it was also fabulous, if I say so myself!  As it had skin (later yummy crackling) I did not brown the meat before roasting and cooked it for a total of 5 hours.  I scored the skin in a diamond pattern and inserted slivers of garlic into the meat.  I peeled and halved 2 medium onions and added those to the pan along with  2 sprigs of sage.  I upped the temperature to 375 for the last hour, mostly because that was when I put in the potatoes.

Gravy:  take the meat out about half an hour before you plan to serve it, transfer to a heated plate, tent with foil and put near the stove to keep warm.  I slice off the skin at this point and return to oven on a new roasting pan to  crisp up. You should have at least a cup of juices in the pan the pork roasted in.  Pour it into a separator if you have one, improvise with a small jug.  Keep about 2 TBSPS oil in the pan and add one TBSP of flour to that.  Stir to combine the fat and flour then cook over a medium heat for about 3 minutes.  Now you need some liquied to add.  The juices in the pan were pretty flavourful so water would probably do.  If you are steaming vegetables you can use that water, I did from my cabbage.  A big dash of red wine is great too, chicken stock also works.  This is one of those recipes you need to get a feel for and it is never the same twice.

I apologize for my attempt at garnish, hey ho we can't all be perfect all the time!

BABY LAMB CHOPS - YUM!
Not much going on today, watching the tennis and looking for something new to try for dinner for just the 2 of us. Decided to rifle through the recipes I cut out of NYTimes, there are always plenty of those.   A good co-incidence happened, I asked Alan what he fancied for dinner, he responded 'lamb chops',   I had just come accross Seared Lamb Chops with Anchovies, Capers and Sage .  I have a very healthy sage plant in my garden and am always happy to find a recipe to use it. I changed this recipe a bit, only because at the end it says 'spoon the sauce over the chops' and I had no sauce.  I had a pan with a lot of capers and sage leaves but no liquid, so I deglazed the pan with some red wine.  It was delicious, but not for those who are dieting! For those who do not like anchovies please do  not be put off, these really just season the dish, it does not have a  strong anchovy flavour.  I liked the lemon squeezed over.  I served with green beans, as you can see, and corn, which filled the gap on the plate.  The corn is so good at this time of year, I serve it with little encouragement!

Here is what you need for 2 servings:

• 6/8 baby lamb chops
• 3 Tbsps olive oil
• 3 anchovy fillets
• 1 Tpsp drained capers (more if desired, recipe called for 3, I thought too much!)
• 15 sage leaves
• pinch red pepper flakes
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• splash of red wine
• lemon wedges for serving

Season chops with salt and pepper, but go easy on the salt, the anchovies are salty.  Heat a skillet large enough to take chops in one layer and heat the oil til it shimmers.  Add the anchovies and capers, stir and cook for a couple of minutes, anchovies will break down. Add the chops and brown for about 3 minutes on first side and 2 minutes after turning over. Time will vary depending on thickness of chops and your preference of done-ness. Transer chops to serving plate.  Add garlic to pan, cook for about a minute, til starting to brown, turn the heat off the pan then add the wine.  Cook for about a minute then spoon over the chops.

Jenny's Smashed Potatoes

We were so excited to welcome our great friends, the O'Connells, back from Argentina.  They chose an interesting week to arrive, an earthquake and a hurricane welcomed them back to Connecticut!
I popped in for a cup of tea with Elizabeth yesterday, while she was prepping for having some friends for dinner.  She was making these potatoes, which I saw the start of the prep but not the finished result.  But, sounded easy enough, I had a few fingerlings in my cupboard so decided to make them for the 3 of us tonight.

So easy I will describe it rather than write an a recipe format.  Start with new potatoes, cutting any large ones so they are all about the same size.  Put on a roasting pan, add olive oil, salt and pepper and then you can choose: maybe some red pepper flakes, or a herb, depending on your mood and what you are serving them with. Roast the potatoes at 350 C for about an hour, depending on size,  til feeling done when prodded with a knife. This can be done in advance.  'Smash' the potatoes with something heavy.  About half an hour before you are ready to serve, heat some butter in a frying pan and fry the potatoes for about 20 minutes, on a medium/high heat,  shaking the pan frequently to cook them evenly on all sides. Fry 'til they are lightly browned and crispy.  Add a little more salt and enjoy/