Pork Loin Roast with Roasted Beets and Potatoes

I only have my mother to thank for preventing this meal from being a disaster, and embarrassing me in front of a new foreign friend (well it wouldn’t have been that bad). After my “great” experience at the Whole Foods meat counter, I told my mom what I was planning to make for my first roast. She then instructed me, and consulted Julia Child that a chuck roast is not meant to be roasted in the oven, but braised or stewed slowly for a long long time, and would be more like pulled pork. This was not going to work for me. I wasn’t about to make stew. That’s for November. So I panicked a little, and quickly found that a bone in pork roast would suffice, for about the same price. So, the chuck went into the freezer for a cold gray winter dinner, and I used Jamie Oliver’s marinade for a pork roast instead. Crisis averted. The beets were great, and I also added some roasted potatoes. I boiled the beets first for about 50 minutes, peeled the skins off, then threw them in with the potatoes, thyme, balsamic vinegar, and oil, salt and pepper then popped them in the oven with the roast for 45 or so minutes. The roast was simple, and I used Jamie’s marinade of anchovy fillets in oil (6), 6 garlic cloves, rosemary, and olive oil, salt and pepper. I mashed everything in a mortar and it made a nice salty crust outside the roast. All in all, a great success. The Brit was very satisfied, and there was much drinking and merriment. Just beware: make sure you know what meat you’re getting, and don’t always rely on the false perception that people that work at a meat counter know anything about meat. Thanks mom.

The Belgian Leek recipe I was going to use called for a specialty pan, and pie weights? I’m not even sure what those are, and should have read ahead and realized this was a bit beyond my realm. Someday. I was really excited about using leeks this week, as I’d never cooked with them before. So, I went to my go-to guy - Jamie Oliver. And he didn’t fail me. I made a Chicken and sweet leek pie with a flaky pastry. I had puff pastry in the freezer, carrots, leeks, milk, and chicken, also in the freezer. So I went over budget and bought the $5.00 of mild Italian sausages to complete the dish. It was great and homey, and it was finally cool enough yesterday to justify a warm casserole/stew. Make sure you simmer the stew long enough and let it get thick - ours was a bit runny. The crust isn’t crunchy reheated, but it still made a great lunch. Cheers!

Serves 4

Olive oil

2 Tablespoons butter

2lb boned and skinned chicken legs, cut into pieces

2 medium leeks, trimmed, washed and sliced into 1/2 inch pieces

2 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped

3 sticks celery, finely sliced

small handful of thyme, leaves picked

2 tablespoons flour

1 wineglass of white wine

1.25 cups milk

9oz pork sausges

1lb package of all-butter puff pastry

1 egg

1. Preheat oven to 425F. Take a large casserole pot and add a lug of olive oil and your butter. Add the chicken, leeks, carrots, celery and thyme and cook slowly on the stove for 15 minutes. Turn the heat right up, add the flour, and keep stirring for a couple minutes before adding the wine, a wineglass of water and the milk. Season with a little salt and freshly ground black pepper, then cover with a tight-fitting lid and simmer very slowly on the stove for 30-40 minutes until the chicken is tender. Stir it every so often so it doesn’t stick to the bottom. The sauce should be loose but quite thick. If it’s a little too liquid, just continue to simmer it with the lid off until it thickens slightly.

2. Pour the chicken mixture into an appropriately sized pie dish. Squeeze the meat out of the sausage skins, roll it into little balls, brown them in a little oil and sprinkle them over the stew. Roll out your pastry to about 1/4 inch thick. Egg-wash the rim of the dish and drape over the pastry, using a knife to trim the edge of the dish. Egg-wash the top of the pastry to make it go golden while cooking, then pinch it to crimp it round the edges. Use the back of a knife to lightly criss-cross the tip= this allows the pastry to go crisp and flaky. Cook the pie in the center of the oven for about 30-40 minutes, until golden on top.

Here is the wonderful homemade pasta Johnathan made last night -I did the sauce though. The recipe from Bon Appétit instructs you to make a pasta with flour and olive oil, but Johnathan has perfected his own pasta with eggs from Jamie Oliver, so we went with what worked for us. Make sure you get the pasta thin enough, some of our pieces were a bit thick. The sauce was really sweet, as it was made with farmer’s market cherry tomatoes. This dish was good, but it was no edamame ravioli, so for all the effort, I’ll make that, or just use a jar of sauce - I’m partial to Newman’s Own….. There is also no menu for this week, or next. I’ll be going to Honolulu for a conference ( I know, it’s tough….) and then on to San Francisco with Johnathan, who is out there working for the week. I’ve scouted some farmer’s markets and restaurants, and my week in Cali is packed - Honolulu is a bit lacking on the gourmet side, but you bet I’ll be writing about the great drive-ins and dives. So stay tuned for some unusual posts, and when I get back I’ll be guest writing on Jamati.com about African cooking - another learning experience! Aloha and happy end of summer!

From the Alcatraz Ferry

This meal was great - despite the badly lit picture you see here (I promise I’m working on it). We had my foodie friend Adrienne over to share in the feast and risotto from scratch is not as intimidating as you would think. I was able to chat, snack on cheese and crackers, and prepare dinner. I really tried to loosen up, and did a lot of changes and measurements based on how it looked and tasted. I didn’t add the fennel - I have a strong, demon-like aversion to the stuff. I added marjoram instead, and of course the saffron which makes everything oh so pretty. Like I was expecting the Whole Foods mussels were very disappointing. We had to throw out 2/3 of the bag before we could start cooking, and then half of those didn’t open after cooking which equals no eating. Next time I want seafood, it’s the crustacean experts from Long Island that set up at the Green Market for me. The squid was tender, but the Tilapia I added didn’t add a whole lot of meatiness or flavor. The frozen shrimp tasted great - a tip here - add the shrimp to dishes frozen so you know when they’re done and pink, and you’re more likely not to over cook them. I also didn’t make my own fish stock, I know, a Jamie Oliver sin, but the whole thing turned out great. I hope the leftovers are ok, sans mussels of course. Here’s the recipe below. Don’t be afraid of different creatures from the deep!

Risotto ai Frutti de Mare (Seafood Risotto)

3.5 lb (about) mixed seafood, cleaned

pinch of dried chili

pinch of saffron strands

juice of 1 lemon

32fl oz of fish stock

olive oil, butter

1 large onion, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1/2 a head of celery, trimmed and finely chopped

2 cups risotto (Arborio) rice

2 wineglasses of dry vermouth or dry white wine

1. Heat the stock. Put the olive oil and butter into a separate pan, add the onion, garlic, celery, saffron, chili, and fennel (if you so choose…) and cook very slowly for about 15 minutes without coloring. When the veggies have softened, add the rice and turn up the heat.

2. The rice will now begin to lightly fry, so keep stirring it. After a minute it will look slightly translucent. Add the vermouth or wine and keep stirring. Any harsh alcohol flavors will evaporate and leave a tasty essence.

3. Once the wine or vermouth has cooked into the rice, add your first ladle of hot stock and good pinch of salt. Turn the heat down to a simmer so the rice doesn’t cook too quickly on the outside. Keep adding ladlefuls of stock, stirring and massaging the creamy starch out of the rice, allowing each ladleful to be absorbed before adding the next. This will take around 15 minutes. When the rice is nearly cooked, add your fish and shellfish *note: I sauteed the squid and fish fillets slightly before I added them). Taste the rice to check if it’s cooked. If not, keep adding stock until the rice is soft, with a slight bite. Remove from the heat once the shellfish have opened or the shrimps are all pink. * If you run out of stock before the rice is cooked, you can use boiling water.

4. This is SEAFOOD risotto - don’t add Parmesan, as tempting as it may be! Fish and cheese bad. Instead, add about 4 tablespoons of butter, check the seasoning, and drizzle a bit of olive oil as well as the lemon juice on the top. If you have any stock left over ( I didn’t) you can add a bit of that to the individual serving bowls.

After charring the eggplant, let it cool a bit.

Honestly, I was a little disappointed. I think its a combination of me making this dish for the first time, and maybe making some tweaks to Jamie’s recipe. It just missed the mark. The eggplant was great - not too soggy, and you could still taste the flavor, which is usually overpowered by an abundance of cheese and bread crumbs. I would recommend either adding more parm - I used about 1/3 of my half pound chunk. Make a bit more sauce, and add the mozzarella to the top, so it gets a bit more gooey and browned on the top. Overall we really liked it - it was very rustic and fresh plus we have enough for both of us for lunch today. Tonight is the Honey Chicken with grilled corn salad. I’ll also try to make the pictures a bit more pleasing - I’m currently in a battle with my overpowering flash.

The end product

One of the first things I knew needed to change in our diet was our fruit and veggie intake - which I think applies to a lot of us. We were eating a lot of meat and pasta and cheese (yummy, not heart healthy). So my first weeks menu includes just 2 dinners with meat. I used to be a vegetarian, which my husband is thankful I’m not anymore, but I felt so much more healthy while doing it. I also want to try to buy organic and antibiotic free meats, so less meat is less $$$.

I’ve planned out our whole week’s dinners, with plans on leftovers for lunches. This is another goal of ours - smaller portions so there are leftovers.

I also want this to be realistic. I’m not an expert cook - I just watch a lot of Food Network and pour over cook books. I’m going to share my failures (not easy for me to do) as well as things that have worked well for me. I also know lots of people work 9-5, or work on different schedules. I’d love to hear how you cook and shop! I have many friends who are actors and artists, and keep really different schedules from most people. Together we’re our own experts.

So, here’s the menu for the week - things may shift depending on how much time I have

Monday - Eggplant Parmigiana - Jamie Oliver

Tuesday - Honey Chicken Skewers and Corn Salad - Real Simple

Wednesday - Tomato Basil Soup w/ crusty bread - The Farm to Table Cookbook

Thursday - Summer Quiche - The Farm to Table Cookbook

Friday - Moroccan Lamb w/Carrot Salad - Real Simple