As you can see, I don’t have a pic of the amazing pork roast I made for our friends last night. The recipe calls for tenderloin, but the butcher suggested using a center cut pork roast since it was for six people. He butterflyed it which made it easy to stuff. I did end up tying it with kitchen twine to keep it all together. Along with the roast I made garlic red bliss mashed potatoes. Pork and potatoes are perfect together. We also had a couple pieces of the pork left for a great cold pork sandwich for lunch today.

I needed that pork sandwich after meeting JAMIE OLIVER! He was signing his new book, Jamie at Home, at a Border’s in Manhattan. Myself and couple of my fellow friends stood in line and were so excited to meet him in person. He’s really down to Earth, friendly, exactly how he appears on television. It was such a treat - I can’t wait to cook from his new book. Jamie - when are you opening a place stateside?

OK, I’m going to admit it - the mac&cheese is from a box - gasp! We all do it - and it was a Whole Foods $.99 special from my pantry - so definitely a step up from Easy Mac. It was also tasty, I might add….. The ribs were divine - my first local pork experience, and I’ll be going back for more. I was reading in the Food&Wine article about local butchers that when you have fresh organic meat, not to dress it up too much, or drench it with sauce. Here’s how I did these Pork Spare Ribs:

Preheat oven to 350F

1. trim off excess fat from the meat. Generously salt and pepper both sides of the ribs. I used a great Grey salt that’s super fragrant and great on meat.

2. Add about 2 tablespoons olive oil to an oven proof sauté pan. Let the pan heat up to medium-high and add your ribs. Let it sear on both sides, about 5 minutes each side. Put the pan in the oven for about 25-35 minutes or until the meat starts to pull away from the bone.

As you can see from the pic, I also made an Arugula salad. I went right to Tyler Florence for a dressing idea - I really feel he’s one of the best at making and dressing salads, at least for my taste. This dressing was sweet and you could still taste the shallots, a great flavor combo. Another homey fall meal - Johnathan is loving this week!