Friday, October 20, 2006

How would you prepare this?

Here you see last night's dinner. I bought it just like this at the butcher yesterday. It is a pork loin roast that has been stuffed with an apple/raisin/bread stuffing. It just called to me from the glass... so I picked one up, and on the label the suggested cooking method was to smother it with a can of undiluted cream of mushroom or cream of chicken soup. Hmm. Cream of etc. soups get occasional use, but if I can, I avoid using them. So I headed to the grocery store and settled on a can of Healthy Request Cream of Celery. I thought the celery would compliment the stuffing better than the other suggestions. I really just couldn't think of how else to cook this puppy. I thought about pouring over some apple cider, but I didn't think that would hold the moisture in the pork- which is what I was concerned about. I thought briefly about strips of bacon... but layering pork with more pork seemed a little odd to me.

The end result was good- very good, I am planning on picking up another of these roasts, but I'd like to figure out what else to do besides cream of etc. soup. Between that and the stuffing the pork was just moist enough. There was virtually no fat in the pork, so it needed something. So if anyone has suggestions, I would love to hear them.

Did you ever have a dream that just felt so real, that after you woke up you could swear it really happened? Two nights ago I had a rather remarkable dream. I dreamt that I had been invited out to a private dinner at Emeril's new restaurant. I was seated alongside Anna from Cookie Madness and her hubby. Emeril sat down with us, and then his staff proceeded to bring us course after course- he was testing out a new menu offering of a Prix Fixe. Then last night I had a dream that my family spent the day at a food festival with Mario Batali and Bobby Flay. I must be neglecting my FoodTv viewing. I honestly can't tell you the last time I watched Food Network, it's become something other than what I want to watch. Semi-Homemade and Travel and Quick cooking are just not my interest. But I think that since today I am fighting off a serious migraine attack, I may just spend some time inviting some old friends into my living room.

4 comments:

Unknown said...

What about browning it on all sides (not cooking all the way through) and then baking it at a low temperature. That holds the moisture in. It's how my mom's best friend does her roasts. I don't know how that would work with a pork loin, but it might.

Erika W. said...

Hmm... I wonder if that would work, and then I could use some apple cider after it's browned.

Anonymous said...

Erika, after browning the pork first, as Claire suggested, I think I would have treated it as a bread pudding, i.e., I would have poured some 1/2 & 1/2 (was cinnamon and/or nutmeg included in the filling?) all around and, after a tight wrap with aluminium foil, roasted it 'til heated through.

Erika W. said...

Oh my... jamjudy that sounds decadent!