Pork project

TheCookingShow's Blog

Good day and welcome to our cooking Web log in which we chronicle everything we cook and eat. We begin with a excellent and show-offy recipe for roast pork loin. It takes about two hours but it is hardly any work.

Notice how cooking magazines have all kinds of recipes for pork tenderloin but next to none for pork loin? Not that we do not love pork tenderloin but this is an unjust imbalance. We begin now to correct it. I cannot recommend this recipe highly enough. My little niece and nephew loved it. We had Movie Night last night. We watched Disney's "Cinderella." And before that they ate this pork with big wedges of boiled cabbage -- a highly underrated side dish -- and they told my brother, their dad, that it was the best meal they had ever had in their lives.

The night would have been complete had we made the pork while wearing the Cinderella Apron, pictured above. But nevertheless our story ends happily ever ever.

Now, let's get cooking.

Arista is Tuscan Herb-Infused Roast Pork.

THE RECIPE

This recipe is called Arista and it comes from Bruce Aidells' Meat Cookbook. Arista is Tuscan Herb-Infused Roast Pork.

Aidells has a funny intro in which he talks about discovering this dish at a truck stop. He says truck stops always have the best food! When you try this at home the secret is not to overcook the meat. You want it a little bit pink.

Our family is German and so we ate the pork with chunky homemade applesauce -- I just threw some together in a skillet -- and also with the aforesaid boiled cabbage. Boil the cabbage unapologetically, add salt and a bit of butter and crank on lots of black pepper. Our kids loved that, the pepper. Sour cream also goes great with boiled cabbage although last night we got distracted and left it out.


ARISTA

1 4-pound center-cut boneless pork loin, with a thin layer of fat left intact, or an 8-pound double pork loin roast, tied and trimmed (double the herb rub recipe)

      Arista Herb Rub for pork loin: 
      1/4 cup finely chopped fresh rosemary or 2 tablespoons dried
      2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh sage or 1 tablespoon dried
      2 teaspoons crushed fennel seeds
      1 tablespoon kosher salt
      1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

      Pan sauce: 
      2 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
      10 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
      1/4 cup dry white wine
      1 cup chicken or beef stock
      Salt and freshly ground black pepper
   
      To make Arista Herb Rub, combine the rosemary, sage, fennel, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Rub all over the meat to provide it with a generous coating.
      Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Brush the meat with 2 tablespoons oil. Brush a shallow roasting pan with the remaining 1/2 tablespoon oil and scatter the sliced garlic on the bottom to provide a bed for the roast.
      Lay the roast on the garlic, fat side up. Put the pan in the center of the oven and roast for 15 minutes.
      Turn the oven down to 300 degrees and roast for 1 1/4 hours longer if cooking a 4-pound roast, 2 hours longer for a double roast. When the center reads 145 degrees to 150 degrees on an instant-read thermometer, remove the meat from the oven and cover it loosely with foil while you prepare the sauce.
      To make the pan sauce: Pour off the fat and add the wine to the roasting pan and bring it to a boil over high heat, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom.
      Add the stock and cook until the sauce is reduced by half. Strain the sauce, taste for salt and pepper, and serve over 1/4-inch-thick slices of the meat. Serves 8 (4-pound roast).

      Per serving: 400 calories; 19 g fat (6 g saturated fat; 43 percent calories from fat); 2 g carbohydrates; 147 mg cholesterol; 498 mg sodium; 52 g protein; 0.3 g fiber.

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