Roast Pork Dinner or What in the World Have I Started.

   Thank you for showing an interest in the recipe that I made last night. I have received a lot of positive feedback and a few requests for the recipes that I have been posting pictures of on Facebook so I think it's time to take the next step in this little experiment and see what happens.

     This all started out as a New Year's resolution for my wife (Ellen) and I to lose weight and get in shape. I have never dieted but Ellen had done one of the popular weight lose programs in the past so she suggested we do it together. My big concern since I do most of the cooking and I eat way too much fast-food at work was "what are we going to eat to help us be successful at our diets?". The answer came through my laziness, since I'm not the kind of person that has the patience and discipline to write down everything I eat I decided to enroll in an online program. A side benefit of this was that I was lead to thousands of recipes.
     The next step came to me while watching the movie "Julie and Julia", I didn't want to write a daily blog about everything I was trying to make but I thought maybe I could take some pictures, put them on Facebook, and see what happens. Well, here I sit two months later with no real idea where this is going and an interest to find out where the journey will lead. If you are interested, you are welcome to join me.
But first:
     When I started this I had not thought out a plan or the implications and ramifications of what I was doing and to this day I still haven't. So as I move forward I think that it would be best if I don't use any names or references to anything that might be trademarked or protected by law. Also, I have no training in the areas of cooking or photography. My cooking consists of me following recipes and challenging myself to make dishes that I have never cooked before. The recipes tend to have an easy to moderate difficulty level and all require a certain amount of trial and error. As far as my photography goes I am simply putting the food on a plate and taking a few pictures of it and picking the one I like best. I have no delusions that my cooking or photos will ever win any awards but I do hope that they are at least at a level that allows me to show you what I am making and possibly entertain you for a few minutes.
     So, let's get started. Today's dinner, Roast Pork with Potatoes & Vegetables, is one that I've made a couple of times and really enjoy. This dinner is very easy to make and doesn't require anything special beyond Fennel Seeds but it does take some time(1 hour in the oven) to make. A side benefit of the long cooking time is that this dinner will fill your house with amazing smells. The thing that makes this different from a standard pork roast is the Fennel Seed and Olive Oil rub, the only way that I can describe it is "Wow", the Fennel Seeds add a flavor that simply has to be tried. The roast itself came out very moist and tender. The first time I made this dinner I wasn't fully satisfied with the vegetables which I will address in a minute but I was pleasantly surprised by the potatoes. About a year ago I heard someone say that perfectly roasted potatoes should have a creamy texture but I couldn't understand what that meant. When I tried the potatoes I had an a'ha moment as I discovered that creaminess that I hadn't understood.
     The two trial & error lessons that I learned were first that I shouldn't have roasted this in a glass baking dish as it caused the vegetables to become mushy and almost dissolve. The way I fixed this is by using a metal roasting pan the second time. The second problem I encountered was that since this is a two pound roast meant to serve 8 plus an equivalent amount of potatoes and vegetables it requires a large roasting pan. With that in mind I decided not to buy a new large pan but instead I opted to put the roast in one medium pan and the veggies in another medium pan. This worked out to be as no-cost solution.
     With all of that out of the way, let's get down to business.

      Roast Pork Dinner with Potatoes & Vegetables

Prep time  20min   Cook time  60 min   Serves  8

Ingredients

2 Sprays cooking spray

2 Tbsp olive oil, divided

2 Tbsp minced garlic

1 Tbsp fennel seeds

1 1/2 tsp dried oregano

1 1/2 tsp salt, divided

2 pound uncooked lean pork loin, use 1 whole 2 lb boneless roast

2 medium green peppers, cut into 8 wedges each

1 large red onion, peeled and cut into 12 wedges

24 baby potatoes, red variety, cut in half if large

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400F. Line a large roasting pan with heavy duty aluminum foil (for easy clean-up, if desired) and coat with cooking spray.

In a small bowl, combine 1 Tbsp oil, garlic, fennel seeds, oregano, 1 tsp salt and 1 tsp pepper. Rub mixture all over pork; place pork in prepared pan.

Add vegetables and potatoes to pan; drizzle them with remaining Tbsp oil. Sprinkle them with remaining 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper, toss to coat.

Roast, uncovered, tossing vegetables and potatoes halfway through cooking, until meat thermometer inserted in center of pork registers 160F and vegetables are tender, about 1 hour.

Transfer pork to a cutting board and let stand for 10 minutes before slicing. Slice pork and arrange on a serving platter; spoon any juices from cutting board over pork.

Put vegetables and potatoes in a serving bowl or place on platter with pork. Serve.


     In closing, this is one of my favorite dinners that I have made in the last two months and it consistently
amazes me with it's flavor and textures. As I finish typing this I'm already looking forward to the next time I make it. If you make this recipe please leave a comment and let me know how it worked out for you.


     Next week - Chicken Milanese with Arugula Salad or Musicians and The Art of Shameless Self Promotion.