This is the perfect meal for a busy weekend when you don’t want to spend hours in the kitchen. The pork can roast for eight hours, get it ready to go in the oven the night before and first thing in the morning. Pop it in the oven and you’re set. The side dishes are easy and can be prepared an hour before you’re ready to eat.
Roast Pork
Smashed New Potatoes
Autumn Salad
Pumpkin Dip with Ginger Snaps
Roast Pork
I’m one for giving credit where credit is due. I first found this recipe through the Food Network and one of their celebrity chef’s Michael Chiarello. Chef Chiarello is an outstanding chef, based in the California Wine Country. His “Napa Style” business always catches my fancy! The use of aromatic spices he incorporates into this recipe make it heavenly. Dinner guests will come through the front door and be instantly captivated by the sensual smell of the pork, sauteed onions and the special spice blend. I’ve made a couple of changes over the years, but left the recipe close to its original version.
1 five pound pork butt or shoulder
Rinse the pork off and blot dry. With a sharp knife, separate the fat layer from the meat itself, but do not remove.
2 large yellow onions, peeled and thinly sliced
1 tablespoon olive oil
Cook the sliced onion in olive oil for 10 minutes, tossing to brown lightly.
Rub:
2 tablespoons of your favorite jerk seasoning
2 tablespoons fennel seeds
1 tablespoon ground cardamom
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
Heat the fennel seeds in a small skillet until they are just “popping”. Place the seeds in a grinder (I have an extra coffee grinder I use exclusively for spices). Mix with the other spices and set aside.
Sprinkle half of the rub mixture on the meat and top with the cooked onions. Pull the fat over the meat and secure with butcher’s twine or clamps. Top with the remaining rub mixture. Line a shallow baking dish with foil and place the meat in it. Bake for eight hours at 275 degrees.
Smashed New Potatoes
4 – 6 potatoes (one per person
12 whole New Potatoes (or Other Small Yukon Gold Potatoes)
3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
Sea Salt and cracked black pepper to taste
1/2 cup chopped fresh flat leaf parsley and fresh chives, combined
Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add in as many potatoes as you wish to make and cook them until they are fork-tender.
On a sheet pan, generously drizzle olive oil. Place tender potatoes on the cookie sheet leaving plenty of room between each potato.
Press down gently on each potato with a potato masher until it slightly mashes.Turn the potatoes around and mash from the opposite direction. Brush the tops of each crushed potato generously with more olive oil.
Sprinkle potatoes with kosher salt, fresh ground black pepper and fresh chopped herbs
Bake in a 450 degree oven for 20-25 minutes until golden brown.
Autumn Salad
1 head organic red leaf lettuce
1 small bag organic baby arugula
1 small bag organic baby spinach
1 granny smith apple, cut in thin slices and then in thirds
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 red onion, finely diced
1 small log goat cheese crumbled
Cider vinaigrette
1/2 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1/4 teaspoon dry mustard
sea salt and pepper to taste
Whisk together and pour over the salad, tossing to mix well.
Pumpkin Dip with Ginger Snaps
1 large can pumpkin
2 8 ounce packages of cream cheese softened
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ginger
4 cups confectioners sugar
Mix the pumpkin and cream cheese, blending well. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well. Put the mixture in a half of a small, hollowed out pumpkin and chill until ready to serve. I use our local Harris Teeter brand ginger snaps, placing them around the bowl of pumpkin dip on a serving plate. Serve with a steaming hot cup of coffee with a bit of Irish Cream added for a delicious dessert.
