Tonight we opened our second bottle of wine from the March Domke Market's Monthly Wine Club! Owner Brooke Goff suggested pairing it with a pork loin and vegetables so here is what we came up with! By the way the Head High Pinot Noir was wonderful and was great with our meal! Hats off to Brooke for knowing her wines and the ideal food options!
Pork Loin
~If you decide to cook it in a clay pot like I did, there are a couple of things you need to know. First, be sure and soak the pot for at least 20 minutes in water.
~Layer potatoes, (salt them) onions & celery in the dish. You can add garlic also if you want to. As much as I love garlic, tonight I skipped that ingredient.
~Place the well seasoned pork loin on top of the vegetables. I salted the pork loin a couple of hours prior to cooking it. Next I rubbed it down with McCormick's Applewood Grill Rub, some extra smoked paprika, a dash of cumin & parsley for looks!
~Put the lid on your pot and put it in a COLD oven. You'll want to cook this on high heat at about 475 for at least an hour. We went a full 90 minutes and as you can see we had a crusty outer layer and it was moist and juicy inside! It is important to start your clay pot in a cold oven and allow it to warm at the same time.
Asparagus
~ I am fortunate to have an asparagus steam pot, so I put enough water in it to cover the bottom, add a generous amount of kosher salt and bring to a boil.
~Place cleaned asparagus tips into the pot and steam for 5 minutes or so. Just pull out a stalk (use tongs) and see if it is the right consistency for you.
~Plate & grate your favorite cheese on top. We used the Satori Raspberry Bellavitano and it was delicious!
Garber Farms Sweet Potato
~This one is quick & easy - microwave it...need I say more?
~Add a tab of real butter and you are set.
~Tonight's potato was so sweet, that I could have skipped the butter all together.
New Orleans Style Cabbage
~ Clean the cabbage and cut into 1 1/2 inch slices and put in your largest stock/soup pot. Ours was completely filled to the brim with cabbage, but after cooking it down on medium high heat for about 8 minutes it reduced to half the pot. Hubby added about a 1/2 inch of water to the bottom of the pot. The key is to stay with it, constantly turning it using tongs. (You can add real ham to this if you want to).
~ After the cabbage cooks down, drain off as much water as possible.
~ Transfer to a deep covered saute pan. Ours is a 5 quart size.
~ Add seasonings - Hubby used kosher salt, fresh ground pepper, smoked paprika.
~ Let this cook down on medium heat and keep draining off the excess water for about 5 minutes.
~ Next add dark Caro syrup. Stir it in and taste...you will know if you need to add more. Cook this down for five minutes, covered.
~ Serve hot, salt & pepper to taste.
Zatarains Honey Cornbread Muffins
~ As delicious as these looked on the box, they were a disappointment. We'll go back to making ours from scratch.
Thanks to everyone for watching our Facebook live! It really is fun to open up our kitchen and invite you in! I'm expecting some of my neighbors to ring the doorbell during one of these with an empty plate in hand! Just be warned you are going to be joining me on camera!
~Charlsie
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