Tuesday, December 26, 2006

 

porky christmas

This has been a very porktastic christmas. Not only was pork on the menu at more than one holiday feast, but it was offered as presents as well.

It all started at dinner with the boss at one of Cambridge's finest bistrots. The chef sent out a VA ham consomee with a breaded and fried pieces of pork belly on the side. This prompted a conversation about how great pork products are and the many excellent preparations we've made/eaten.

This planted in my mind an idea for the Boss's gift. He ended getting a soppressata from Sessa's and a slab of wild boar bacon from Savenor's as well as a few bottles of Belgian beer from me for christmas.

I brought another Soppressata home for use at xmas eve and in turn was given one as a gift under the tree. Nothing says christmas like charcuterie.

For family dinner at chirstmas, we had some large pork loin roasts and ham along with some lasagna and sides. The pork loin is usually a little tough to work with as it can very easily be overcooked but we pulled it off with good results. I brined them for a few hours (I didn't think to do it over night) in salt, maple syrup, bay leaves, mustard and this cracked pepper and citrus zest combo that I found in the spice cabinet. Later I used that pepper/zest stuff again as the base for a dry rub before roasting. It came out pretty well, I'm happy to say. A little dry but the coarse pepper and zest made for a delicious crust.

I received cheese and beer as a gift after dinner and despite the lack of pork, I was very happy.

Merry christmas and hapy new year!

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