the secret is in the sauce

every thursday, we try to have dinner with our friends matt and katie sweenlinghouse (sween + garlinghouse... now that they're engaged we can give them a proper last name :). we take turns with hosting, and whoever hosts does the cooking. and, of course, since this is the sweenlinghouses we're talking about: before, during and after dinner, we drink plenty of wine and/or beer.

our actual hit rate has been more like two thursdays a month, which is still pretty good if you ask me. (and you were asking me, right?) we didn't actually have dinner with them tonight (...), but we did last thursday. well, ok, so actually only *I* had dinner with them; kevin couldn't go b/c he had to work late. (excuse me, but do you MIND not looking at me like that?!? a girl has to eat!)

anyway, last week was a little impromptu, so even though we had dinner at katie and matt's, i cooked b/c i had already had a pork leg "scheduled." (i plan our food for the week on the friday before and buy all the ingredients over the weekend.) below is the recipe from dinner. you really can't go wrong with it, as it's marinated overnight in a pool of deliciousness, which is then turned into an even delicious-er sauce. we ate it with crispy roasted baby red potatoes and baby carrots, but of course feel free to serve it with whatever sides you prefer.


Honey & Dijon-Mustard Roasted Pork

1 bottle of amber ale
1 cup Dijon mustard
3/4 cup honey (I like orange blossom raw honey from Marshall's Farm)
1/2 cup olive oil (try Stonehouse)
3 tbsps chopped fresh rosemary
4 cloves garlic, crushed

1 4-lb boneless pork leg

1 cup half & half
salt and pepper to taste

Place first 6 ingredients into a medium bowl and whisk until blended. Pour marinade into a gallon-sized ziploc bag, place pork inside bag, remove air and seal shut, making sure pork is immersed in marinade. Refrigerate overnight.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Reserving marinade, transfer pork to rack in roasting pan and roast until meat thermometer registers 150°F. Let rest for 15 minutes.

While meat is resting, strain marinade into medium saucepan; add half & half and any juices from roast pan. Boil until sauce reduces to about half, about 20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Slice pork and arrange on serving platter. Serve with sauce on side. Serves 6.

two out of three ain't bad

i'm not ashamed to admit that i love meatloaf. (no, i don't mean the singer, i mean the dish.) there are some who will deny that they, too, enjoy a good meatloaf, but i'm willing to bet big money these same people are the ones responsible for all the missing "pigs-in-blanket" appetizers at parties. it's an eternal mystery how no one will admit to liking those tasty morsels, yet they're always the first disappear. hrm, hrm... now, either i'm eating way more than i realize OR others are also gorging themselves. (ok, so i'm willing to entertain the idea that maybe it's BOTH) *i*, on the other hand, have NO problem fessing up to my love for pastry-wrapped mini hot dogs.

but we were talking about meatloaf.

meatloaf - despite its somewhat yucko name (i mean, really, i don't blame anyone for not finding the word "meatLOAF" very appetizing) - is actually a very tasty food. and leftovers always make for yummylicious sandwiches for lunch later in the week. (mmmmm, meatloaf sammishes, mmmmm) the key to a good meatloaf is to make sure it stays moist. the two ways to do this are 1) make sure your wet : dry ingredient ratio is in balance and 2) don't overbake it. much like you can ruin a great batch of brownies by overbaking, you can do the same to meatloaf.

below is my favorite meatloaf recipe. *sigh* every time i make it, i'm reminded of the apartment i lived in for both my junior and senior years in college (111 dryden rd, for those of you who're familiar with ithaca, ny). it was here that i really started to try to cook things other than desserts and realized i actually enjoyed it. and to think, this was only last year. haha, folks, just kidding. hard to believe it's been over 13 years. (just nod your heads and agree. that's right, it's very hard to believe. now, tell me how young i look. excellent, excellent. ;)


Caroline's Meatloaf
1 lb ground beef (I use meat from Marin Sun Farms)
1 small yellow onion, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 medium eggs, lightly beaten
2/3 cup fresh salsa
1/2 cup plain breadcrumbs
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper

Preheat oven to 350 deg. Combine all ingredients into bowl and mix until well combined (just use your hands, it's the most efficient). Place mixture in a 1-lb loaf pan and shape to fit evenly. Bake for an hour, or until meatloaf registers 160 deg with meat thermometer. Serves 4; serve with salsa instead of the usual (boring) gravy or ketchup. If you're lucky, there might be enough leftovers for a sandwich or two!