Pork

I was worried that this would be too spicy for Jay, but it wasn't. Instead, it was plain yummy. I made a slight change to the quinoa salad - the tomatoes are supposed to be dressed with olive oil and served on the side. I just mixed them in with the quinoa salad, which I would definitely like to make again. I was too lazy to make anything else for dinner, but the salad was pretty filling so it was fine. The tart was good, but not make-again good.

• Quinoa and Chili-Scented Pork Chops with Roasted Red Pepper Dressing (Whole Grains Every Day, Every Way, p. 156)
• Chocolate and Polenta Tart (Dolce Italiano, p. 154)

Wine: Ridge 2004 Carmichael Zinfandel (Sonoma County, California). Wow - one of the best Zins we've had from Ridge in a while. This is the first Carmichael we've had, but we have three more bottles.

This dinner choice came out of the desire to not shop anywhere but Trader Joe's. I had uncured turkey bacon in the refrigerator, so I skipped out on the pancetta and used that instead. We really liked this pasta.

• Penne with Pancetta, Spinach & Buttery Crumb Topping (Cooking Light, March 2007)
• Trader Joe's Mixed Greens Salad
• Sourdough bread with Sauteed Garlic Butter (Fine Cooking #43, March 2001, p. 49)

Wine: Topel 2003 La Mariage Meritage (Mendocino, California). An inexpensive but good red wine blend.

Larry made pork chops for dinner tonight. I pitched in and made the polenta. We really liked the pork chops, and they were pretty easy to make.

• Deviled Pork Chops (Fine Cooking #91, March 2008, p. 86a)
• Trader Joe's Spinach Salad
• Creamy Goat Cheese Polenta (Fine Cooking #57, May 2003, p. 86C)

Jay was here for pork chops tonight - I've made these before. Larry's sick of poppyseed dressing so I went back to the creamy black pepper dressing, which he really likes (but it's a little hot for Jay).

• Pork Chops with Maple-Ginger Pan Sauce (Fine Cooking #70, March 2005, p. 49)
• Oven-Roasted Cauliflower
• Butter Lettuce with Creamy Black Pepper Dressing (Fine Cooking #51, July 2002, p. 48)

These noodles were delicious and really quick and easy to make. I love meals like this. And I definitely have a thing for noodles.

• Pork Lo Mein with Seared Scallions & Shiitakes (Fine Cooking #87, September 2007, p. 54)

Amy suggested I take a look at this stew. As soon as I saw that it was made with pork shoulder - one of my favorite cuts of meat, I knew it would be perfect for tonight. I wanted to make something that could be done ahead of time so I didn't have to deal with a bunch of last-minute stuff. It was good, although a little spicy for Jay. And the focaccia was delicious as usual.

The blueberry pie was a test recipe for Cook's Illustrated. Really good! Larry wants me to make it again for sure.

• Pork Stew with Green Chiles, Orange & Cilantro (Fine Cooking Comfort Food 2005, p. 68)
• Rosemary Focaccia (No Need to Knead, p. 40)
• Butter Lettuce and Radiccio with Tomatoes & Lemon Poppyseed Dressing (Fine Cooking #51, July 2002, p. 48)
• Blueberry Pie (Cook's Illustrated Test Recipe)

Larry made dinner tonight since he's off work this week. This was good - I like pork tenderloin a lot. We weren't sure about the sauce but it all came together well in the end.

• Apple Adobo Pork and Couscous (Cooking Light, April 2003)
• Butter Lettuce and Radiccio with Tomatoes & Lemon Poppyseed Dressing (Fine Cooking #51, July 2002, p. 48)

We had carnitas again last night. I've made a couple of changes to the recipe, and I have to say I could eat a LOT of these. We had them with Trader Joe's homemade corn tortillas - a mistake, actually. I usually buy flour tortillas for carnitas, but we had corn on hand from tacos that we didn't make. They were really delicious with the slightly warmed corn tortillas. We serve them with chopped cilantro, guacamole and sour cream.

Instead of using the traditional lard to make these carnitas, the meat braises in the oven until it falls apart, then it's crisped up under the broiler.

Carnitas
Adapted from Cook's Illustrated
Serves 4

1 (3 - 3.5 lb.) boneless pork butt, fat cap trimmed to 1.8 thick, cut into 2-inch chunks
Salt
Black Pepper
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 small onion, peeled and quartered
2 bay leaves
1 tsp. dried oregano
2 Tbsp. lime juice
2 cups water
1 medium orange

Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 300 degrees. Combine pork, 1 tsp. salt, 1/2 tsp. pepper, cumin, onion, bay leaves, oregano, lime juice and water in a large Dutch oven (liquid should just barely cover meat). Juice orange, removing seeds. Add 1/3 cup orange juice. Cut spent orange halves in half and add to pot. Bring mixture to simmer over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally. Cover pot and transfer to oven; cook until meat is soft and falls apart when prodded with fork, about 2 hours.

Remove pot from oven and turn oven to broil. Using slotted spoon, transfer pork to bowl; remove oranges, onion and bay leaves from cooking liquid. Place pot over high heat and simmer liquid, stirring frequently, until thick and syrupy (a heatproof spatula should leave a wide trail when dragged through glaze), 8 to 12 minutes. Defat the liquid - there should be about 1 cup reduced, defatted liquid.

Using two forks, pull each piece of pork in half. Season with salt and pepper to taste; fold in reduced liquid. Spread pork in even layer on wire rack set inside a rimmed baking sheet, or on a broiler pan (meat should cover almost entire surface of rack or broiler pan). Place baking sheet on lower-middle rack and broil until well-browned (but not charred) and edges of meat are slightly crisp, 10 to 15 minutes. Serve immediately with warm corn tortillas and garnishes.

• Carnitas (Cook's Illustrated test recipe)
• Black Beans

I made these wraps, which are similar to mu shu pork, with the last of the leftover pork roast. They're delicious and something I definitely want to make again.

• Chinese Pork & Mushroom Wraps (Fine Cooking #90, December 2007, p. 40)

I used some of the leftover pork from Sunday to make this stew. It's good, not spectacular but good. The leftover pork is excellent. I probably won't make this again.

• New Mexican Pork & Green Chile Stew (Fine Cooking #90, December 2007, p. 41)

Tonight was not my best cooking night. My timing was all off, but I partially blame Fine Cooking - their cooking times for a 4-pound pork roast were way off in this recipe. Everything was still really good, especially the fregola, which is a small rolled and toasted pasta from Sicily. The idea behind making a huge pork roast for just three of us is that it's enough to provide leftovers during the week. We didn't especially like the pudding cake. The flavor was really good, but the pudding part of it was weird.

• Roasted Pork Loin with Maple-Mustard Crust (Fine Cooking #90, December 2007, p. 38)
• Fregola with Wild Mushrooms, Sherry & Cream (Fine Cooking #90, December 2007, p. 42)
• Fennel Layered with Potatoes & Breadcrumbs (Tortiera di Finocchi e Patate) (Fine Cooking #90, December 2007, p. 49)
• Maple Brown Sugar Pudding Cake (King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking, p. 418)

I love carnitas. I don't order it very often when we go out because I know it's delicious because it's loaded with fat. So I was excited to try out this recipe for Cook's Illustrated. The recipe is just about perfect as written, and perfect results are achieved without soaking the meat in extra fat. I loved this dish and will definitely make it again. We served it with tortillas, sour cream and guacamole.

• Carnitas (Cook's Illustrated test recipe)
• Black Beans

Another delicious recipe from Cooking Light - I no longer subscribe to the magazine, but I pick up the special issues every once in a while. It seems to cut down on the risk of ending up with some of the mediocre recipes that end up in the magazine. We also really liked the brussels sprouts. They ended up nutty with a nice texture, nothing like the Brussels sprouts of our childhood, which were probably frozen and then steamed and served plain.

I think this gingerbread is one of Larry's favorites from Whole Grain Baking. It's delicious, and really quick and easy to make. One notable ingredient is brown sugar corn syrup, which surprisingly is NOT carried by my local Whole Foods, but is carried by the Pak-n-Sav across the street. I almost subbed regular corn syrup instead but decided at the last minute to check Pak-n-Sav. There is a huge flavor difference between the two, and I'm glad I found it.

• Pork Chops with Ginger-Cherry Sauce (Cooking Light, May 2006)
• Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Dijon, Walnuts & Crisp Crumbs (Fine Cooking #89, December 2007, p. 57)
• Roasted Potato Planks with Rosemary and Lemon (Fine Cooking #49, March 2002, p. 82b)
• Gingerbread (King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking, p. 425)

Also quick, and apparently we're on some sort of pork kick. We liked the hoisin stir fry better, but this was decent. Maybe a little greasy.

• Pork Lo Mein (Fine Cooking #88, November 2007, p. 56)

This was a good, quick stir-fry. I love hoisin. And napa cabbage.

• Hoisin Pork with Napa Cabbage (Fine Cooking #88, November 2007, p. 98a)

Jay was here for dinner, and it was (as is usually the case) something quick and easy. We loved the pork tenderloin, especially the fried sage leaves. The tart was good, but wasn't as delicious as I had hoped. Maybe more filling would have helped. I don't know. I love figs, and Deborah Madison recipes are usually really good. But this isn't something I would make again.

• Pork Tenderloin with Sage & Marsala Sauce (Fine Cooking #88, November 2007, p. 26)
• Creamy Goat Cheese Polenta (Fine Cooking #57, May 2003, p. 86C)
• Butter Lettuce and Radiccio with Tomatoes & Lemon Poppyseed Dressing (Fine Cooking #51, July 2002, p. 48)
• Fresh Fig Tart with Orange Flower Custard (Fine Cooking #28, September 1998, p. 70)

Wine: J 2004 Pinot Noir (Russian River Valley, California). A gift from Assana. Very nice Pinot.

Usually I plan a meal by picking the main course, then figure out what we're going to have with it. But we were in Point Reyes this past week, and on our way out yesterday we stopped in at the farmer's market.

It's a very tiny market, with just three produce stands and some other miscellaneous artisan food vendors (plus someone selling wool). These three produce vendors sell the most perfect, lucious produce. I wanted to buy everything. I limited myself to two heads of delicious looking butter lettuce, a bunch of ruby red crescents, two bunches of aromatic tiny red scallions and a bunch of jewel-toned carrots (red, yellow orange).

Larry and Jay both liked dinner. The carrots and potatoes were on their way to disaster and I somehow saved them - I added too much water to the carrots and the potatoes ended up water-logged and mushy. Somehow it all came together.

I've been meaning to make blueberry turnovers for a few weeks now. I made the crust at one point, didn't like how it turned out, and started over with a different crust recipe. I ended up freezing the crust finally because I kept procrastinating. Finally tonight I got it together and made up the recipe, using blueberries, cornstarch, lemon juice and sugar. I glazed the crust with milk and sprinkled turbinado sugar on the top. I expected exploding blueberries, and I got what I expected. You just can't expect turnovers to stay together.

• Pork Chops with Country Gravy (Cooking Light, June 2006)
• Smashed Parslied Potatoes (Fine Cooking #75, Holidays Winter 2006, p.90c)
• Classic Glazed Carrots (Fine Cooking #55, January 2003, p. 53)
• Butter Lettuce with Chives, Red Scallions, Tomatoes & Lemon Poppyseed Dressing (Fine Cooking #51, July 2002, p. 48)
• Blueberry Turnovers

Wine: Midlife Crisis 2004 Barbera (Paso Robles, California). Delicious wine. I love Barbera and I've finally gotten Larry to admit that he likes it too. I want more of this.

A quick weeknight dinner - Larry really loved the pork chops, especially the sauce. The polenta was good but not as good as my usual goat cheese and cream polenta.

• Pork Chops with Maple Mustard Glaze (Cooking Light, May 2006)
• Creamy Two-Cheese Polenta (Cooking Light, November 2003)
• Trader Joe's Spinach Salad

I love cooking pork tenderloin like this - butterflied and grilled, so it cooks very quick. We both liked this, and the sauce wasn't too peanut-y at all.

• Grilled Asian Pork Tenderloin with Peanut Sauce (Fine Cooking #86, July 2007, p. 78A)
• Roasted Cauliflower
• Sauteed Snap Peas with Sesame Oil

We were just so-so on the linguine tonight. I don't know what it was about it. Larry said he didn't like the chorizo - but it's the good Spanish chorizo I normally buy. I thought there was too much linguine (I used whole wheat, by the way). I made half a recipe, which should have served 2-3, but I think we could have served two more people. I don't like having leftover seafood.

• Linguine with Shrimp & Chorizo (Fine Cooking #83, January 2007, p. 82A)
• Butter Lettuce with Poppy Seed & Tarragon-Crème Fraîche Dressing (Fine Cooking #86, July 2007, p. 49)
• Sourdough bread with Sauteed Garlic Butter (Fine Cooking #43, March 2001, p. 49)

Jay was here for dinner tonight. Everything was good. We had been craving this polenta, which I don't make very often because it's kind of decadent. We liked the pork - not too lemony.

• Pork Scaloppine with Prosciutto, Sage & Caramelized Lemon (Fine Cooking #77, February 2006, p. 53)
• Beets & Shallots with Crisp Prosciutto Dressing (Cooking New American, p. 187)
• Creamy Goat Cheese Polenta (Fine Cooking #57, May 2003, p. 86C)

Wine: David Bruce 2000 Estate Pinot Noir, Commemorative Edition (Santa Cruz Mountains, California). I was afraid this wine would be past it's time - but I think we drank it at the perfect time. A really good, classic David Bruce Pinot.

Larry picked this recipe out for our weekly dinner with Jay tonight - not only does he love pork chops, but he also loves gravy. I didn't start cooking until 6, and dinner was still on the table by 7:20pm. Fast, and easy. Larry and Jay loved the pork chops. The veggies were good but not make-again good.

We had Blueberry Buckle Coffee Cake for dessert. Yum!

• Pork Chops with Country Gravy (Cooking Light, June 2006)
• Baked Fennel and Tomatoes with Herbs (Cooking Light, March 2005)
• Buttermilk Mashed Potatoes with Chives (Fine Cooking #81, November 2006, p. 61)

Wine: Four Vines 2003 Dusi Vineyard Zinfandel (Paso Robles, California). Mmmm, fruity Zinfandel. Four Vines makes one of our favorite low-cost Zins.

Larry really loved this chili. The recipe specifies Spanish chorizo, which is already cooked and more firm than Mexican chorizo. I normally get my Spanish chorizo from The Spanish Table in Berkeley, but Whole Foods also carries it under their own label. It's not as good as the chorizo from The Spanish Table, but it's fine for this recipe.

Black Bean and Chorizo Chili

1 (7-ounce) can chipotle chiles in adobo sauce
Cooking spray
2 1/2 cups chopped onion, divided
1 1/2 cups chopped green bell pepper
1 1/2 cups chopped red bell pepper
5 garlic cloves, minced
3 links Spanish chorizo sausage, diced (about 6 1/2 ounces)
1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 (15-ounce) cans black beans, drained
3 (14-ounce) cans whole peeled tomatoes, undrained and chopped
1 (8 1/2-ounce) can no-salt-added whole-kernel corn, drained
1 1/2 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
3/4 cup fat-free sour cream
Baked tortilla chips (optional)

Remove 2 chiles from can; finely chop, reserving remaining chiles and sauce for another use.

Heat a large Dutch oven coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add chiles, 1 3/4 cups onion, bell peppers, garlic, and chorizo; sauté 5 minutes or until tender. Add chili powder and next 7 ingredients (chili powder through corn), stirring to combine. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer, covered, 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat; stir in chocolate, salt, and black pepper.

Ladle 1 cup chili into each of 12 bowls. Top each serving with 1 tablespoon sour cream and 1 tablespoon onion. Serve with tortilla chips.

Yield: 12 servings (serving size: 1 cup)

CALORIES 311 (24% from fat); FAT 8.4g (sat 3.2g,mono 3.4g,poly 1g); PROTEIN 16.5g; CHOLESTEROL 13mg; CALCIUM 95mg; SODIUM 888mg; FIBER 12.9g; IRON 4.1mg; CARBOHYDRATE 43.9g

• Black Bean and Chorizo Chili (Cooking Light, March 2003)

I love lentils. So I figured I would really like this dish. But it was kind of bland. Larry thought it went well with the leftover mashed potatoes from last night, though.

I made this pie late yesterday, so we didn't have a chance to eat it. I'd been wanting to make it, and since we just came back from Florida without eating one slice of key lime pie, I thought this would be a perfect time to make it. It's really yummy, although I think I prefer a traditional graham cracker crust. I'm usually a pretty good crust-maker, but I thought this one was a bit tough and it stuck to the pie dish.

Larry made dinner for Jay and I tonight. It was really good! I like having a delicious meal that someone else cooks for me.

The pork recipe was actually for lamb chops, but since I don't like lamb, Larry substituted boneless pork loin chops instead. This was his first pan sauce, and it was executed perfectly. He found the recipe for the salad himself, and Jay and I both really liked it. He used fresh pomegranate seeds from Trader Joe's - very convenient.

I started to make this cake last night, and did the final assembly and frosting tonight. It was kind of a pain to put together, but it ended up looking nice, and Larry really liked it. Very lemony.

• Pork Chops with Pomegranate Red-Wine Sauce (Fine Cooking #76, January 2006, p. 86c)
• Quick-Roasted Winter Vegetables (Fine Cooking #25, March 1998, p. 33)
• Pomegranate Salad (Stanford Cancer Center)
• Triple-Lemon Layer Cake (Fine Cooking #63, September 2004, p. 66)

This was a pretty quick weeknight meal. It would have been even faster if I had done some of the prep the day before. Great flavors on the pork chops and squash.

• Coriander-Rubbed Pork Chops with Orange Hoisin Sauce (Fine Cooking #64, May 2004, p. 46)
• Sauteed Butternut Squash with Garlic, Ginger & Spices (Fine Cooking #81, November 2006, p. 59)

Wine: Arcadian 2003 Pinot Noir (Santa Maria Valley, California). I think I like this wine more than Larry does. Inexpensive, everyday Pinot.

My menu planning tonight started out like it does a lot of the time - with a side dish. Actually, I really wanted Zuni chicken, but that requires a previous-day head start.

I knew I wanted to try these green beans. I hate green beans. Not as much as I hate asparagus, but close. I haven't been able to find a way to cook them so that they're palatable to me - until now. Roasting is THE way to go with veggies. I really liked these. Nice and garlicky, with some crunch from the pine nuts. They didn't taste like green beans at all.

The pork chops were excellent. The sauce was really flavorful (although I ate around the mushrooms). Jay and Larry really liked it. In fact, Larry really liked the entire meal. The pork chop recipe is originally from The Cakebread Cellars Napa Valley Cookbook.

• Pork Chops with Mushroom-Caper Pan Sauce (Best of the Best Vol. 7, p. 74)
• Roasted Green Beans with Lemon, Pine Nuts & Parmigano (Fine Cooking # 82, December 2006, p. 55)
• Lemony Salt-Roasted Fingerling Potatoes (Food & Wine, October 2006)

Wine: Sonnet 2003 York Mountain Kruse Vineyard Pinot Noir (York Mountain, California). Out last bottle of Sonnet, but they're having a release party on Wednesday. Yummy as usual.

Jay was over for dinner, and I made a dish I had meant to make a few weeks ago. It sounded good, and it was. Not earth-shattering, but good. And easy to make. The bread salad was really good, although I've made a few now and this recipe isn't my favorite. Larry wasn't that crazy about the slaw so I probably won't make it again. The blueberry cake, though - I could have eaten the whole thing.

• Pork Medallions with Port Wine-Dried Cherry Pan Sauce (Cooking Light, July 2004)
• Grilled Sourdough Panzanella (Fine Cooking #80, September 2006, back cover)
• Buttermilk & Herb Cole Slaw (Fine Cooking #80, September 2006, p. 48)
• Blueberry-Lemon Cornmeal Cake (Fine Cooking #80, September 2006, p. 69)

Wine: Viansa 2000 Barbera Rose (California). It's been too hot for a heavy red wine - I'd have preferred a Pinot Noir with this dinner. This rose probably sat in the cellar too long. It was drinkable, but had too much residual sugar.

I whipped up some Simply Roasted Pork over the weekend so we'd have something to eat for lunches or a quick dinner. I also cooked up a huge batch of caramelized onions - just onions and some salt, I didn't follow the directions in this recipe, and I made up the horseradish spread for these sandwiches also.

The Simply Roasted Pork is so easy to make, and really versatile. I love it for sandwiches, and these were really tasty. Jay was over after work, so I made these up for our dinner. We both really liked them, and since everything was prepared ahead it was really simple to make everything. I toasted the bread first.

• Horseradish and Caramelized Onion Pork Sandwiches (Cooking Light, September 2004)
• Trader Joe's Spinach Salad

Jay was here for dinner tonight. I was looking for something to do on the grill since it's been kind of warm out, and I wanted something quick too since time was so short this weekend. The whole dinner was really good. Larry and Jay really liked the salad and the salsa a lot. I've been wanting to make this wheatberry salad for a very long time, so I was happy to see the recipe re-printed in Fine Cooking #79 - it got me thinking about the salad again. I love grains, especially grain salads. I liked everything (except the asparagus, of course).

• Grilled Pork Chops with Fennel-Paprika Spice Rub (Fine Cooking #79, July 2006, p. 40)
• Cherry Tomato Salsa with Capers & Green Olives (Fine Cooking #79, July 2006, p. 40)
• Summer Wheatberry Salad (Fine Cooking #28, September 1998, p. 39)
• Grilled Asparagus

Wine: David Bruce 2002 Truchard Vineyard Pinot Noir (Carneros, California). Yum, another excellent David Bruce Pinot.

Larry picked out this Mayan pork dish for dinner, and I went along with the notes in the recipe and served black beans and fried plantains to go with it. It reminded us of our December vacation in the Yucatan Peninsula. In fact, I used achiote paste that I brought back from Mexico for the marinade. The pork is marinated a mixture of achiote paste and biter orange juice, then baked in banana leaves (I used a clay pot as suggested). It was really tasty. This was my first time cooking with plantains. Easy, and good.

The shortbread and lemon curd were really, really yummy. I used Meyer lemons that my neighbor dropped off last week. I think I like the lemon curd that was left over from the berry tarts last week, though. Creamier, maybe.

• Cochinitas Pibil (The Turtle Bay Cookbook, p. 172)
• Black Beans
• Tostones (The Turtle Bay Cookbook, p. 111)
• Thick Scottish Shortbread (Fine Cooking #26, May 1998, p. 54)
• Lemon Curd (Fine Cooking #26, May 1998, p. 54)

Wine: ZAP 2001 Heritage Zinfandel (Napa Valley, California). This vintage was made by Joel Peterson of Ravenswood (a different winemaker makes the wine every year). It's a decent everday Zin.

The spice rub was really excellent. We used boneless pork loin chops again. I wasn't sure how the salsa would turn out - it sounded kind of odd, but it was actually not bad. The salad was pretty good, too.

• Grilled Pork Chops with Ginger, Cinnamon & Clove Spice Rub (Fine Cooking #79, July 2006, p. 41)
• Green Grape Salsa with Scallions and Mint (Fine Cooking #79, July 2006, p. 41)
• Grilled Potato, Corn & Red Onion Salad over Arugula (Fine Cooking #39, July 2000, p. 48)

Wine: David Bruce 2001 Syrah (Santa Cruz Mountains, California). Good, but not as good as the Novy we had last night.

Larry made dinner for me tonight. A very long day at work for me, so it was really nice to come home to a delicious dinner. And it was really good! He used boneless pork loin chops instead of tenderloin, and he cooked in on the (indispensable) grill pan. This is definitely a make-again.

• Pork Tenderloin with Cumin-Scented Tomatoes (Fine Cooking 101 Quick & Delicious Recipes, Fall 2004, p. 82)

Wine: Novy 2000 Syrah (Santa Lucia Highlands, California). Wow, what a nice wine. Really soft and still had some fruit. We have one more bottle of this. After drinking it, it was obvious why we decided to buy two bottles.

It's funny how I'll pick out a few things that I want to make, and when I actually read the recipes it turns out that the dishes share some ingredients and will tie together nicely. In tonight's case, there was lots of garlic, and both the salad and the potatoes had lemon, too. Overall a good meal. Jay came over even though it isn't Sunday - he and Larry did the 60k Tierra Bella ride today (Coco and I went to obedience school so I didn't ride).

- We all liked the pork roast, although it could have spent a little less time in the oven. I was worried about having dinner done by 7 and ended up putting the roast in a bit early. Also, the roast was very thick. It would have been better to have a thinner roast to make butterflying and rolling easier. Larry thought the milk solids that were left in the gravy were weird, but it tasted good. Next time, I'll strain the gravy in addition to de-fatting it. This recipe is also in Fine Cooking's Weekend Cooking special issue (along with the recipe for the potatoes).
- This salad was sooo good. I loved the zucchini like this, and I'm not a fan of summer squash. It was different and a nice change from the usual salads I make. I had been wanting to make something like this ever since I had a raw zucchini salad at a cooking demonstration at the Ferry Plaza Farmer's Market. Instead of slicing the squash into ovals, I peeled it and sliced it into long, thin strips. This recipe is also in Fine Cooking's Fresh special issue (the latest one).
- The potatoes were good but nothing special.
- Dessert was dark chocolate and a late harvest Zin.

• Roast Pork Loin with Garlic & Rosemary (Fine Cooking #53, November 2002, p. 53)
• Summer Squash Salad with Lemon, Capers & Parmesan (Fine Cooking #53, November 2002, p. 53)
• Mashed Potatoes with Lemon & Garlic (Fine Cooking #72, July 2005, p. 46)
• Dark Chocolate

Wine:
- David Bruce 2002 Truchard Vineyard Pinot Noir (Carneros, California). Typically delicious David Bruce Pinot. We drank the whole bottle. Mmm.
- Napa Cellars 2001 Late Harvest Zinfandel (Napa Valley, California). Really nice - not too sweet (8% residual sugar). Perfect with dark chocolate.

This is the third and final recipe I've made from an article on pork tenderloin (out of Fine Cooking). All of the recipes were really good. I prepped most of tonight's dinner last night. The pork would have benefitted from a longer marinade time, and I cut back on some of the cooking oil.

• Spicy Korean-Style Pork Medallions with Asian Slaw (Fine Cooking #78, May 2006, p. 32)

Wine: Cline 1999 Syrah (Los Carneros, California). Good - I wouldn't have paired a Syrah with this salad, but the article suggested a lush, rtruity red with a lot of tannin. It worked surprisingly well.

Jay was here for dinner tonight. This is the second pork tenderloin dish I made out of this article in the latest issue of Fine Cooking. Larry and Jay both liked it a lot. The filling is simple and I like the method of butterflying and pounding the tenderloin thin before adding the filling.

I found orange cauliflower at the farmer's market yesterday, so we had that in addition to a head of regular white cauliflower. Two huge heads of cauliflower and we ate all of it. It was excellent.

• Spinach & Mushroom-Stuffed Pork Tenderloin with Sherry Cream Sauce (Fine Cooking #78, May 2006, p. 51)
• Roasted Cauliflower
• Baby Romaine with Dried Cranberries, Walnuts, Stilton and Raspberry-Poppyseed Dressing

Wine: Arcadian 2003 Pinot Noir (Santa Rita Hills, California). Inexpensive, light Pinot. Okay - drinkable but not something that knocked my socks off.

Larry picked this recipe out of the latest issue of Fine Cooking as soon as it arrived. As I was browsing through the issue, I picked it out too - it just sounded so good! And it was. Larry loved it. I did too. Not too spicy, and I liked cutting and pounding the tenderloin into steaks.

I cut the sweet potatoes into fries and tossed them with salt, pepper, chipotle powder and chile powder, then baked them in the oven. I think I like them better in the convection oven - they get more crisp. They were still yummy.

• Grilled Spice-Rubbed Pork Tenderloin Steaks with Honey-Chipotle Barbecue Sauce (Fine Cooking #78, May 2006, p. 53)
• Chili-Spiced Sweet Potato Fries
• Trader Joe's Spinach Salad

Wine: Cosentino 2001 The Zin (Lodi, California). We won this bottle in a ZAP contest two years ago. This was a perfect time to drink it. It's just yummy. Yummy, yummy.

Jay came for dinner tonight. Larry asked for some sort of pork roast. I originally wanted to do a shoulder roast in the crock pot, but I didn't start it early enough and was indecisive about what I wanted to do with it.

This roast was really excellent. It practically melted in our mouths and I loved the onions and the cider-flavored sauce. I didn't do anything special with the sweet potatoes - just baked them and mashed them up with a teeny bit of butter, cream, salt and pepper. The recipe is also in The Gourmet Cookbook on page 476.

We had leftover cake from last night, and Jay loved it - I reminded him that Amy made it for him last year.

• Cider-Braised Pork Shoulder with Caramelized Onions (Gourmet, December 2001)
• Mashed Sweet Potatoes
• Sautéed Spinach with Garlic
• Fastest Fudge Cake (Fine Cooking #61, December 2003, P. 18e)

Wine: David Bruce 2001 Windsor Garden Pinot Noir (Russian River Valley, California). Lovely, as are most David Bruce Pinots.

I've been wanting to make this dish ever since this issue of Fine Cooking came out. Finally, I had most of the ingredients at home and the time to make it. Trader Joe's didn't have Bosc pears (they never do, and I wasn't willing to go to the OTHER grocery store), so I just used Asian pears. Bosc would have been more flavorful, but these weren't bad.

The balsamic vinaigrette is used to deglaze the pan after the pork is cooked, and the warm vinaigrette wilts the arugula. The vinaigrette will break if it's overheated - mine did. If this happens, it's possible to re-emulsify it if it hasn't been too overheated. I used a blender and strained out the chunks that formed from overheating (McGee has a good explanation of broken emulsifications). The trick with this vinaigrette is to have the pan hot enough for deglazing without breaking the sauce.

• Wilted Arugula Salad with Sauteéd Pork, Pears & Blue Cheese (Fine Cooking #77, March 2006, p. 82c)
• Sourdough bread with Sauteed Garlic Butter (Fine Cooking #43, March 2001, p. 49)

Wine: Windward 2002 Monopole Pinot Noir (Paso Robles, California). This is a good Pinot - beautiful strawberry nose. But it's Burgundian, and I'm a fruity wine kind of girl. Still good, just takes me a bit of time to get into it.

Amy mentioned over the weekend that she had been perusing Fine Cooking's Comfort Foods special issue. It got me thinking about things like pork roast, roasted apples and macaroni and cheese. I knew that tonight's meal would be all about comfort food - perfect, because I think Larry and Jay like those types of meals also. I love braised pork roast and I haven't made it for a long time, so picking the main dish was easy. Both the pork and the sweet potatoes are in the Comfort Foods issue as well.

- This pork roast is good, and even better is that it can be made the day before. I think braised dishes are better the next day anyway, although I didn't make this ahead. Pork and apple are made go to together.
- I thought Larry would love these sweet potatoes more than he did. They've got parsnips and carrots in addition to the sweet potatoes, and I loved the hint of ginger. He and Jay both liked the potatoes.
- This red cabbage is one of Larry's favorite dishes.
- Larry had a pear tarte Tatin at Lavanda a few weeks ago, and it was excellent. It was an individual serving size - more pastry than pear, which was yummy. Larry didn't especially like the almond pastry, but Jay and I both liked it. I used Comice pears, my favorite. I thought they might be too juicy for the dish but they ended up working out fine. I loved making this dish. The caramel turned out beautifully, and something about making a dessert in my well-seasoned cast iron pan was very satisfying. The crust was slightly difficult to work with, but who cares? It ended up on the bottom anyway.

• Pork Shoulder Braised with Apple Cider, Thyme & Tomatoes (Fine Cooking #49, March 2002, p. 60)
• Molasses Mashed Sweet Potatoes (Fine Cooking #47, November 2001, p. 60)
• Braised Red Cabbage with Red Zinfandel (Fine Cooking #31, March 1999, p. 37)
• Pear Tarte Tatin with Almond Pastry (Fine Cooking #23, November 1997, p. 70)

Wine: Domaine Alfred 2002 Chamisal Vineyards Pinot Noir (Edna Valley, California). Yum... ripe and plummy. This was a gift from the former CEO of Larry's company.

This recipe uses the barbecue pork I made earlier in the week, in addition to shrimp and veggies. It was really yummy. I made my own curry powder (slightly spicy) and the noodles had just the right amount of heat. Larry really liked this dish.

• Singapore Noodles (Fine Cooking #74, November 2005, p. 65)

Thanks to Amy's suggestion, I made two of these pork tenderloins (one recipe of marinade was plenty) - one for dinner tonight and one for making Singapore Noodles later in the week. I liked the pork, and it couldn't have been easier.

• Barbecue Pork (Fine Cooking #74, November 2005, p. 65)
• Wilted Spinach with Sauteed Garlic and Dried Cranberries

Larry picked this recipe for dinner out of the latest issue of Fine Cooking. I was unsure about the chutney - mainly because of the raisins, but I decided to make it as described. It was good, and Larry really liked it.

• Pan-Seared Pork Chops with Apple-Ginger Chutney (Fine Cooking #74, November 2005, p. 90c)
• Wilted Spinach with Sauteed Garlic

Wine: Robert Sinskey 2002 Pinot Noir (Carneros, California). This bottle was unusual for us in that we picked it up from a retail store the same day we bought it. We rarely buy wine from retail stores in the first place. But we were at Beverages and More, and saw the description: "pair with thinly sliced pork cutlets with a piquant chutney". Sounded like a good match for dinner. Since we know Sinskey is a good Pinot producer anyway, we bought it. It's a really nice wine. Odd nose - not Pinot-like at all, but well-balanced.

I meant to make this on Sunday but ended up not cooking. It was really, really easy to make. I imagine it could also be made with apricot preserves instead of hot pepper jelly. Larry really liked it, and I absolutely loved the peaches grilled.

• Pork Tenderloin with Tequila-Hot Pepper Glaze & Grilled Peaches (Fine Cooking #73, September 2005, p. 86c)
• Orzo with Butter and Parmesan
• Wilted Spinach with Sauteed Garlic and Dried Cranberries

Wine: Rosenblum 2001 Rockpile Road Zinfandel (Dry Creek Valley, California). I love every wine I've ever had from Rockpile. Excellent.

Mom, Cousin Jeanine and Great Aunt Al were here for dinner tonight. I wanted Zuni chicken (mainly for the bread salad), but I didn't want to make two chickens. Instead, Larry chose the pork recipe and I found another recipe for a bread salad. I made up my mind early in the week to make the tart this weekend.

- Neither one of us liked the bean dip very much. It's okay, but not as good as fresh hummus.
- The pork tenderloin is very good this way, and very easy to make. Larry grilled it perfectly.
- I used heirloom cannellini beans that I got at the Ferry Plaza farmer's market. They were excellent - meaty and delicious. They needed a lot of time to cook and some could have cooked a bit more by the time dinner came around.
- I loved this bread salad. I could have eaten the entire bowl. Larry really liked it too, but thinks the Zuni one is slightly better.
- I liked the tart, too. The filling is a chocolate-raspberry ganache. I used golden raspberries for part of the top - they're really yummy. Larry wasn't crazy about it, but everyone else seemed to like it.

• White Bean and Artichoke Dip with Pita Chips (Fine Cooking #51, July 2002, p. 86)
• Pork Tenderloin Grilled in Rosemary Leaves (Fine Cooking #28, September 1998, p. 90)
• Grilled Bread Salad with Tomatoes & Spicy Greens (Fine Cooking #58, July 2003, p. 38)
• White Beans with Rosemary & Olive Oil (Fine Cooking #19, March 1997, p. 37)
• Chocolate-Raspberry Tart with a Gingersnap Crust (Fine Cooking #52, September 2002, p. 66)

Wine: Ridge 2001 Del Carlo Zinfandel (Dry Creek Valley, California). Another lovely Ridge Zin. The second bottle will benefit from some more time in the bottle.

Brian was here for dinner last night. I scrapped plans for chicken and decided to make pork instead. I used 1" thick pork chops for the cutlets, and at the last minute changed my mind to make carrots instead of a spinach dish (Brian doesn't like spinach). Larry thought the dinner was just okay - he wasn't that wild about the pork, but liked the potatoes. I think I like the smashed red potatoes with the olive oil better. The cake was excellent. It probably could have cooked a few minutes less. (Note to self: Brian doesn't like strawberries).

• Pork Cutlets with Orange-Dijon Rosemary Sauce (Fine Cooking #43, March 2001, p. 43)
• Smashed Red-Skinned Potatoes with Boursin & Scallions (Fine Cooking #56, March 2003, p. 47)
• Glazed Carrots (Fine Cooking #42, January 2001 p.24)
• Vanilla & Sour Cream Pound Cake with Vanilla Glaze (Fine Cooking #71, May 2005, p. 69) with Mixed Berries

Wine: Merry Edwards 2002 Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir (Sonoma Coast, California). A bit closed, still. I wanted to open this because we've been allocated some of the 2003 vintage and I'm not sure what I want to buy. It's a nice wine, more traditional than the fruitier style of Pinot I like. We have another bottle of this but I'll wait a couple of years to open it.

Jay came for dinner tonight. I wanted to cook something instead of going out, so I ran to Trader Joe's and picked up a pork tenderloin. This was pretty good - both Larry and Jay liked it. It wasn't fabulous, but good and fast to make.

• Pork Tenderloin Medallions with Chinese Ginger and Lemon Sauce (Cooking Light, March 2005, p. 194)
• Stir-Fried Snow Peas and Green Onions (Cooking Light, March 2005, p. 194)
• Steamed White Rice

Larry had picked this out a couple of weeks ago, but there was something about it that he didn't like so much. I thought it was good. I picked up raw flour tortillas from Costco this weekend - yum! They were very good. Thin, but very fresh-tasting. This isn't a good weeknight meal - it took a couple of hours to make from start to finish, including the salsa base for the chili. I used pork chorizo since we don't eat very much beef.

• Chorizo and Black Bean Chili (Salsas That Cook, Rick Bayless, p. 96)
• Flour Tortillas

The pork chops we bought at Costco this weekend were extremely thick - about three inches thick, so we just had one for tonight's dinner. I cut it in half horizontally before I cooked it. The pan sauce was easy to make, and pretty good. I think I prefer a deeper-flavored sauce with pork.

• Pork Chops with Maple-Ginger Pan Sauce (Fine Cooking #70, March 2005, p. 49)
• Baked Sweet Potatoes

I always like to do some sort of Mexican food for Christmas Eve. This year, I chose a Mexican-style chili that I've wanted to make for a long time. Chili with pork shoulder is intriguing to me, and this one is nice because it's just pork shoulder with a complex tomato-chili paste.

- We served the chili with whole wheat tortillas, chopped onions and cilantro, guacamole and chips. The pork shoulder could have been more tender - I think this chili is a good candidate for a long(er), slow, simmer or the slow cooker. But otherwise, it was excellent - Larry really liked the chili paste.

- I was ready to start a pumpkin pie (which I hate but Larry loves), when I made a complete change of course and made this decadent Chocolate Tart. The filling is intensely chocolate, but the sweet creamy topping is a perfect foil. This was really simple to make and I had almost all of the ingredients on hand. I think I might want to make 1.5x times the crust - it ended up being a little thin on the bottom. Larry also bought some fantastic raspberries at Whole Foods, so we had those with it. I loved this tart, and so did Larry.

• Mexican-Style Chili (Fine Cooking #29, November 1998, p. 39)
• Chocolate Truffle Tart with Whipped Vanilla Mascarpone Topping (Fine Cooking #68, Holiday Baking Winter 2005, p. 54)

Wine: Sapphire Hill 2001 Tom Feeny Ranch Zinfandel (Russian River Valley, California). This wasn't a wine for dinner - the chili would be best with beer, but I opened this to have a glass while I was making dinner. Explosive fruit, yummy, yummy, yummy.

Ever since Amy made baked pasta last week, I've been craving it. She used a recent technique out of Fine Cooking, which I still want to try - but tonight I wanted something that was guaranteed to be quick and that included Italian sausage. This dish didn't disappoint - it was excellent. The flavors were perfectly melded, and it came together quickly. Once Larry got home, all I had to do was put them under the broiler. Larry said it's the best thing I've made in a long time and just what he was looking for.

I couldn't find hot Italian peppers, so I used mild and added some crushed red pepper to the mix. It was just the right amount of spiciness. I used whole wheat penne and Niman Ranch Italian sausage, in honor of Bill Niman, who we met last weekend at The Pasta Shop in Berkeley. Nice man with a company that is making excellent products.

• Double-Cheese Penne with Sausage & Hot Cherry Peppers (Fine Cooking #56, March 2003, p. 82c)
• Sourdough bread with Sauteed Garlic Butter (Fine Cooking #43, March 2001, p. 49)

This is a nice variation on veal piccata. It was easy to make and really tasty. I tried to make the orzo a little more healthy than I usually do, but I still think it's best with a little butter and parmesan. I ended up adding a bit of parmesan right before serving to give it a little boost. Larry really liked the pork.

• Pork Piccata (The Best of Cooking Light, Quick and Easy Around the Clock, p. 67)
• Orzo with Lemon, Parsley, Olive Oil and Parmesan.

Wine: Crane Canyon 2000 Etate Zinfandel, Elsbree Vineyard (Russian River Valley, California). I was in the mood for a big, juicy Zin tonight and this was a nice surprise. I didn't expect it to be as good as it was. Very tasty, big Zin.

Larry made dinner for Jay and I tonight. I helped a little with the potatoes, but these are so easy there's really not a whole lot to do. Put a little oil, rosemary leaves and salt in a cast iron pan and add the potatoes, cut side down. Stick the pan in the oven. That's it. I had another smoked trout fillet left over, so I whipped up more rillets. Also very simple, just add creme fraiche, pepper and chives.

I love tapioca pudding. Normally we buy it at Costco - made by Harry's Fresh Foods, it has all natural ingredients and tastes like homemade. It's the only commercially made tapioca I'll eat. There was a recent episode of Good Eats on pudding, though, and I had to try the tapioca that Alton Brown made in the episode. It couldn't have been easier - it's made in the slow cooker, and it's really creamy because of the whole milk and cream. It's time consuming only in that the tapioca pearls need to soak overnight, and the pudding cooks for a couple of hours. I was unsure about adding lemon zest - I really wanted to add vanilla instead, but I'm glad I added the lemon. It's a nice touch.

I liked the tapioca better when it was slightly warm - a better texture. Once it chilled, it was very gelled and not as smooth. I found that if I microwave a serving for 20 seconds in the microwave then mix in a little whole milk, I get the texture I'm looking for - plus it ends up being about room temperature.

• Smoked Trout Rillettes (Fine Cooking #42, January 2001, p. 44)
• Grilled Pork Chops
• Applesauce
• Skillet-Roasted Rosemary Potaotes (Fine Cooking #62, January 2004, p. 18)
• Tapioca Pudding (Good Eats, Puddin' Head Blues)

Larry and I made dinner together tonight. We wanted something quick and easy that wouldn't take a lot of work. This fit the bill perfectly. It's not as creamy as I'd expect, but it was very good. Larry especially liked the addition of peas.

• Pasta Carbonara (Fine Cooking #43, March 2001, p. 90)
• Sourdough bread with Sauteed Garlic Butter (Fine Cooking #43, March 2001, p. 49)

Larry's dad, Wayne, is in town for a while for Thanksgiving. Since it's a dead week at work, I got home relatively early in time to make dinner. Larry had asked for pork chops since it's one of Wayne's favorites. I made my standard red cabbage and Potatoes Fondantes. Good, solid performers. We had applesauce that we picked up from a farmer's market in Washington, DC last weekend. It was excellent - extra creamy, a mixture of McIntosh and another type of apple, can't remember which. Larry really liked this meal. Larry picked up the boneless loin chops at Trader Joe's and I just put them on the grill pan seasoned with salt and pepper.

• Grilled Pork Chops
• Applesauce
• Potatoes Fondantes (Fine Cooking #64, May 2004, p. 59)
• Braised Red Cabbage with Red Zinfandel (Fine Cooking #31, March 1999, p. 37)

Wine: Rosenblum 2000 RustRidge Vineyard Zinfandel (Napa Valley, California). Not as fruity or heavy as most Rosenblum Zins, but still good. Perfect with dinner.

• Pork Tabbouleh (Cooking Light, September 2004)

I made these wraps for Katie and I to eat at our triathlon training camp today. The pork recipe is the same one I used for the sandwiches and pork salad last week. I assembled the wraps just before lunch, instead of in the morning. I had all the ingredients packed in plastic containers. The guacamole was really good, and Katie loved the wraps. I did too, a good combination.

• Chipotle Pork and Avocado Wraps (Cooking Light, September 2004)

I made this salad using the pork tenderloin I made on Sunday. It's from the same article as the pork sandwiches. Larry loved the pork tenderloin this way, and wants me to make more this weekend. The salad is really good. Just the right amount of sweet and tangy. Larry had a little tonight for dinner, but the rest is for lunch.

• Thai Pork Salad with Chili Dressing (Cooking Light, September 2004, p. 200)

I made pork tenderloin yesterday, for lunches this week, using the recipe in this article in Cooking Light. The pork was easy to make, and turned out to be very tasty. I prepared everything for today's sandwiches yesterday. Larry made his sandwich this morning, and took it to work. I don't like sandwiches to sit there and get soggy, so I brought all the fixings and made my sandwich just before lunch. It was really good. Larry loved the pork but thought the pesto flavors masked the yummy pork.

• Sourdough Pork Sandwiches with Parsley-Pesto Mayonnaise (Cooking Light, September 2004)

Jay was here for dinner tonight. This was not the best meal I've made. It had great potential, and if I would have paid more attention while I was cooking, it would have been very good. When the cake was baking, I was cleaning the top of the range... and I inadvertently moved the temperature dial from 350 degrees to 500 degrees. I pulled the cake out early, but only after I smelled it burning. Ugh.

- The pork was good. I suspect that there is a problem with my instant read thermometer - it read 160 degrees when I took the tenderloin out of the oven (overdone for pork, in my opinion), but the middle of the pork was very rare. I had to return it to the oven, which completely ruined my timing on everything else.
- The spinach was good too, but it was overcooked since I had to re-warm it. I really don't like cooked spinach. Wilted is fine. Fully cooked is not good.
- The pears were excellent.
- Larry thought the beans were too lemony. Jay liked them. I don't like green beans, so I didn't have any.
- I think this cake could be spectacular. The flavor is excellent, and it has very little fat. I served it with whipped cream, only because I think it needed it due to overcooking it.

• Herb-Crusted Pork Tenderloin with Grilled Pears and Wilted Spinach (The Joslin Diabetes Great Chefs Cook Health Cookbook, p. 170)
• Green & Wax Beans with Brown Butter (Fine Cooking #15, June/July 1996, p. 45)
• Fallen Chocolate Soufflé Cake (Bittersweet, p. 112)

Wine: Rosenblum 200 Rockpile Road Vineyard Zinfandel (Dry Creek Valley, California). This is a huge, jammy Zin. Yum. I really like it. Rockpile Road is one of my favorites from Rosenblum, although I like most of their Zins.

This was another Cook's Illustrated test recipe. I like pork chops, but I was unsure about the vinegar. I didn't add the last splash of vinegar to the sauce at the end, and I'm glad I didn't. The peppers absorbed a lot of the vinegar flavor. The pork chops and sauce weren't bad, but I won't make this again.

• Pork Chops with Vinegar and Sweet Peppers (Cook's Illustrated Test Recipe)
• Braised Red Cabbage with Red Zinfandel (Fine Cooking #31, March 1999, p. 37)
• Applesauce

Wine: David Bruce 1999 Estate Pinot Noir (Santa Cruz Mountains, California). Oh my, is this a good Pinot. Perfectly balanced, and excellent with dinner.

Jay came over for dinner tonight. He said he wanted pork chops, so we picked up some nice center cut chops from Trader Joe's tonight and grilled them (just used salt and pepper). We had leftover pasta salad from last night, and I got purple cauliflower from the farmer's market.

- I meant to make this pie last night, but I ran out of time. It's just as well - it's definitely an all-day project with all the refrigeration of the crust. I made the crust yesterday so I didn't have to do everything today. Pies are one of those things I've never been able to do well.. After years of trying, I finally mastered apple pie last year. I liked this better than apple pie. It was really good.

• Grilled Pork Chops
• Grilled Cherry Tomato Pasta with Crisp Breadcrumbs and Basil (Fine Cooking #46, September 2001, p, 51)
• Roast Cauliflower with Shallots, Tarragon and Lemon (Fine Cooking #50, May 2002, p. 52)
• Lattice-Top Blueberry Pie (Fine Cooking #65, July 2004, p. 68) with Vanilla Hagen Daaz Ice Cream

Wine: David Bruce 2001 Schultze Family Vineyard Pinot Noir (Santa Cruz Mountains, California). Tasty Pinot. Good balance and structure, with velvety tannins.

Larry wanted "spicy pork chops" tonight, so we picked up a few center cut loin chops at Trader Joe's and I made a spicy rub for them. I didn't have any dried Chipotle or Ancho peppers, so I used powdered versions - too much, apparently because the chops were too spicy. Other than that, they were good. We also picked up some of the first of the cherry tomatoes at the market - yum!

• Grilled Pork Chops with Chipotle and Ancho Chile Rub (The Best Recipe Grilling and Barbeque, p. 77)
• Crisp Herb-Roasted Fingerlings with Scallions (Food & Wine, April 2004, p. 127)
• Cherry Tomatoes Tossed with Basil, Salt, Pepper and Olive Oil

These pork medallions were very good, and came together quickly. I paired them with what is becoming a staple for us - roasted cauliflower and Potatoes Fondante.

• Pork Medallions in Mushroom Marsala Sauce (Fine Cooking #64, May 2004, p. 86C)
• Potatoes Fondantes (Fine Cooking #64, May 2004, p. 59)
• Roast Cauliflower with Shallots, Tarragon and Lemon (Fine Cooking #50, May 2002, p. 52)

Larry made dinner for Jay and I tonight. It was excellent, especially the beans and the corn pudding. For the beans, he left out the ham and country style salsa and used one cup of tomato puree instead of 3/4 cup.

• Pork Chops with Mustard Glaze (Williams-Sonoma Grilling, p. 71)
• Trinity Oaks Wine Country Style Beans (Bay Gourmet)
• Red Apple Inn Corn Pudding (Food & Wine, May 2004, p. 176)
• Grilled Baby Zucchini

Wine: David Coffaro 2001 Estate Zinfandel (Dry Creek Valley, California). Nice, everyday wine. Pretty fruity.

Tom and James were here for dinner tonight. I wanted to do a pork dish because I knew they loved the Branciforte Pinot Noir. I also wanted to to a make-ahead dessert. I originally thought I would make the sautéed fennel with arugula as a side dish, but then I remembered Amy telling me that the mushrooms with spinach and soppressata was excellent.

- The pork chops were good, nothing special. In this particular article, there is an Asian-style pork chop that really appeals to me, but it wouldn't go as well with the Pinot Noir I chose.
- The sautéed vegetables were excellent. I picked around all of the mushrooms.
- The potatoes were a huge hit, and they were so easy to make. Definitely going to become a regular dish.

• Manchego Cheese with Quince Paste
• Sautéed Pork Chops with Balsamic Onions (Fine Cooking #64, May 2004, p. 44)
• Potatoes Fondantes (Fine Cooking #64, May 2004, p. 59)
• Mushrooms & Spinach with Soppressata Crisps (Fine Cooking #62, January 2004, p. 49)
• Berry Soufflés (Fine Cooking # 19, February/March 1997, p. 71)

Wine:
- Martinelli 2000 Giuseppe & Luisa Zinfandel (Russian River Valley, California). Yum - a perfect example of why Helen Turley is a legendary winemaker, and a perfect example of a big, jammy, California Zin.
- David Bruce 2001 Branciforte Pinot Noir (Santa Cruz Mountains, California). Excellent. One of the best Pinot Noirs I've tasted from David Bruce. Tom and James had mentioned that they loved it, so I was happy to serve it tonight. It's only available to Pinot Only Please club members.

I think this is one of Larry's favorite meals. I seared the pork chops in a cast-iron skillet after seasoning them with salt and pepper.

• Pan-Seared Pork Chops
• Roasted Medley of Winter Roots (Fine Cooking #48, January 2002, p. 56)
• Braised Red Cabbage with Red Zinfandel (Fine Cooking #31, March 1999, p. 37)
• Applesauce