I don’t want to brag and I don’t like throwing the word “perfect” around too much, especially when I’m talking about my own work, so let’s just call these Sarah’s “really, really good” roasted potatoes.
But you know what I’m thinking.
(They’re the best! Perfect! Spectacular! To-die-for! Amazing! Life-changing!)
This is my favorite way to roast potatoes and if it isn’t yours already, it might be very soon.
If you’ve ever found yourself at a party, standing over the buffet, shoveling bacon-wrapped dates into your mouth as quickly as you can instead of, you know, being social and whatnot, this recipe is for you. Well, you and me. Seriously, who cares about meeting and greeting when there’s something as good as porky dates to be had?
This recipe takes the flavors of one of our most beloved cocktail snacks and turns it into an entree. I made a sweet and savory jam with dates, onion, and mustard seed, smeared it on a butterflied pork tenderloin and wrapped it all up with strips of pancetta. After roasting, the meat is moist and just a touch rosy in the center, with crisp pancetta serving as the perfect counterpoint to the sweet date filling. It’s just like my favorite party snack but in a meal-sized portion I can enjoy without looking over my shoulder, wondering if I’m going to have to fight someone over the last date.
You see a lot of what goes on in my kitchen–the cookies, the soups, the roasts–but there’s a fair amount you miss. Mostly you luck out: I save the ever-growing stack of dirty dishes for myself, you don’t have to burn your nostrils every time you open the fridge because of the cornichon brine that spilled all over and hasn’t quite gotten cleaned up yet, and you’re spared from having to deal with the enormous black dog that is constantly plotting his next attack on whatever edibles are on the counter (most recently, it was a ball of pizza dough…grr…).
But, sadly, you also miss some of my best meals. I’m talking about the meals that are thrown together in a hurry when I just need to eat and can’t dream of slowing things down to take pictures and notes and think of how much I’m adding of this and that. There are an awful lot of quick pasta dinners in my real life and not so very many present in my blog life.
Renditions of spaghetti aglio e olio make their way to my table a couple of times a week. Here’s a version that I thought was good enough to slow down and share with you. It’s my basic olive oil and garlic spaghetti, but with a few extra touches. I add a ton of broccoli that’s been roasted ’til it’s brown, crispy, and awfully irresistible. I melt a few anchovy fillets into the oil because anchovies and broccoli are a match made in heaven. I love the salty, subtly fishy taste of the anchovies with the almost sweet roasted broccoli. And to finish, the pasta is sprinkled with what I consider the best thing to happen to pasta since parmigiano-reggiano: fried bread crumbs.
Sound good? Great, let’s make this happen!
A few weeks back, I got off work late and stopped at the grocery store on my way home. There I was, around eleven on a Wednesday night, walking through the store, absolutely stupid with hunger. You know the kind of hungry where you can’t begin to make a decision and, before you know it, you end up in a trance in the pickle aisle? You go home and end up having a dinner of sweet-hot pickles, eaten with your fingers, standing over the kitchen sink.
Yeah, these things happen. At least to me. And now you know, I really like pickles.
And what you’ve known for a long time is that I love fennel. And pickled fennel? Oh man, love is an understatement; it is so delicious! It’s all of the flavors and textures I adore; it’s crisp and crunchy, briny and acidic, anise-y and just a tad sweet. It’s unbelievably good with fish, excellent when added to a salad, and absolutely supreme on its own, late-night-fingers-in-the-jar style. What can I say–old habits die hard.
I have no idea how people can even attempt all of the crazy new year’s diets in January. Sure, the first week of the year, I was so sick of cookies and sweets that I toned it down a little, but now, a couple of weeks later and deep in the throes of a bleak, miserable winter, all I’m thinking about is comfort food. I’m thinking oatmeal every morning, French onion soup, polenta smothered in melted cheese. And this time of year, I simply cannot go without a weekly dose of braised meat. Or red wine, for that matter.
So, in this week’s edition of “Sarah’s Red Wine-Fueled Braising Adventures”, I’m coming at you with duck legs. They were braised in red wine with porcini and cremini mushrooms, lots of shallots, and fresh thyme. The meat was tender and succulent, the skin crackling crisp, and the mushrooms deep, dark, and intense. It was the kind of splurgy at-home dinner that almost makes long, cold winters bearable.
Almost.