Seems like it has been a crazy busy week. How can this be when it is mostly spent at home? A lot is due to just having a bit of warmer weather, and getting a bit of cabin fever to dig in the dirt. We went on a drive to map out a route for a MINI club drive and had a delicious barbeque lunch in Dillsboro. My Sweet Babboo brought me a surprise this week. He thought I needed some fresh flowers for the kitchen and table. He chose this lovely bouquet of alstroemeria in a mostly green color with a blush of pink, with baby’s breath, to coordinate with my mostly green St Patrick’s Day table.
He also thought I needed a rose and a balloon too. He is a keeper!
Wednesday was Virtual Retreat with some local friends in the guild, and we had a blast! I don’t think the conversation stopped all day long. I got some news this week, which will result in a secret project with a hard deadline. Three days of nonstop sewing and I have made real progress. I worked on it during retreat, but all I can reveal about it is I made some flying geese. I needed 72 of them, so it took all day. Retreats are so productive for me and couldn’t have come at a better time.
We got our second jab on Friday, hallelujah! We are now two weeks away from being able to relax just a bit, maybe have a meal in a restaurant, see our friends again without worrying quite so much. We’ll still wear our masks in stores because the research still isn’t clear as to whether someone vaccinated can still transmit the virus, but we won’t be as concerned about our own safety. We celebrated with a fabulous take out meal from our favorite Mexican restaurant, Sol Y Luna.
Speaking of great food, I made a really delicious meal this week from a cookbook by one of my favorite authors, Dorie Greenspan. I’ve been a fan of hers for many years, ever since I was reading her columns in Bon Appetit in the 1990s. One column in particular resonated with me as she discussed how tiny her kitchen was. As I was living in a home with a small kitchen too, it got my attention. I recently bought her Everyday Dorie book (affiliate link) and it is fabulous. So many recipes I want to try! I gathered bourbon, a Jonagold apple, onion and the rest of the ingredients, along with some pork ribs as I didn’t have a loin. I also cut the measurements in half for just the two of us.
The pork was marinated in the bourbon mixture for about an hour, then I prepped the onions and apple. My Sweet Babboo prefers his apples peeled, so I did that even though the recipe doesn’t call for it. The remaining marinade was poured over the top, and it was baked in the oven.
It is a good thing I got a photo as it came out of the oven, as it didn’t last very long on the plate, LOL!! The pork was juicy and flavorful, and the onion apple mixture was sweet. Yum!
I emailed to ask if I could share this recipe with you, and got a very generous yes answer the same day. So, here it is!
Bourbon Roasted Pork Loin
- One 3-pound (1-1/2-kg) boneless pork loin roast (not tenderloin), at close to room temperature
- 1/4 cup (60 ml) bourbon
- 1/4 cup (60 ml) grainy mustard (preferably French)
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon Sriracha
- Fine sea salt and freshly ground pepper
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 medium onions thinly sliced, rinsed and patted dry
- 2 apples such as Gala or Fuji, unpeeled, cored and cut into 6 pieces each
1. Using a sharp paring knife, cut a shallow crosshatch pattern in the roast’s top layer of fat, taking care not to cut into the meat.
2. Mix the bourbon, mustard, honey, brown sugar, Sriracha, 1 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of black pepper together. Rub this over the pork, covering all sides. If you’re cooking the roast now, just set it aside while the oven preheats. Or put it in a covered container and refrigerate until needed. (The rubbed pork can be refrigerated for up to 8 hours — pull it out of the refrigerator about 30 minutes before cooking.)
3. Center a rack in the oven and preheat it to 400 degrees F.
4. Warm the oil in a Dutch oven or other heavy high-sided ovenproof casserole over medium heat. Toss in the onions and apples, season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring regularly, for about 10 minutes, until the onions are translucent and the apples are starting to soften.
5. Center the roast on top of the apples and onions, pour in whatever liquids from the rub have accumulated and slide the pot into the oven. Roast the pork, uncovered, for 45 to 55 minutes, basting it a couple of times, until a thermometer inserted into the center of the roast registers 135 to 140 degrees F.
6. Allow the roast to sit for a few minutes before slicing and serving it with the onions, apples and delicious pan juices.
Yield 6 Servings
Here’s a pdf for you of this recipe – Dorie Greenspan’s Bourbon Roasted Pork Loin
You can buy her fabulous book on Amazon – Everyday Dorie, The Way I Cook. by Dorie Greenspan. It is 368 pages, chock full of mouth watering photographs and recipes that spark the imagination as well as the taste buds. See more of her fabulous recipes on her website – Dorie Greenspan.
What’s going on in your part of the world this week?
Fat Quarter Shop’s monthly specials include 20% Off Butter Churn Basics fabrics, the Basic of the Month, plus 30% Off Clover Notions, the Notion of the Month, plus specials on the Book of the Month and Precuts of the Week. The Daily Flash Sale has something new at clearance pricing every day. See new Best Sellers on sale at MadamSew! New books have arrived at C&T Publishing. There is a 25% off sale at Impression Obsession for stamps and dies with butterflies and dragonflies themes.
From My Carolina Home 
Glad you hear you had a good week. A productive sew-in and planned a “mini” route got take-out and made a good meal! Not to mention, you got your vaccinations complete! We are still in the red zone even though our governmor has lifted the mask mandate, most people still wear their masks and distance. I think we are going to take our granddaughter to the new park near us today. They seem to have some cool things for the kids.
72 flying geese, now that’s a flock! Flowers & a balloon, how festive. That’s really boosts the holiday when it falls on a weekday. Yes, the end of “19” is in sight, but best to stay safe and continue to observe precautions. We still don’t know how the disease will evolve & what the future brings. It’s 100 years after the ‘Spanish Flu’ and that still visits every year
Oh yum…..the pork looks delicious! Congrats. on your 2nd poke!
72 flying geese – I hope you used the 4 at a time method! Even with that, it would take me awhile. That recipe looks good, as does the cookbook. I just made another from Milk Street’s Tuesday Nights – the Thai Red Lentil Curry Soup (I think that’s the name). It was delicious. Congrats on completing your vaccine!
Love that combo of blue and white for the flying geese.
I am still two weeks away from getting my second vaccine but will be so glad when I can do that and go out to eat as well – I have found that I have missed that a lot! There is something about just going out to get some shrimp or pasta or just a plain old hamburger that I certainly do miss. Like you though it will be masks and sanitizer for us for some time to come – I don’t think we are out of the woods yet with these new variants. Your bouquet of flowers are so lovely seeing them makes me want to grab a bouquet next time I am wandering past them in the store
The bourbon pork loin sounds wonderful, I will pass that along to my chef! So sweet of your husband to bring you flowers and a balloon. Congrats on #2, I get my second next week and can’t wait. Did you get sick, I know a lot of people who got sick after their 2nd shot. Looking forward to going shopping soon!
Jenna
Good morning Carole, that was thoughtful of your husband to bring home a surprise.
sounds like you had a good week, I will check out the cookbook for sure Happy Spring Kathy
Thank you for the tip to Dorie’s recipe…the mustard pork loin will be next on my “to try” dinner. Spring is happening here with a few flowers and the squirrels and birds are busy at the feeders. Loving your quilting tips, patterns and pics too.
Well it certainly looks good enough to feast on. and lucky you for having such a loving husband.
Our warm temps have cooled off a bit as they always do before Easter. Projects….mine has been to make a new slipcover for the sofa. Been way over due and a challenge for my now older brain. The cushions are done…now for the body….more of a challenge.
I love the green and white bouquet!! It goes well with your table scape for March. It’s really greening up here. The pasture is so pretty with a few escaped daffodil clumps nodding their little golden heads in the breeze in the new green grass. The pork recipe sounds good. I happen to have a pork loin roast in the freezer.
Working like crazy to organize a few hand projects to keep handy. Finally have knee surgery scheduled for March 30. It’s been a year long ordeal to get my iron and protein levels where the surgeon wants them and to decrease white blood cells. Fingers crossed! Thanks for blogging! Love seeing your garden, the books you review, and the luscious recipes. Happy spring!!💐🌸🌺
Hi Carole
Thank you for he nice recipe. I will definitely try it.
I have a new favorite cook book too. It’s called “SALT FAT ACID HEAT” by Samin Nosrat. There is also a 4 part documentary on Prime or Netflix maybe ,by the same name , that is the best cooking show I’ve ever seen. Fascinating
Those flowers are beautiful and congratulations on getting your second jab. I get my second jab this Thursday but my husband has still not been called for his first vaccine dose. Although NM is supposed to be first in getting the most people vaccinated, you have to register and be called by them before you can get a shot. Why I got chosen and not Jon, who knows? Although they have criteria that they follow, it seems more hit and miss to us.
I love Dorie Greenspan too and cook from her Everyday Dorie Cooking book as well as from her Around My French Table and Baking Chez Moi books. You can’t go wrong with Dorie. Her “m.jacques’ Armagnac chicken” using chicken or a turkey breast is a staple in our house. However, I still haven’t found Armagnac so I substitute a flavored brandy and that seems to work just fine. (Out of her Around My French Table book.)
I’m looking forward to seeing what those flying geese become. Gorgeous blue and white! I have three quilts in process (not my normal thing but one is a Zoom quilt-along with my local quilt shop) and two quilts to finish quilting on my home Juki sewing machine. Again, not my normal thing. I like more than one project going but not this many. Finishing one at a time now before starting anything new.
What bourbon did you use? Am asking because the last I bought did not have much bourbon flavor. Recipe sound very good and I would like to make it.
Jim Beam.
I’m so glad you got your second vaccine dose, and hope you didn’t have too much of a reaction later. It seems to be different with everyone! The pork dish sounds yummy, too – thanks for sharing the recipe. Your virtual retreat with local friends sounds like it was a lot of fun and productive, too!
Another wonderful post, Carole. The beautiful bouquet stirred my heart as the little white flowers reminded of ‘Lily of the Valley’ that grew abundantly at my childhood home in Chicago. Sadly, it doesn’t grow in my region of California. Speaking of flowers, etal, I spent two days pruning my apricot tree which went wild last year. Since the branches are still bare, I can get to the cross branches, and tame the height, etc. I also harvested at least a 75 Meyer lemons from one of my other trees. For a small tree, it produces a bounty! I’ve given away most to various neighbors and the rest will go to the local food bank. I spent more time in the sun those two days than I otherwise did all of 2020. I’d LOVE to get Dorie’s book but it’s just not in the budget right now; so I do appreciate you sharing the Bourbon Pork recipe. The onions and apples sound wonderful together.
The bourbon pork looks delicious and thank you for sharing the recipe. We had both vaccines and passed the two week mark, and it feels so good to get that behind us.
Your “alstro” bouquet is beautiful! What an awesome surprise!
Hope you are fairing well with your second vaccine. My family will be 14 days beyond vaccinations in mid April and grateful we are close to being better protected.
Your pork dish looks delicious. I’ll need to check out Dorie Greenspan’s cookbook!
Stay well!
That recipe looks delicious! I will have to try it. Love the blue and white flying geese.
We always have a pork loin for Friday dinner – makes the weekend grab-n-go meals. Will need to add this to our Friday dinner. Finished, bound, laundered the 2 quilts that were making me nutz (Thank you for the tips – perfect!) Tulips are poking out, most are more than 15 years old and still coming up every year. Yesterday I saw 2 young deer and a Blue Bird all in what would have been a screen shot had I remembered my camera! Just about the color of your new teaser quilt! Can hardly wait to see this! Spring is Sprung!!!! Thanks
Yikes you have been busy! I have enjoyed perusing your always lovely tables scapes . We had corned beef on the 17th, but my favorite was having Ruebens the next day! 72 flying geese sounds like a big project in the works, will be waiting to see more!
Excellent pork loin recipe (we ate it tonight). I used peeled granny smith apples and a partially thawed pork loin and it still was amazing. I really don’t need another cookbook but we shall see how long it takes for me to change my mind. If this is how Dorie cooks everyday, I think I should visit her regularly!
Thanks Carole for introducing me to a great new recipe. This one is a keeper.
Checked our library system catalog and was able to put a hold on the Dorie cookbook. Not that I do that much cooking anymore. I saw in your comment on Kathy’s blog that you had a rough day after your 2nd shot. Hope you have bounced back now. I got my 2nd Pfizer yesterday and thankfully had no reaction, even my arm wasn’t as sore as the first time. It’s such a relief although I plan to remain very careful when going anywhere. Spring is coming on fast here. I hope we don’t have a late season cold spell to mess things up.
Your hubby is the sweetest!!!
The flowers are beautiful! Well done, husband!