Back Again!

I can’t believe it has been since May when I last posted! It’s certainly not because I haven’t done any cooking. It’s been a busy Summer. Either we have been away, my husband has begun cooking some evening meals or I’ve done BIG dinners and didn’t have time to post as I went along. Tonight we are having a couple of our friends over for dinner and we are having wedge salads with heirloom tomatoes, crumbled bacon and blue cheese dressing, roasted Apricot-Rosemary Pork Loin, Tomato Pie and baked sweet potatoes. It’s a pretty basic salad and can really be topped with whatever ingredients and dressing you like. For simplicity’s sake, we are using store-bought dressing. I have posted the recipe for Tomato Pie in the past and have been yearning for a slice of it made with some super-ripe fresh Summer tomatoes. On our recent travels to Tennessee we visited the historic Oaklands Mansion. My souvenir was a cookbook, of course.

Oaklands Mansion

Kevin tried an Oaklands recipe one evening that was probably the best pork loin roast I’ve ever tasted. Normally, I think that pork loin tends to be dry and not as flavorful as other cuts. This one is delicious and moist.

Apricot-Rosemary Pork Loin Roast
1 4-lb. boneless pork loin
1 8-oz, jar apricot preserves
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 c. Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp. white pepper
1 tsp. chopped garlic
1 T. fresh or dried rosemary
1 tsp. chopped parsley flakes

Mix all ingredients in a covered container large enough to hold the roast and marinate the pork overnight. When ready to roast preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Place the pork in a baking pan and reserve the marinade in a saucepan. Roast for 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Cook the marinade on the stovetop, bring to a boil and reduce by about 1/3. Pout marinade over pork before serving. I like to slice this very thin and serve the sauce on the side. For this dinner everything is in the oven at the same time. I compromised on the temperature and set it for 325. The meat is in for 2 hours, the sweet potatoes will bake about 1 hour 15 minutes and the tomato pie was in for 45 minutes.

For dessert, we’re using Paula Deen’s recipe for Peach Cobbler with some vanilla bean ice cream to top it off.

Peach Cobbler

8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup self-rising flour
3/4 cup milk
1 28-ounce can sliced peaches in syrup, undrained or use variation below for fresh peaches – I used some fresh-frozen peaches we had pitted and sliced and froze for a day like today.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Put butter in deep baking dish and place in the oven to melt (about 10 minutes). Mix sugar and flour, add milk slowly to prevent lumping. Pour over melted butter. Do not stir. Spoon fruit on top, gently pouring in the syrup. Still do not stir; the batter will rise to the to during baking. Bake for 30 to 45 minutes. Good with either fresh whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

To use fresh fruit, clean and pit 2 cups of peaches or use 2 cups of your favorite fruit. In a saucepan mix with 1 cup of sugar and 1 cup of water. Bring mixture to a boil and then simmer for about 10 minutes. Stir often, making sure sugar is completely dissolved. Substitute this for the canned fruit.

Switching from Sweets to Savory

This morning I got up and could smell the aroma of hickory smoke, then the oven timer went off. The eight-hour bake time for the Summer Sausage was up. I got them out to cool and then proceeded to make my least favorite cookies, the cut outs. Drop cookies have an instant gratification factor that is missing when you have to roll, cut, then roll again. That is probably why this is the least-frequently made cookie on my list of favorites. Martha’s Christmas Tree cookies in graduated sizes are baked and perforated and ready to stack. I use a small canapé cutter to punch the center so that they are ready to stack on a 1/4-inch dowel rod. When it’s assembled it strangely reminds me of the old Fisher-Price stacking toy with the primary color rings.

All of the gingerbread men are baked and ready to be decorated…..tomorrow. I went to lunch with my Mom and Dad today and my Mom had some shopping to do while they were in town. My Dad hates shopping. He ended up staying at our house and lent a hand in the kitchen. He sliced all of the Summer Sausage and cut the smoked sausage links into bite-sized pieces. Then he sautéed onion, garlic and herbs for the Country Pate while I glazed the ham. Thanks Dad! This is a really simple but absolutely delicious glaze that gives the ham a shiny sweet finish.

Sweet Baked Ham

1 3 lb. boneless fully cooked spiral sliced ham
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 cup country-style Dijon mustard
1/4 cup honey

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Place the ham on a rack in a 9-inch baking dish. In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, mustard and honey. Using a brush, baste the ham with the glaze. It will be very thick and almost pasty. Bake 30 to 45 minutes or until a meat thermometer inserted in the thickest portion of the ham reads 155 degrees F. I baked a ham weighing over 7 pounds, but did not increase the recipe. There was plenty of glaze to brush it thoroughly, bake it for an hour, baste it again and bake for another 30 minutes.

While the ham was baking I made the peanut butter centers for the Buckeyes and tucked them away in the refrigerator to chill. After Mom and Dad went home we finished off the last of our Thanksgiving leftovers for supper. Once the ham was cool I pulled the slices off and salvaged the chunk that did not get spriralized at Burger’s Smokehouse. The chopped ham would make a nice quiche or soup later. The pate has been stored in the refrigerator since it will cut better when it is cold. Last but not least, I am cutting the marshmallows into squares. Despite my skepticism, the marshmallow slab popped out of the pan after I loosened the edges with a sharp knife. The pizza cutter is doing a great job of slicing through the stickiness. I’m pressing the cut sides into some sifted powdered sugar to seal them up. They’ll keep in a wax-paper-lined tin until the party I’m calling it quits tonight and will start again in the morning. Reinforcements are on the way!