Easy Supper Club: Herbed Pork Roast

"Easy Supper Club"

from Southern Living's 

"Cooking for Christmas"
Bacon-Arugula-Apple Bites
Herbed Pork Roast
Roasted Fall Veggies
Puffed Mashed Potatoes
Basil-and-Blue Cheese Salad
Brandy Alexander Cheesecake

For the Introduction to this series of recipes, click HERE

HERBED PORK ROAST

1 (4-5 lb) untrimmed pork loin roast

1 tsp kosher salt

1 tsp coarsely ground pepper

Kitchen string

5 Tblsp olive oil, divided

2 Tblsp chopped fresh sage

2 Tblsp chopped fresh parsley

2 Tblsp chopped fresh thyme

1 Tblsp chopped fresh rosemary

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Sprinkle pork with kosher salt and ground pepper. Tie pork with kitchen string, securing at 2-in intervals.
• Cook pork, fat side down, in 3 Tblsp hot oil in a stainless-steel skillet over medium-high heat 3 to 5 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Place fast side up, on a wire rack in a aluminum foil-lined roasting pan. Remove kitchen string; make 5 (1/2-inch deep) cuts in pork.
• Stir together sage, next 3 ingredients and remaining 2 Tblsp oil. Stuff herb mixture into slits in pork.
• Bake at 425 degrees F for 30 to 40 minutes or until a meat thermometer inserted into thickest portion registers 155 degrees F. Let stand 10 minutes before slicing.

Thursday: Roasted Fall Veggies & Basil-and-Blue Cheese Salad

Blackberry Cabernet Roast

BLACKBERRY CABERNET ROAST

• 5 pounds eye of round beef roast
• 1-1/2 cups wild blackberries
• 2 cups Cabernet Sauvignon
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary leaves, plus more for garnish
• 1 tablespoon thyme leaves, plus more for garnish
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh sage leaves
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoons ground black pepper
• 2 teaspoons cracked pepper 

Au Jus Sauce

• 1 -1/3 cups wild blackberries
• 2 cups beef broth
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1/3 cups Cabernet Sauvignon

Salt and ground black pepper, to taste

• Pierce all sides of meat using a meat fork every 1 in and place in a large resealable plastic bad.
• Puree blackberries in a blender or food processor. Press through a sieve to remove seeds. Discard solids.
• Combine blackberry puree with Cabernet, garlic, rosemary, thyme, sage, salt and pepper in small bowl. Pour mixture over roast and seal bag.
• Refrigerate 4 hours or overnight, turning roast occasionally.
• Heat oven to 425 degrees F. Drain meat from marinade.
• Sprinkle cracked pepper evenly over meat and place in large roasting pan.
• Pour 2 cups marinade from plastic bag into roasting pan. Discard remaining marinade.
• Roast 15 minutes, reduce oven to 350 degrees F. Continue to roast 1-11/2 hours or until meat thermometer reads 145 degrees F.
• Remove meat from pan. Let stand 5 minutes before slicing thinly across the grain.

Sauce:

• Puree 1/2 cup blackberries in a blender or food processor. Press through a sieve to remove seeds. Discard solids.
• In a saucepan, combine blackberry puree, beef broth and Cabernet, and heat over medium and bring to a simmer, constantly stirring. Boil for about 10 minutes.
• Combine cornstarch with 2 tablespoons water, then add to saucepan. Cook for 1 minute or until slightly thickened.
• Remove from heat and serve with roast.

Roast Lamb alla Romana

This dinner is fit for a king. Spectacular! Make sure you have a meat thermometer on hand to make sure you don't over cook or under cook the lamb. Don't forget about the sauce as well--its what really makes this dish so wonderful!

ROAST LAMB ALLA ROMANA

1/2 leg of lamb, about 3 pounds
3 garlic cloves, cut into thin slices
1 tblsp olive oil
1-1/2 tsp chopped fresh rosemary
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/2 cup red wine
2 cups vegetable stock
1 small onion, coarsely chopped
1-1/2 pounds small yukon gold potatoes
1 tblsp olive oil
1-1/2 tsp chopped fresh parsley
1 pound baby carrots

Make deep slits in the lamb with the point of a sharp knife and insert the garlic slivers into the slits. Rub the lamb all over with 1 tablespoon olive oil and place in a roasting pan. Sprinkle with 1-1/2 teaspoons rosemary and season with salt and pepper. Roast at 450 degrees F for 30 minutes, turning once.

Reduce the heat to 375 degrees F and add the wine, stock and onion to the roasting pan. Roast for 1-1/4 hours longer or until tender (internal temp between 140-155 degrees F), turning several times and basting after each turn.

Combine the potatoes and carrots with 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1-1/2 teaspoon rosemary in another roasting pan. Season with salt and pepper. Place in the oven 1 hour before the lamb is done and roast with the lamb until golden brown and tender, turning several times.

Remove the lamb to a cutting board and tent with foil. Let stand in a warm place for 10 minutes. Cut into thin slices and arrange on a large platter. Arrange the potatoes and carrots around the lamb.

Strain the juices and spoon over the lamb to serve.

Serves 6 to 8.

recipe adapted from "Dining In" with Show Me St. Louis cookbook, 2007

German-Style Pork Roast

I love going down the isle at the commissary that's for "foreign" food. Nothing can beat the real thing, but this German "seasoning" pack was pretty darn good. We love German food in this house, so I try to do it pretty often.

GERMAN-STYLE PORK ROAST

Pretty simple. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a dutch oven, brown the pork around all the sides in some oil. Remove the meat, then add water and seasoning packet. Bring it to a boil, then add the meat back into it, cover and put in the oven for an hour. And woooola!

Mine isn't as PRETTY as the package, but the taste is to die for!!

I like these knodels. I make them more often than not--and the kids LOVE them. So easy to make!

Soak the packages in salted water for 15 min, then boil for 15. Remove, and run them under cold water. Remove them from their pouches and serve. All done!

What a delicious meal!

Crock-pot: TEXJOY POT ROAST

This is actually a recipe I've used for almost 8 years--and my mother has used 15 years before that. Its based around this little seasoning called "TexJoy." Its a fabulous "steak" seasoning--but I used it for everything from steaks to burgers to pot roasts.

This seasoning can't be found in stores anymore, so my mother orders a BATCH from the company, then disperses them to the family. I can't imagine living without it.

And today I'm going to show you a recipe for a pot-roast using this seasoning--and the flavor can't be beat!

Crock-Pot: TEX JOY POT ROAST

3 to 4 lbs beef pot roast/bottom round roast
1/4 cup TexJoy seasoning (this is all by "eye" so this measurement is just estimating)
3 cups water (this is also an estimation--it depends on size of roast)

Place the roast in a 5-quart slow cooker. Fill water up until 2/3 of roast is covered. Sprinkle roast and water with TexJoy until the whole cooker as a thin layer of seasoning on top.

Cook for 6 to 8 hours on low. Make sure you don't remove the lid [you will loose at least 30 minutes of cooking time]!

Remove roast and let it rest 5 minutes until serving.

The longer it cooks--the more tender meat will be. Keep the layer of fat on the roast that usually comes with it from the meat department. It will be completely dissolved by the end of the cooking time, and the little that is left will drip right off.