Pork Roast w/ Braised Red Cabbage

I'm officially done with culinary school! 

I can't say how happy I am to be done.  It's a big relief and a bundle of emotions all in one.  I can focus on a career path and live life!  Not to mention, spend more time on this blog!

Anyway, I have a month before graduation, and I'll be taking full advantage of my newly appointed free time.  I've given my notice at Jack Fry's and will be taking on a full time position at my internship restaurant, Milkwood.  It was one of the hardest decisions of my life, but I feel that I need to experience new things, and I LOVE working at Milkwood - and I truly feel that I could advance faster there than I would at the other.  I gotta do what's best for me, right?  Right.

Yesterday was my last day of school and I celebrated by making this delicious dinner for Andy and I!  He was kind of hesitant about the cabbage, but I think with the added sweetness of the apples, he was on board after the first bite!  After all, he did clean his plate, so it can't be that bad!

Ingredients:

Cabbage:

4 slices of bacon, sliced into 1/4" pieces
1 carrot, julienned
1 onion, julienned
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 red cabbage, shredded
3 Granny Smith apples, peeled and small diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 bay leaf
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
salt and pepper, to taste
2 cups red wine
2 cups veal/beef stock
  
Pork:

2-3 lb. pork roast, cut into portions (preferably something with a decent amount of fat, like pork shoulder)
3 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste
4-6 thyme sprigs

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup marcona almonds, optional 
fresh thyme, optional

In a large dutch oven, render the bacon strips under medium heat. 

Add carrots, onions, and butter.  Saute until vegetables start to soften.

Stir in the cabbage and cook until starting to wilt, about 10 minutes or so.

Add in apples, garlic, bay leaf, cloves, nutmeg, red wine, and veal stock.  Season lightly with salt and pepper - as the braise cooks, the salt will intensify, so it's best to season lightly now, then correct later on when the braise is done.

Braise the cabbage under a simmer for about an hour, stirring occasionally. 

In a large saute pan, add olive oil and heat under medium high heat.  Season the pork portions with salt and pepper and sear on all sides.  Remove from pan and add to dutch oven with cabbage.  Top with thyme sprigs.  Make sure the meat is covered by at least 1/2 - 2/3 by the liquid - if not, add more wine or stock.

Continue to braise until pork is fork tender, about 3-4 hours.

Alternatively, you could transfer all of the ingredients to a crockpot and let simmer on low for the allotted amount of time to make it easier.  Either way, you'll end up with fork tender results.

When ready to serve, ladle about 1/2 cup of the braising liquid into a saucepan.  Reduce by half and then mount with the unsalted butter until thick and shiny. 

Place a mound of cabbage in the center of the plate and top with a portion of pork.  Top with the reduced sauce and garnish with marcona almonds and fresh thyme.

This was definitely a comfort meal.  With the last days of winter coming to a close, this was a great way to celebrate the coming of spring and the start of my new found freedom!  Hope you guys have a great rest of the week!

Pot Roast w/ Red Wine Gravy

Served piping hot!

I've started a wine bottle collection.  I have this genius idea that I'm going to incorporate them into our wedding table decor, but I haven't the slightest idea of how to do so.  I keep going back and forth with whether I want to just simply put some flowers in them, some candles, some sticks - who knows.  But I do know that I'm starting to not have any room for these wine bottles. Seriously, I've got over 100+ in random closets/pantries around the house.

And before you guys gather together and hold an intervention in my honor, I didn't drink all of the wine in those bottles.  My friends did.  Hehe.

But besides empty wine bottles, I also have a bunch of almost full ones in our bar area.  Lots of half-drunk red wine bottles.  I'm a white wine drinker, myself.  I don't mind red wine, but it's just not my preference.  So I end up opening them, drinking a glass, and forgetting about them.

So what to do with all of that red wine?  Hmm, I cook practically 7 days a week, so why not use them in some dinners!  Why was is not that obvious before?  Yeah, sometimes the things you need are right in front of you.  First thing I thought of to use that red wine was pot roast!  Red meat and red wine just can't be beat.

Ingredients:

2 lb. beef chuck roast
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 & 1/2 cups red wine (I used a Merlot)
2 & 1/2 cups beef stock
1 large onion, sliced
8 oz. sliced mushrooms
10 slices of bacon, chopped
1/2 cup flour
salt and pepper, to taste
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Place roast in a large plastic bag and pour red wine in with it.  Seal bag tightly and let marinate in fridge for about 3 hours.

Remove roast from bag and pat dry, reserving the wine.

Plug in your crockpot and turn it to the high setting.  Pour beef stock, sliced onions, and mushrooms into crockpot.

In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil under medium high heat.  Add roast and sear, about 2-3 minutes per side.  Remove roast from pan and set aside on a plate.

In same skillet, add chopped bacon and fry for about 8-10 minutes, or until bacon is browned.  Remove bacon from skillet with a slotted spoon and dry on a paper towel-lined plate.  Once dry, add bacon to crockpot.

Stir in flour, onion powder, garlic powder, and cayenne pepper to liquid in crockpot.  Mix until flour is dissolved and no clumps are present.  Add roast to crockpot and pour remaining red wine from marinade over top.  Sprinkle thyme over roast and season with salt and pepper, if desired.

Let cook in crockpot for about 6 to 8 hours, or until roast is tender and falls apart when cut with a fork.  Serve with mashed potatoes or other comforting side dish.

This was one flavorful gravy.  And you all remember my love for gravy right?  Andy loved this too.  He's not normally one for leftovers, but he made sure he had some set aside for his lunch today.  This isn't traditionally Irish or anything, but it could definitely sub in for a comforting St. Patty's Day meal!  Enjoy your Wednesday guys!