Birthday dinner

I co-hosted and cooked for a small birthday dinner last night for my dear friend Nancy. Nancy and I have been friends for about 13 years now and really enjoy each others company, have lots of laughs when we get together for friends. Our mutual friend Vicki hosted the party at her charming house in Shrewsbury and I did the cooking. I helped Vicki with her kitchen about 10 years ago in a complete gut/remodel and I think this is the first full meal that has been cooked there! Vicki is a busy career woman and is more prone to stop and pick something up in the evenings. But she was very interested in helping with the menu and learning a thing or two.
We set a simple but elegant menu of a fresh green salad to start followed by pork roast, brussels sprout and potatoes. We also decided a great cake from Cravings in Webster Groves would be better than anything I could ever make so we ordered that. Good call!

For the salad, I used a bag of good field greens and made a mustard/balsamic vinegarette dressing. I hardly ever buy salad dressing in a bottle anymore, they are so easy to make fresh as you need them. I just whisk together a tablespoon of good dijon mustard, teaspoon + of brown sugar, tablespoon of balsamic vinegar, salt & pepper and about 2 -3 tablespoons of good olive oil and I have a great dressing. A tip for dressing a salad - put the dressing in the bowl first, swirl around to coat the sides and then toss in your greens. This is a good way to coat the greens without clumping together. I added toasted walnuts, warm roasted grape tomatoes and medallions of herb encrusted grilled goat cheese on top. In the winter months I love to add warm ingredients to my salad, it is so comforting. The goat cheese is easy, cut a log into 1/2" rounds, dip in egg wash, dredge through breadcrumbs with herb de provence, salt & pepper and then chill in the fridge, covered, until ready to cook. Heat 1 - 2 tblsp of oil in a pan, really hot. Grill the goat cheese for about 1 minute on each side until golden brown and gooey on the inside. These are always a crowd pleaser!

For dinner, I just soaked my pork loin in a brine overnight, crucial to keep moist, rubbed with olive oil, salt and pepper, then roasted in my dutch oven with chunks of onion and dried mission figs. Roast at 375 until a meat thermometer reads 160- 165. Take and let rest for about 15 minutes. The pork should be just barely pink in the very center. No need to cook pork until sandpaper dry and dead like our mothers did! I spoon some of the juices and figs over the pork slices, delicious.

Toss your halfed brussels sprouts with olive oil, diced red pepper, finely chopped onion, partially cooked thick bacon, chopped into small bits, and salt & pepper. Either roast these in a 400 degree oven spread out on a cookie sheet or saute in a large pan until the olive oil carmelizes the edges darkly and the bacon is a little crispy. Trust me, even those who don't like brussels sprouts will love these! They are sweet and tangy.

Potato wedges tossed with olive oil, salt & pepper, finely chopped onion and herbs de provence get spread on a cookie sheet and roasted at 400 until the edges turn brown and crispy. perfect and easy.

Dinner was great, we sat at the table until 11 pm talking and laughing. To me, this is the perfect way to spend a birthday.