Shot of Mom Girls Weekend: Part 2 - FOOD.

Shot of Mom’s girls’ weekend recap continues!

Below you will find one recipe that Sue made during her Chicago trip, while the other she cooked up for Pap’s 82^nd birthday. While I didn’t have a chance to sample the first one (and me + pork aren’t friends), the brussels sprouts are AMAZING.

Rosemary-Scented Pork Loin Stuffed with Roasted Garlic, Dried Apricots and Cranberries and Port Wine Pan Sauce (reposted via All Recipes)

Ingredients:

·         3 tablespoons olive oil

·         16 whole peeled garlic cloves

·         2 tablespoons minced garlic cloves

·         1 (8 pound) whole boneless pork loin,

·         patted dry, at room temperature

·         Salt and freshly ground pepper

·         3 tablespoons minced fresh rosemary

·         (snip with scissors), divided

·         16 dried apricots (or similar amount of

·         your favorite dried fruit)

·         1/3 cup dried cranberries

·         Heavy kitchen string or twine

·         1/4 cup apple jelly

·         1/4 cup port

·         1/2 cup chicken broth

·         2 tablespoons apple jelly

·         2 teaspoons cornstarch

Directions:

1.	Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 250 degrees. Heat oil in a small skillet over medium-low heat. Add whole garlic cloves and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and golden, about 5 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon; reserve oil.
2.	Turn pork loin fat-side down. Slit lengthwise, almost but not quite all the way through, to form a long pocket, leaving a 1/2-inch border of unslit meat at each end. Brush cavity with some of the reserved garlic cooking oil, and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper and 1 Tb. of the rosemary. Line cavity with sauteed garlic and apricots; sprinkle in cranberries. Tie loin together with kitchen twine or heavy-duty string at 1 1/2-inch intervals.
3.	Brush with remaining oil, and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Set roast, fat-side up, diagonally or curved (so it fits) on a large, lipped cookie sheet or jellyroll pan. Warm 1/4 cup apple jelly along with the minced garlic and remaining rosemary. Brush mixture onto meat.
4.	Roast until a meat thermometer stuck into the center registers 125 to 130 degrees. (Start checking at about 1 1/2 hours.) Remove from oven; raise oven temperature to 400 degrees. Brush loin with pan drippings, return to oven, and continue to roast until the loin is golden brown and a meat thermometer stuck into the center registers 155 to 160 degrees, about 20 minutes longer. For even more attractive coloring, broil until spotty brown, 3 to 5 minutes.
5.	Let roast rest 15 to 20 minutes; transfer to a carving board. Stir juices around pan to loosen brown bits. Pour through a strainer into a small pan, and stir in port, chicken broth and remaining 2 Tbs. of jelly; bring to a simmer. Mix cornstarch with a couple of tablespoons of cold water; whisk into sauce. Simmer until lightly

Brussels Sprouts with Bacon (reprinted from Rachel Ray)

Ingredients

·         3 slices bacon, chopped

·         1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, 1 turn of the pan

·         1 shallot, chopped

·         1 1/2 pounds Brussels sprouts, trimmed, small spouts left whole, larger spouts halved

·         Salt and pepper, to your taste

·         1 cup chicken broth

Directions

Brown bacon in a medium skillet over medium high heat. Remove bacon to a paper towel lined plate. Add extra-virgin olive oil to the pan, 1 turn. Add shallots to the pan and saute 1 to 2 minutes. Add Brussels spouts and coat in oil. Season with salt and pepper. Cook Brussels sprouts 2 to 3 minutes to begin to soften, then add broth. Bring broth to a bubble, cover and reduce heat to medium low. Cook 10 minutes, until tender. Transfer sprouts to a serving dish with a slotted spoon and top with cooked bacon bits.