Saturday Recipes

Because I was delinquent with my blog yesterday, Alex J. Cavenaugh said I should post two recipes today, so here you are.

Roast Pork With Milk

A bistro basic that the critic Bryan Miller brought to The Times in 1988 with the help of Pierre Franey, this luscious roast of pork comes from the kitchen of Adrienne Biasin, who for years ran a homespun and legendary restaurant in Paris, Chez la Vieille. The meat is first browned over the stovetop to sear in the moisture, then braised slowly in onions and milk. The pan juices are set aside

to form the base of a gravy, and the roast is finished in the oven. It takes some time, but is beyond easy to make, and pairs well with a glass of Beaujolais and dreams of travel. (Sam Sifton)

1 3-pound boneless loin of pork
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1 Tbs olive oil
12 small white onions, about 3/4 pound, peeled
1 quart milk
¼ cup heavy cream

1. Rub the pork with salt and pepper.

2. Heat the oil in a Dutch oven. Brown the pork well in the oil on all sides over medium heat for about five minutes. Add the onions, then stir and brown for five minutes more.

3. Drain off all the fat. Add the milk and cover. Bring to a boil and simmer over low heat for one-and-a-half hours. Remove the lid and cook another one-and-a-half hours until the milk is almost evaporated.

4. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 425°F degrees.

5. Strain the milk gravy into a saucepan, add the cream and bring to a simmer. Save the onions and the milk residue. Place the roast in the oven and cook 10 minutes or until brown.

6. Slice the meat and serve it with the gravy spooned over and the onion mixture on the side.

Servings: 4

Source: Andrew Scrivani The New York Times

Because it so expensive lamb is not something I cook often in Canada. I used to prepare it a lot in England. Anyway, I saw this recipe and decided I might try it the next time I have a leg of lamb.

Myra Waldo's Swedish Lamb

Craig Claiborne brought this marvelous dinner-party centerpiece to The Times in 1958, after securing it from Myra Waldo, a globetrotting food and travel writer who edited “The Complete Round-the-World Cookbook,” featuring recipes gathered by Pan American Airways. Mr. Claiborne recommended this one in a column in the newspaper four years later: a leg of lamb roasted above carrots and onions, broth, hot coffee, cream and a sprinkling of sugar. Really! The result on the plate

is remarkable in the way the richness of the sauce mingles with the big taste of the lamb. All we needed to do to improve it was exchange the beef broth Claiborne used (too tinny in flavor) for some of the low-sodium chicken variety. (Sam Sifton)

1 Tbs salt
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 five-pound leg of lamb
3 onions, sliced
3 carrots, sliced
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1 ½ cups hot strong coffee
½ cup heavy cream
1 Tbs sugar

1. Rub salt and pepper into the lamb. Place the lamb in a roasting pan and surround with onions.

2. Roast in a hot oven (425 degrees) for 30 minutes and skim off the fat.

3. Reduce heat to moderate (350 degrees) and add the carrots and broth. Roast 30 minutes longer and add the coffee, cream and sugar. Continue roasting, basting frequently, for 40 minutes.

4. Transfer lamb to a warm platter and force the gravy through a sieve or purée in an electric blender.

Servings: 6-8

Source: Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times

Have a great weekend