It's All About the Loin

I told you that I take a crack at savory every once and a while! This pork loin recipe is to DIE for. The meat is so tender and juicy, and it's tangy but satisfyingly, light but bold all at once. It's kind of my 'well-we-need-to-plan-a-good-dinner-because-it's-Christmas-Eve-but-we'll-be-doing-so-many-other-things-I-don't-have-time-to-make-a-gourmet-meal' kind of recipe. You throw it in the oven, and only worry about it for the last 30 minutes. Plus, it makes your house smell great.

Recipe: Herb Roasted Pork

Makes: 5 lbs boneless loin

Recipe originated from: Allrecipes.com ( http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Herb-Roasted-Pork/Detail.aspx )

Compliments: I usually do au gratin potatoes, mashed potatoes, or sweet potatoes with this guy. It's also really good with rice, because you can keep some of glaze and use it as a sauce on the rice. Also, try it with succotash (I'll put the recipe I use for this up sometime) to make it a little more summer-y. Asparagus is also really fun with it.

Ingredients:
- 1 teaspoon rubbed sage
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1 clove garlic, crushed
- 1 (5 pound) boneless pork loin
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1/4 cup vinegar
- 1/4 cup water
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
2. In a bowl, combine sage, salt, pepper, and garlic. Rub thoroughly all over pork. Place pork in an uncovered roasting pan on the middle oven rack.
3. Bake in the preheated oven approximately 3 hours, or until the internal temperature reaches at least 150 degrees F (65 degrees C), depending upon your desired doneness.
4. Meanwhile, place sugar, cornstarch, vinegar, water, and soy sauce in a small saucepan. Heat, stirring occasionally, until mixture begins to bubble and thicken slightly. Brush roast with glaze 3 or 4 times during the last 1/2 hour of cooking. Pour remaining glaze over roast, let rest for 15 minutes, and serve.

Now, I never measure out the sage. I just kinda add sage to the pork until I think it looks good [Random note- stock up on rubbed sage a couple of weeks before Thanksgiving! We use it in our stuffing, and sadly realized we didn't have enough for the stuffing this past Thanksgiving, so my Aunt sent my cousin, sister and me on a wild goose chase for rubbed sage. They didn't have it ANYWHERE. Claire eventually stole some from an old lady!]. Same with the salt and pepper. And you HAVE HAVE HAVE to let the pork rest after it gets out of the oven so that all the juices have time to settle. You don't want to cut into it and have all the good stuff come pouring out of it!

Try this recipe- it's affordable but a knock 'em out of the park kind of dish. Throw on some rice for the last thirty minutes while you're glazing, and while the pork is resting grill some asparagus with shredded parm on the stove top and you'll feel like a real chef!

Abby xx