October 9, 2014 Lunch Azuma Dinner Roasted Pork Tapa with Roasted Brussels Sprouts and pecans

Cheap can be wonderful.  On Wednesday I went to Albertson's to buy meat.  They had a special on steaks, shrimp and pork roasts.  I bought all three, but did not know what to do with the pork roast because it appeared to be a 6 inch long plug of meat cut from a boneless pork sirloin. On Thursday morning I mentioned to Suzette that I wanted to try to use the pork as a substitute for pork tenderloin in the pork tapa dish we like to make with apples and onions.  I reasoned boneless pork is boneless pork.

I shop in three directions.  So I can avoid going all over town in one day.  I divide my shopping into East, West and North.  Yesterday went West to Albertsons at Coors and Central.  Today I went North, starting by driving Fano’s Bakery Outlet on McLoed for a fresh French baguette for $3.00, for the dinner party Friday evening. 

Then I did an experiment, I drove the four blocks from Fano’s to Azuma to see if Azuma had fresh fish.  When I arrived at the Sushi Bar just after noon, the area was packed.  I took the last booth available.  The next couple that arrived ended up at the only table across from my booth, back in the corner.  I ordered my usual Chirashi Donburi with 2 salmon, 2 octopus, 2 ultra white, 2 tuna (maguro), and 4 yellowtail.  Today, since the place was so busy, the cutters literally threw the container together, which is a good thing, because they actually gave me larger cuts of fish.  The fish was the freshest I have ever had, just as fresh, or fresher than last Thursday, which may not be the perfect condition for a sushi purest, who I understand often prefers fish that has matured for a day.  But I prefer the freshest fish when its flesh is still suffused with its luscious freshness from the sea that literally melts in your mouth.  So I confirmed to my satisfaction that the fish is freshest on Thursday and when one of the lady waiters stopped at my table to say hello, she cheerfully confirmed, “Fresh fish delivered Monday and Thursday.  Uni, only Thursday”.   So Thursday and Monday are the best days for fresh fish at Azuma.

At around 1:00 the sushi area started emptying, so I concluded that most of these folks were regulars, sho also knew that Thursdays are the best day for sushi, rather than Balloon Fiesta tourists, and that Robert Mueller is correct when he says it is better to come at 1:00 for sushi at Azuma.

After lunch I drove the short distance up San Mateo to Sprouts at Academy.  I wanted to check out the $.49 cent avocados.  I bought 3 green avocados and then saw that acorn squash was on sale for $.88/lb. I bought one more squash so we would have ½ for each person Friday evening.  I also bought 1 lb. of small sea scallops 30-40 count for $8.99/lb. and about 1 lb. of Brussels Sprouts for $1.99/lb. to roast with the pork dish this evening.  When I walked through the bulk area on my way to check out, I saw pecan pieces for $5.99/lb., which seemed cheap, so I bagged about 1 lb. of them also.

When Suzette arrived home at around 5:15, I mentioned the proposed menu of roasted Brussel Sprouts and the roasted Pork tapa.  We had a quick conversation and Suzette said, “Let’s keep it simple, just Brussels Sprouts and the pork dish.”  I said, “Great”.

Unfortunately, I had to deal with the Candy building electrical issues for another hour, so Suzette went ahead and cut the bases off the Brussels sprouts and cut them in half and put them into a ceramic baking dish, tossed them with butter, olive oil, salt and pepper, and put them into a 350˚oven to bake.

Finally around 6:15 I arrived in the kitchen and we started the Roasted Pork Tapa.  I first removed the plug of pork from its cloth wrapper.  I then trimmed off a large piece of white tendon on one side of the pork, which left a clean piece of meat.  Suzette wanted the meat cut into four pieces so it would cook more quickly and absorb more of the cooking flavors of the apples and onions, so I did that and did not see any other problem areas.   I then sliced 1 and ½ gala apples into about fifteen slices and a medium brown onion into ten wedges.  Suzette pitted and added slices of four or five fresh Damson plums she picked from her trees at the Center for Ageless Living in Los Lunas.  I then went to the garden and cut 8 sprigs of fresh oregano.

The recipe is easy.  You sauté the apples and then the onions in olive oil on top of the stove until they soften.  Then you add the pork and five sprigs of oregano and roast all of that in a 275˚ oven for about 25 minutes.  Then you remove the pork from the pan and add 2 Tbsp. of brandy/cognac and reduce a minute and then you add ½ cup of chicken stock and reduce a minute or two more to thicken those ingredients into a light sauce.  Then you put the pork back in the pan and coat it with the sauce.

While the pork was roasting Suzette removed the Brussels Sprouts from the oven and garnished them with a handful of pecan pieces (she prefers pinon nuts, but we did not find them) and ½ cup of grated Manchego cheese.   I cut a piece of the fresh baguette and put it into the oven to heat, also.

We agreed that we wanted to drink a rosé wine.  Suzette showed me a picture of a French rosé she and Melissa had drunk in New York named Saint something? from Tourraine (probably a Cabernet Franc), so I chilled a 2013 D’Autrefois Pinot Noir Rosé (Total Wine $11.99, Alfio Moriconi Selection) from Pays d’Oc (Indication Geographique Protégée, that huge wine growing area west of the Rhone River around Aix en Provence that has no assigned appellation.

By 6:50 we were ready to eat, the pork was mostly grey with just a little pink in the middle.  We judged we had cooked the pork a bit too long but Suzette does not like her pork red in the middle as is shown in the picture of the dish in the Andreas’ Tapa Cookbook.

The apples, plums and onions had cooked long enough to soften and yield their flavors to the sauce, which was thicker than usual, perhaps also due in part to a greater amount of fat in the sirloin than a tenderloin.  I also added about 10 oz. of chicken stock instead of 8 oz. which may have generated more interaction of ingredients into the sauce

Roasted Brussells Sprouts

Roasted Pork , apples, onions and plums in Saute pan

We both loved the dish and the Brussels Sprouts with the fresh roasted pecans and melted Manchego were wonderfully flavorful also.  The D’Autrefois rosé was elegant and subtle, as you would expect of a good French rosé, so it supported and added a slight sweetness and softness that both enhanced the rich flavors of the pork and Brussels Sprouts while slightly dispelling some of the Brussels Sprouts normal tartness and the pork’s meaty heaviness.

We had wanted to fix a light meal and we ended up with a pretty heavy wintry meal, but it was perfect for this rainy, cool night.  When we turned on the TV at 6:55 we were pleasantly surprised to see that the Colbert Report and the John Stewart shows had moved to new times, now starting at 6:57 p.m., so we watched them and then the last hour of “An Unmarried Woman” with Jill Clayburgh and Alan Bates and Paul Jenkins’ great large format abstract flow paintings, which Suzette had never seen before.  I love the picture with its smart script about a woman seeking liberation in the 1970’s New York art scene and I think Suzette did also.

We dipped slices of warm toasted baguette into the sauce and after dinner I spread Indulgence 70% butter fat brie cheese on the remaining two slices of baguette for a little cheese course.

Bon Appétit