Roasted Pork Loin with Roasted Garlic Vinaigrette

Background

One of my favorite chefs, Giada De Laurentiis, has very rarely steered me wrong. With few exceptions I have been impressed with her recipes. So impressed in fact, that I have three of her cookbooks and frequently refer to her recipes on The Foodnetwork when looking for inspiration for dinner or when considering a recipe tweak. When I came across this one, I knew it was only a matter of time before I pulled it out and put it to the test. To compliment the dish, I tossed green beans and asparagus with olive oil, salt, and pepper and roasted them at a moderately high heat. I wasn't quite sure what wine to pair with it, so I went out on a limb with a wine I've had several times and will continue to pick up in the future: d'Arenberg's Hermit Crab, a 2006 Viognier Marsanne that never fails to please.

Ingredients

Roasted Garlic:
2 heads garlic

2 tablespoons olive oil

Salt

1 3 1/2 to 4 1/2 pound boneless pork loin

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Vinaigrette:
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

2 tablespoons water

General Instructions

Cut the garlic in half crosswise, drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt. Wrap the garlic in aluminum foil and roast in a 475 degree F oven for 1 hour. Season the pork loin on all sides with salt and pepper and place in a heavy roasting pan. Place the pork loin in the same 475 degree F oven 30 minutes after beginning the garlic. Cook until an instant-read thermometer registers 140 to 145 degrees F, about 30 to 40 minutes. Remove the pork from the oven and tent with foil, allowing it to rest for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare the vinaigrette by removing the garlic cloves and combining them with the parsley and balsamic vinegar in a blender. Drizzle the olive oil into the blender while the machine is running. Add the sugar, salt, pepper, and water and blend until well incorporated.

To serve: slice the pork and drizzle with the vinaigrette.

Suggestions

I have to qualify this recipe with a guilty admission: many people claim that you should never try a recipe for the first time other than the way it is written... Oops! For two people, a 4 pound roast was just too much, so I roasted a two pound pork loin and halved the vinaigrette portion of the recipe. Keep that in mind when considering my suggestions for this recipe. 

One word of warning: even with a digital in-oven thermometer, the cooking time was tricky. The recipe states 30 to 40 minutes are required for a 3 1/2 to 4 1/2 pound pork loin. My thermometer claimed my roast had reached an adequate internal temperature after just 27 minutes, not an unreasonable extrapolation to a 2 pound pork loin I thought. One slice into the pork loin though, revealed very pink meat and pink juices. I would definitely suggest going the full 40 minutes, possibly even adjusting the cooking time up, depending on how you like your pork cooked and the size of your pork loin. If you can stick it out with the cooking time you will have a delightful meal, as the vinaigrette was well worth the effort. I simplified the preparation and cleanup for the vinaigrette by using an immersion blender and an attachment that acts as a mini food processor.

Opinion

Prior to preparing this dish it occurred to me that a scale for rating dishes I prepare might be in order. Part of what makes preparing a dish exciting is not only the ability to enjoy it in the moment, but the possibility of discovering something you can't live without having again. The risk to that little adventure: ending up with something you wouldn't feed your worst enemy! But, with those opposite ends of the spectrum, I concocted a scale for future reference:

5 Mind blowing epiphany

4 Make it part of the regular rotation

3 Consider the possibility of letting it pass your lips again

2 Starving animals need to eat

1 Recycle the paper the recipe is printed on

This dish, despite the hassle with the cooking time, was certainly a 3, possibly worthy of a 4.  I loved the vinaigrette. The garlic was in no way overpowering, and its sweetness was complimented by the addition of sugar. That is not to say that the sweetness was unbalanced- the vinegar and oil together combined for a perfect tart counterbalance.  The vinaigrette will be something I put on my shelf for future visits.  I would happily make it again for salads or even grilled beef.  The pork was somewhat unremarkable, serving mostly as a vessel for the vinaigrette. What this dish lacks in excitement is made up for in ease of preparation, cooking time conundrums not withstanding.

The wine... Well, I continue to be ever pleased by this wine, as with everything else I've tried from this Australian winery. The acidity of the wine actually paired quite well with the acidity/tartness of the vinaigrette. That being said, I can't say that this was a particularly stellar combination. The Viognier Marsanne was incredibly delicate, a crisp and dry, refreshing white that I have previously paired with crab cakes (a much better pairing in my opinion). The pork may have complimented the light fruit in a different setting, but the vinaigrette in the end overpowered the wine.

Gorgonzola and Pear Tart

As I feel my way through this whole blogging revolution, bear with me. For now, I'll list the ingredients, give a general run down of working through the recipe, any thoughts/suggestions for the dish, and an opinion of the quality of the dish. Feel free to suggest any additions/removals from this list.

Background

I had come across this recipe some time back, but kind of forgot about it. That is, until my husband and I realized we had a 2002 Martinelli Dry Gewurztraminer we purchased on our honeymoon (2007) that really needed to be enjoyed and was desperately in need of an interesting dish to pair with it. And how fitting that I should kick off my first real post with a wine from the winery that really elevated my interest in wine and food pairings. Enter the gorgonzola and pear tart...

Ingredients

1 store bought pie shell

4 ounces cream cheese

2 ounces Gorgonzola

1 teaspoon fresh thyme, chopped

Pinch salt

Pinch freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons butter

3 small pears, cored and sliced

2 ounces prosciutto, cut into thin strips

General Instructions

Bake the pie shell in a tart pan according to the package instructions. Allow to cool slightly. Combine the cream cheese, Gorgonzola, fresh thyme, a pinch of salt and black pepper in a bowl with a hand mixer. In a large skillet brown the pears in the butter.

After the tart crust has cooled, gently spread the cheese mixture over the bottom. Arrange the pear slices over the cheese mixture. Sprinkle the thin strips of prosciutto over the top.

Suggestions

I added about a tablespoon of brown sugar and a teaspoon of vanilla extract to the pears as they cooked. I really enjoyed the extra hint of sweetness and I feel it complimented the savory of the cheese/herbs well. Additionally, I very briefly sauteed the prosciutto, just to crisp it up a bit and add just a bit more texture to the dish. With a little extra thyme on hand I sprinkled about a half a teaspoon over the finished dish. It added a nice bit of color contrast.

Opinion

I thoroughly enjoyed this dish! I thought the cheese was a bold combination of salty and savory and paired extremely well with the fruit (note: I am a huge fan of bold cheeses; this dish is not for the faint of cheese hearts). I did feel toward the edges of the tart the cheese-to-fruit ratio increased, leaving the fruit overpowered. I might consider adding an additional pear to the preparation in the future. Alternatively, I would consider a bit more brown sugar to accentuate the sweetness of the fruit and combat the saltiness of the tart crust and cheese.

Perhaps my expectations for the wine were inflated, but I really felt the Gewurztraminer was disappointing! Being a bit older for a white (2002), it is possible that it had simply passed its prime. Alternatively, the pairing could have been a bit off. Overall, the wine poured well, leaving the glass thickly coated. The color and nose were extremely reminiscent of a Moscato, or other dessert wine, but this was no sweet bomb! It was dry, but fruity, with a fruit character reminding me of a Pinot Grigio. Unfortunately, when paired with the tart, the wine came away almost bitter by comparison. The pears helped to accentuate the fruit tones, but the cheese and saltiness of the crust just left the intense alcohol (15.6%) completely unmasked.

One final note

This Dry Gewurztraminer tasted exceptionally well when we were at the winery in June 2007. I think it might have been a mistake for us to sit on it as long as we did. It was already five years old at the time of purchase, and as the tasting personnel indicated, it was peaking at the time they were tasting it. For those interested, Martinelli is a wonderful, smaller winery located in the Russian River Valley in Sonoma. The winemaker, Helen Turley, likes her wines large and bold, with a good alcohol punch-- hence a Gewurztraminer weighing in at 15.6%. It is definitely a destination to keep in mind if you are ever in the area. Their Zinfandels and Pinot Noirs are quite renowned, and in my opinion, the best wines I have thus far tasted!