The Lush Chef

Libations left over: pretty much the whole bottle, so serve that Chardonnay to your guests

I never liked pork growing up - I hated the texture, taste, everything about it.  In fact, an allergy test proved that I was slightly allergic to it.  Well, thank goodness I outgrew that, and my palate changed.  When I went home for the Christmas holidays, the Lush Chef's dad made this delicious and simple pork loin with a heavenly mustard sauce (I definitely licked my plate).  Two days later, we had a fancy prix-fixe dinner out, where they served a crown roast.  We all took a bite, looked at my dad, and agreed his version put theirs to shame.

The original recipe comes compliments of the Barefoot Contessa, but we took some liberties with the recipe to make it simpler - we cut out the chicken stock and the green peppercorns.  Even though we had this in the winter, this dish is perfect to make any time of year.  There's also something about a pork loin all Frenched and tied up that makes you look like a better cook than you really are - it's a surefire way to impress your dinner guests.  I served this with some spring roasted vegetables from the Farmer's Market, and included fresh fennel (both bulbs and fronds) to tie it in with the fennel seeds for the pork loin.

Pork Loin with White Wine, Fennel and Mustard Sauce - serves 6-8

Ingredients:

- Allow the pork to stand at room temp for 30 minutes.  Preheat the oven to 400.

- Place the pork, fat side up in a dutch oven or roasting pan.

- In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, 2 Tbs of each mustard, the ground fennel seed, 2 tsp salt, and 1/2 tsp black pepper.

- Rub the mixture on top of the pork and roast for 1 - 1 1/4 hours, or until the temp reads 140.

- Have yourself a glass of wine.

- Remove from the oven and transfer to a cutting board and cover tightly with foil, allowing it to rest for about 20 minutes.

- Remove all but 1/4 cup fat from the dutch oven.  If there isn't that much fat, then add enough butter to make 1/4 cup.

- Over medium heat, whisk 2 Tbs flour into the fat and cook for 1 minute.

- Add the wine and be sure scrape up any brown bits from the bottom of the dutch oven.

- Add the remaining mustard, 2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp black pepper.

- Bring to a boil, then lower the heat to a simmer for 5-10 minutes, until the sauce has reduced and slightly thickened.

- Remove the strings from the pork, slice between the bones, and serve warm with the hot sauce.