Happy ThanksLIVING: Maple, Mustard and Gewurztraminer Roast Pork

Happy Thanksgiving to all my fellow Canadians!  If you can believe it, this year I totally abandoned the idea of roasting a turkey.  I said screw it!  It's such a pain in the butt and none of us in our family eat dark meat, so there is usually a lot of waste too.  So Todd's family came in for a night and I cooked up the cover story from the October 2011 Canadian Living Magazine... changed up a little bit of course!!  My menu was pretty simple: Maple, Mustard & Gewurztraminer Roast Pork, Harvest Quinoa salad, Honey Braised Carrots and Low-Fat Scalloped Potatoes.

Maple, Mustard & Gewurztraminer Roast Pork
Ingredients:
1 cup gewurztraminer wine (original recipe called for Riesling, but guess who only had a billion bottles of gewurzt after recent trip to wine country?)
1/4 cup maple syrup
3 tbsp Dijon mustard
3 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp grainy mustard
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 tsp pepper
3 lb boneless pork loin centre roast
8 large shallots

Method:
In a large bowl, combine 3/4 cup of the wine, maple syrup, mustards, garlic & pepper.  Transfer to a large ziplock bag and add the pork loin.  Turn to coat & chuck in the fridge, turning once, for about an hour, though I marinated for about 6 hours.

Cut the shallots into 1/2 thick peices and place in a roasting pan.  Top with the pork loin and top with remaining marinade.  Roast at 325degrees for about 2 hours, basting 2-3 times with the pan juices.  Take out of oven when your meat thermometer reads 160degreesF. 

About half-way through...

Reserving pan juices, transfer pork and shallots to serving platter; tent with foil and let stand for 10 minutes before slicing thinly.

Place the pan over medium heat and bring the juices to a boil.  Add the last 1/4 cup of wine and cook, stirring up any bottom bits.  Mi carving juices into pan juices and spoon some over pork slices.  Serve remainder on the side.

Harvest Quinoa Salad
Ingredients:
2 cups chicken stock
1 cup quinoa
1/2 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 cup diced red bell pepper
1/3 cup blueberry infused Craisins
1/3 cup chopped walnuts
1/3 cup crumbled feta
1/4 cup chopped parsley

Method:
Bring the stock and quinoa to a boil in a medium saucepan over high heat.  Reduce to a simmer, cover and cook for 10 minutes.  Turn the heat off and leave the covered saucepan on the burner for 4 more minutes.  Remove from burner, fluff with a fork and allow to cool before adding to all the other ingredients.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the cooked and cooled quinoa with all the other ingredients.  Chill before serving.

Low Fat Scalloped Potatoes
Because we had company, my documentation of the meal was pretty poor!!  The scalloped potatoes I made turned out really good - I took pictures during the prep, but forgot to take a picture when they were complete, which is a shame because they turned out really pretty!!

Ingredients:
3 Yukon Gold potatoes, sliced 1/8" thin on a mandoline
1/2 large onion, also sliced on a mandoline
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup skim milk
1/3 cup parmasen cheese
one clove of garlic, peeled & halved
salt and pepper

Method:
Wipe the inside of a medium casserole dish with the cut side of garlic clove.  Rub some butter on the inside as well.  After slicing the potatoes, let soak in cold water to release some of the starch. 

Start layering the potatoes in the dish, sprinkle with salt and pepper, some dollops of butter, some onions and some parmesan cheese.  Repeat layers until you run out of ingredients.  Pour the milk in through the sides - it will figure itself out while cooking.

I cooked it while cooking my pork, so at 325 for about 2 hours.  It came out really tender and not fatty, heavy tasting.  Very yum!!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!