SALT

Just a little commentary on salt in cooking. Some of the bad points about salt:

• It numbs the taste buds so the subtle flavors of the dish are obliterated leaving salt as the only detectable flavor.

• Salt draws out the juices in meat leaving the dish less tender and not as juicy as it might have been.

• Salt contributes to high blood pressure with The FDA recommending 2,300 milligrams of sodium a day maximum. Each teaspoon of salt contains 2,000 mg of sodium (salt).

My recommendation for flavor and good health is to learn to enjoy food's natural taste. Put the salt shaker on vacation or at least cover up half the holes on the shaker and don't add any while prparing foods. At first your food may seem bland, but give it a chance. Over a relatively short time, your taste buds will recover from the constant desensitizing of salt and will find new and wonderfull flavors you never knew existed.

Here is a list* of some of the worst offenders for sodium(salt) content:

Onion salt
Celery salt
Garlic salt
Seasoned salt
Meat tenderizer
Baking powder
Baking soda
Monosodium glutamate (msg)
Soy sauce
Steak sauce
Barbeque sauce
Catsup
Bouillon cubes
Mustard
Worcestershire sauce
Salad dressings
Pickles
Chili sauce
Relish
Salt shaker

*Source: Sodium in the Diet, by J. Anderson, L. Young, E. Long and S. Prior

Some suggestions for non-salt flavoring/seasonings :

• Lemon Juice/Peel
• Orange juice/Peel
• Lime Juice/Peel
• Rosemary
• Balsamic Vinegar
• Thyme
• Basil
• Marjoram
• Oregano
• Sage
• Dill Weed
• Savory
• Pepper

Crown Roast of Pork with Apple Stuffing

Christmas dinner this year was a Crown Pork roast. We don't make it very often because it's a lot of food for two people. We had the butcher make up the smallest roast he could, it ended up with 10 ribs and about 7-½ pounds. For this meal I started with a recipe from Gourmet back in 2005, but changed a lot to suit our taste. I hope you enjoy this roast and the Sweet Oranges with Kumquats from "Farmhouse" with it.

INGREDIENTS:

For stuffing

3/4 lb lean ground pork
1 large Shallot
½ apple
½ stick butter
3 Tbsp Bells' Poultry Seasoning
1 tsp black pepper
½ lb fresh Pullman loaf, pain de mie, or country loaf
1 rib finely chopped celery
1 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth

For roast
7 to 8 lb Crown pork roast, rib ends frenched.
1 tsp dry sage
1 tsp marjoram or thyme
1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1 1/2 cups water
Farmhouse Oranges and Kumquats

For sauce
1/4 cup dry white wine
3/4 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 tsp cornstarch, dissolved in 1 Tbsp water
1 Tbsp cold butter

PREPARATION:

Stuffing:
Peel the shallot and chop finely. Dice the bread into 1-inch cubes. Clean, wash and dice the celery into ¼" pieces. Wash, peel and dice the apple ½" cubes.

Set a large heavy skillet over moderate heat, when the rim is hot add 1/2 stick butter, melt then add the shallot and celery, cook stirring occasionally, until tender, about 10 minutes. Add the ground pork, continuing to cook, stirring frequently, until the pork is no longer pink, about 10 minutes more. Add the Bells', apple and pepper mix well, cook and stir 5 minutes. Add 1 cup of chicken broth bring to a boil, add the bread crumbs stirring occasionally, until the stuffing thickens and the liquid absorbs, then remove from heat. If the stuffing is too juicy, add more bread cubes, too dry add more chicken broth.
The roast:

Roast:
Add the sage, marjoram and pepper to a small mill and grind together. Pat the roast dry with paper towels and lightly spray it with an olive oil mist, then sprinkle the spices over outside and bottom of roast.

Put roast in a small flameproof roasting pan cover the rib tips with foil to keep from burning. Add water to pan.

Put oven rack in lower third of oven and preheat oven to 350°F.

COOKING:

Roast pork in lower third of oven for 2 hours at 350°F. If pan becomes dry add a little water.

Remove the roast and mound stuffing loosely in center, cover the stuffing and tips of ribs with a sheet of foil. Return the roast to the oven for 30 minutes. Then place the remaining stuffing in a buttered baking dish cover with foil and put it in the oven with the roast. Continue roasting until thermometer inserted 2 inches into center of meat (do not touch bones) registers 155-160°F about 2 1/2 to 3 hours total.

Remove the roast when it is done. Take the foil off the remaining stuffing and bake for another 15 min. until top browns just a little.

Transfer pork to a platter and let stand 20 minutes. While it stands, garnish with kale leaves decorated with Farmhouse Oranges and Kumquats in sweet syrup.

Optional sauce (while pork stands:)

Put the roasting pan one a burner, then add wine to pan and boil over high heat, stirring and scraping up brown bits, until reduced by about half, about 5 minutes. Add broth, pan juices, and any juices on platter from roast and bring to a simmer. Re-stir cornstarch mixture and add to pan, whisking, then simmer 2 minutes. Add butter and swirl pan until incorporated. Season with pepper.
Serve the pork roast with stuffing and sauce and carve at the table.

Adapted from: Gourmet December 2005

Spicy Brussels Sprouts and Carrots

A nice way to prepare a festive side dish for the holidays. It's good even for those who don't like Brussels Sprouts

INGREDIENTS:

3/4 cup fresh Brussels sprouts or (thawed frozen )
3/4 cup sliced carrot
½ cup water
1/4 cup mayonnaise
2 tsp prepared horseradish
1 Tbsp shallot
1/8 tsp salt
Dash pepper
1/4 cup soft bread crumbs
1-1/2 tsp butter melted
1 Tbsp fresh parsley

PREPARATION:

Wash the sprouts removing tough outer leaves and cut in half. Wash, peel and waffle cut (or diagonal slice) the carrots. Peel and finely chop the shallot. Mince the parsley.

In a small saucepan, combine the first three ingredients. Bring to a boil. Cover and cook for 6-7 minutes or until crisp-tender; drain, reserving 1 tablespoon cooking liquid. In a bowl, combine the mayonnaise, horse radish, shallot, salt, pepper and reserved cooking liquid; mix well. Add the sprouts and carrot tossing to coat.

Melt the butter and mix in the bread crumbs

COOKING:

Transfer to a greased 2-cup baking dish. Sprinkle the buttered crumbs on top. Bake, uncovered, at 350 deg for 10-15 minutes or until lightly browned. Sprinkle with parsley.

Yield: 2 servings.

Adapted from: —Barbara Ferster, Richfield, Pennsylvania

Baked Chicken Legs with Balsamic Vinegar

Here's another way to cook chicken leg quarters, they are my favorite as they are more juicy and flavorful then the breasts. Give this one a try, I think it may become one of your favorite ways to cook chicken!

INGREDIENTS:

3 chicken leg quarters, skin on.

1/2 cup dry white wine
2 Tbs balsamic vinegar
2 cloves of garlic
2 tsp fresh rosemary
2-3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Fresh rosemary sprigs for garnish

PREPARATION:

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Wash the legs and remove any visible fat etc. Pat dry and Place chicken skin side up in roasting pan. Peel and finely chop the garlic. Wash the rosemary, shaking off the water. Strip the leaves from the stalk and finely chop.

Pour wine and vinegar over chicken then distribute the garlic and rosemary evenly over the legs. Pour the olive oil over the chicken and cover

COOKING:

Place the pan in the oven and bake at 350 deg. until chicken is cooked through, about 1 hour 15 minutes(175 deg). Remove the cover during the last 15 min. to let it brown some. Put the chicken on a serving dish and cover it with an Aluminum foil tent*.

Pour pan juices into small saucepan, spoon off the fat from top of pan juices. Boil juices until reduces to 1/3 cup, about 15-20 minutes.

Pour the juices over chicken and garnish with rosemary sprigs

* I use the foil tent so often, I just put it on the shelf for the next time.