The Results, TGIF, and a cooking weekend ahead

It is Friday, finally!  After a week of slacking, I have ahead of me a weekend of meat sauce, marinara sauce, chicken à la king, and maple fudge!  Yes, the orders are coming in, and I love it!  I really appreciate cooking for others, more so than cooking for myself, and it's a real treat to be able to reach more people with Haute Cuisine!  So I will be spending this coming weekend cooking, canning, dressing up the jars!

Batch of Meat Sauce with Fresh Herbs

So because of all this cooking, I will be taking a break (yes, another!) from the Food & Wine magazine.  We are going out to eat Saturday and Sunday, so there won't be any recipes to post, but great restaurant experiences and reviews!  Yesterday, however, I made the Pork Scaloppine with Cabbage, and I am really happy I did as it turned out great.  I was quite skeptic before, but a few bites of this warm salad type dish and I was convinced to add it to my repertoire of recipes I would be willing to make again!  The crispness of the barely cooked cabbage really complemented perfectly the savoriness of the pork.  And cabbage (especially red) is so good for you.  Red cabbage is packed with anthocyanins, healthful compounds from the flavonoid class of plant nutrients),   We both finished our plates and could not wait for lunch today to have the leftovers.  Please note that I made my recipe using good balsamic vinegar instead of vin cotto.  Here is the recipe and a picture:

Pork Scaloppine with Cabbage

• 1 1/2 pounds boneless pork loin roast with at least 1/4-inch cap of fat
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1/2 cup walnuts
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 3 tablespoons vin cotto, plus more for drizzling (see Note)
• 1 small shallot, minced
• 1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• All-purpose flour, for dredging
• 1 pound red cabbage, thinly sliced
• 1 large red-skinned or Bosc pear, cored and cut into thin sticks 

1. Preheat the oven to 325°. Trim the fat from the top of the pork loin and cut into thin strips. Spread the fat strips on a large rimmed baking sheet, season with salt and pepper and bake for about 25 minutes, until the fat is melted and the cracklings are browned and crisp. Transfer the cracklings to paper towels to drain. Pour the melted fat into a small bowl; you should have about 2 tablespoons.
2. Spread the walnuts in a pie plate and bake for 10 minutes, until golden. Let cool and coarsely chop. Reduce the oven to 300°.
3. Trim off any silver skin from the pork loin and slice the meat crosswise into 4 pieces. Set each piece between 2 sheets of plastic wrap and pound to an 1/8-inch thickness.
4. In a small bowl, whisk the vinegar with the 3 tablespoons of vin cotto, the shallot and 3 tablespoons of the olive oil. Season the vinaigrette with salt and pepper.
5. In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil until shimmering. Season the pork scaloppine with salt and pepper and dredge in flour, shaking off the excess. Add 2 of the scaloppine to the hot oil and cook over high heat until browned, about 1 1/2 minutes. Turn the scaloppine and cook for about 20 seconds longer. Transfer the scaloppine to a large rimmed baking sheet and keep warm in the oven. Cook the remaining scaloppine in the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil.
6. Pour off the oil in the skillet and wipe it out. Add the vinaigrette and the melted pork fat to the skillet and warm over moderately high heat. Add the cabbage and pear and toss until warm, 30 seconds. Transfer the salad and scaloppine to plates and garnish the salad with the cracklings. Sprinkle with the walnuts, drizzle with vin cotto and serve. 

Source: Food & Wine, from Best Pairings for Italian Wines, published October 2010

Pork Scaloppine with Cabbage

Have a great weekend readers, and make sure to eat tasty homemade food!  Bon appétit!