Food Blog

I made a nice meal of a pork loin and baked sweet potatoes. The sweet potatoes were kick-ass, if I may say so myself

I recently got a subscription to Cook’s Illustrated (thanks Mom) and got inspired by something I saw in this month’s issue. For those of you unfamiliar with it, it’s the magazine of America’s Test Kitchen, sometimes seen on PBS.

They bake, broil and fry over and over until they get the dishes exactly the way they want. Most of us don’t have that luxury of course, but they document everything, letting us know why something worked and why it didn’t.

I followed their technique for sweet potato and it turned out very good. Notice I said technique, not recipe. Cook’s Illustrated recommends not boiling the sweet potatoes, like everyone does, since the water washes many of the subtle flavors away. Cook them over low heat, in a covered pot with some butter and cream. I took one of their suggestions and cooked them in coconut milk and a little butter, and just a hint of nutmeg and a seeded hot pepper.

The bone-in pork loin I just roasted with a crust of black and white peppercorns, coriander and some crushed up blackberry sage tea.

Sweet Potato Ingredients

1 can coconut milk, well shaken

2 large jewel or garnet sweet potatoes

2 tbs butter

1 dried arbol chili, seeded

ground nutmeg

2 cloves

1/2 tsp salt

Peel and cut the sweet potatoes into roughly equal cubes. Dump them into a large pot with the melted butter, season, then pour in the coconut milk. (I boiled them in water beforehand, for just a minute, then drained them, for a cleanier taste.) I was going for very sublte seasoning so I didn’t over do it with the nutmeg or clove. The pepper adds just a bit of depth and spicyness, one more might give an interesting touch.

The liquid should just about cover the potatoes. A little water wouldn’t hurt anything if you need to add some. Cover and cook over low heat for 35-45 minutes until the sweet potatoes fall apart when forked. Use your preference for either hand blending or mashing right in the pot. You won’t need to add any cream or anything.

Pork Loin ingredients

bone-in, center cut pork loin

1/2 tsp black and white peppercorns

1/2 tsp whole coriander seeds

1 bay leaf crushed

1/2 tsp Republic of Tea brand Blackberry Sage Tea

1/2 tsp salt

Throw the ingredients in a ziplock bag and crush up well with a mallet or something. Rub it all on the pork loin. Roast bone down, on a rack 325° for about an hour and a half. I added some water in the pan once in awhile to give it a little steam.