Pork Loin with Herbed Salt Rub

A wonderfully-seasoned pork roast cooked to perfection with just a blush of pink.

A roast is one of the easiest of meals to prepare, especially if you have a family. Pop it in the oven and it's done. And leftover slices make for great sandwiches, either warm or cold.

Unfortunately, finding a good roast is not always easy. Most super market selections are de-boned for convenience and scalped of fat for the health-conscious consumer. When I lived in a small rural town in Indiana, my neighborhood grocer had incredible roasts, especially pork roasts, bone in, and with a nice layer of fat which one wants when oven-cooking. They were always tender and wonderfully juicy and succulent--and I suspect they were local. I haven't had a good beef rump roast since I left Michigan several years ago. 

For this particular recipe, I used a pork loin roast (not to be confused with pork tenderloin, a different cut). Pork loins are usually uniform in shape, so they bake evenly. The one pictured still had a nice layer of fat, though I would have liked a bit more. I bought a 4 lb. roast and cut it into two 2 lb. sections, freezing one for later use.

The salt rub took some experimentation and trial-and-error. Don't be put off by the lemon and don't omit it or the fennel seeds.

• 1 pork loin roast, 2-3lbs.
• 1 heaping tablespoon fresh minced rosemary
• 1 1/2 teaspoon fresh sage, minced
• 1 teaspoon fennel seed, crushed
• 2 medium cloves garlic, pressed or finely minced
• 2 teaspoons Kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon all-purpose pepper
• Zest of 1/2 lemon
• 1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil

Using a damp paper towel, wipe the roast and set aside on a large plate.

In a small bowl, mix together the rosemary, sage, crushed fennel seed, garlic, salt and pepper and lemon zest. Using the back of a spoon (or a mortar and pestle if you have one) work the salt into the herbs. Add the olive oil and continue mashing away. 

Begin spooning salt rub over pork roast, top and bottom, and work in with your fingers.

Pork loin is quite lean. That bit of fat on top will prevent it
from drying out as it roasts.

Place roast on a rack inside a roasting pan large enough to hold it. It's important to put it on a rack so it does not rest on bottom of pan. Roast at 350 F degrees until a quick-read thermometer registers 140 F degrees (about 20-30 minutes per pound). Remove from oven and allow to rest a good 15 minutes or so before carving. Cut thin slices and serve. (At this point, the salt and herbs have pretty much done their job forming a crust and flavoring the meat, so you need not worry about them falling off.)

If you desire gravy, just add a bit of water to the juices in the bottom of the pan and re-heat over low heat until bubbly. Add a small knob of butter to richen it up a bit. (If you have it on hand, a shot or two of the old stand-by Kitchen Bouquet never hurt.)

I served mine with a side of mashed potatoes and fresh green beans.

Notes: I used a micro-plane to zest my lemon which makes for fine, fluffy zest. There's nothing worse than overcooked pork. You want that bit of pink. If you don't have a mortar and pestle, crush the fennel seeds with a rolling pin or the back of spoon. A mini-spice mill makes easy work of it all, though.

Broiled Clams with Garlic Herb Butter

This recipe is from one of my favorite cookbooks, "Bistro Cooking at Home" by Gordon Hammersley. The recipes are unique. The illustrations beautiful. And the binding of the spine is actually sewn, not glued.

The first time I served these, I spied a guest licking the shells clean. You will, too. The only deviation from the recipe is that I now place the opened clams on a bed of ice-cream salt. It keeps them stable and prevents the juices from tipping out. I omit the parsley garnish at the end.

Littlenecks are small and tender, not chewy like larger clams.

These can be made ahead and then covered in the fridge until ready to broil. The herb butter can be made a day or two ahead. If you have a few dozen, have a "shucking" party with guests helping. Always fun. Just have liquor on hand ...

Do serve with some torn pieces of artisan bread to sop up the juices. Sometimes, I just lightly toast a piece of bread and tear it into pieces. I eat the clam and then drizzle a piece of the bread with juice. And don't be shy, lick the shells all you want.

You will need a sturdy oyster/clam knife to shuck the clams. Look for one with a large, comfortable handle, preferably rubber so it doesn't slip in your hand.

• 20 littleneck clams, scrubbed well under cool-running water
• 3 garlic cloves
• Pinch of Kosher salt
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
• Pinch or two of Cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon fresh rosemary needles, finely minced
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves, minced
• 2 1/2 tablespoons fresh curly parsley, chopped very fine
• Garnish: lemon wedges, 1/4 cup chopped parsley

MAKE the butter:

Chop/press the garlic. Sprinkle with salt and continue to chop, smearing it with the side of your knife until it becomes pastelike. You'll have about 1 1/2 teaspoons. Place garlic paste in a small bowl along with the soft butter, the Cayenne, lemon juice, rosemary, thyme and 2 1/2 tablespoons of parsley. Mix together. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

(A quick note on chopping parsley: Nothing is messier than chopping parsley as fine as possible. I now use an old French "MOULIN" I picked up at a flea market. Most vendors have no idea what they are, so you can usually get one for a couple of bucks. It makes fast work of chopping all leafy greens. It makes "chopping" parsley a whole lot easier.)

SHUCK the clams:

Shuck the clams and place each clam on the deeper half shell. Place on bed of ice cream salt in a heavy pan or sheet tray. Place abut 1 teaspoon of herb butter on top.

HEAT the BROILER and place about 4 inches from heat. Broil until clams are sizzling and cooked through about 3 - 5 minutes depending on size of clams. Serve immediately with lemon wedge and a flourish of chopped parsley. I think five-6 clams per person is a great appetizer.

Clams on the half shell served on North Carolinian pottery.

Notes: For this demo I made a full recipe of herb butter, but only 11 clams, saving the rest for the following day. Remember, clams are live things and need to breathe. Do not store in a closed, plastic bag. Discard any clams that do not close when tapped. To shuck a clam, insert clam knife opposite the hinge between the crevice. Pry open and scrape the knife across the top and bottom of the shells to remove the meat. If the shells are particularly difficult to open, run under warm water to loosen the muscles a bit. Once you get the hang of things, it goes pretty quickly. 

UPDATE: I don't have a grill because building codes where I live don't allow it. But if I did, I'd put these on a grill for that extra smoky flavor. If anyone does, give me a holler.

Broiled Lamb Chops in Herb Marinade

The nice thing about working in a grocery store is that I get to see markdowns as they happen. In this case, it was lamb loin chops marked down to $2.34 for a package of 3. I grabbed two.

Loin chops are tiny, but the meat is tender and succulent. Marinated in fresh herbs and garlic then quick broiled in the oven made for an easy meal that would have cost ten times as much in a restaurant.

• 6 loin lamb chops (about 1.5 lb. total)
• 1 tablespoon pressed garlic or paste
• 1 1/2 teaspoon finely minced fresh rosemary
• 1/2 teaspoon chopped thyme leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
• 1/8 teaspoon all-purpose pepper
• 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
• Several grates lemon zest, (optional)

Wipe loin chops witha damp piece of paper towel and place on a plate.

In a small bowl, mix the garlic, rosemary, thyme, salt, pepper, olive oil and, if using, lemon.

Coat both sides of lamb chops with marinade. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to sit for an hour or two.

Broil about four inches from heat source for about 3-4 minutes per side. Remove to plate and allow to rest a bit before serving.

Notes: I always put a bit of water in the bottom of my broiler pan to prevent smoking and splattering.

Ground-Beef Stroganoff

This is total comfort food and sooo difficult to photograph. It’s rich, satisfying and filling. I’ve made it countless times through the years, especially when money was tight when I was a young teacher in a small Indiana town.  It’s basic and easily lends itself to interpretations and additions, such as mushrooms. Even spinach. Or a pinch of caraway. I've known people who added corn. Leftovers make for a great lunch. Mashed potatoes with lots of melted butter are an alternative to the noodles. The recipe is easily halved.

(Serves 4)

• 1 lb. ground chuck
• 3/4 - 1 cup chopped yellow onion
• 2 garlic cloves, minced or pressed with a garlic press
• 2-3 tablespoons sour cream
• 6 - 8 oz. cream cheese
• 1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt
• 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon all-purpose pepper
• 5 - 6 oz. broad, flat egg noodles of your choice
• 4 oz. can sliced mushrooms, drained (optional)
• Grated Parmesan cheese for garnish (NOT Optional)

Bring a pan of salted water to the boil for the noodles.

Add a bit of olive to a medium pan and heat. Add the ground chuck to the pan along with the onions and brown, breaking up clumps with a spoon or fork. When cooked through, remove some of the grease (most will be water). Add the mushrooms, garlic, salts and pepper and just stir through.

Begin adding the cream cheese in small squares until it melts and then the sour cream (add more of both if you want it creamier and remember you will be adding pasta to it later). Taste for seasonings. Cover and keep warm on low heat.

Make noodles according to package directions. Drain. You have two options: butter the noodles to prevent them from sticking and serve separate in a bowl. Mound noodles on a serving plate and then spoon stroganoff mixture on top. OR, just mix it all together. Top with a bit of grated Parmesan, if desired.

I love this with canned, baby whole beets.

Note: Ground chuck is not that much more expensive than ground hamburger which contains a lot of fat. I try to buy ground beef that is actually ground at the store in which I buy it and avoid commercially-packaged ground beef. I prefer ground chuck since it has more taste than ground sirloin. I used Philadelphia Original Cream Cheese and Daisy Sour Cream. NO, they were were not low-fat.