Tuesday, January 5th, 2010 - Mardi Gras: Cook - Patrick

Our first Mardi Gras of 2010. I happened to be first off the block and decided to keep it simple and cook something my mom would prepare for dinner. I was going to prepare a Coleslaw, Roasted Pork and Potatoes. I perused my cookbooks, picked out the recipes and made my list. Dan and I hit the grocery store on Sunday and purchased what was needed and then some! My menu for the Tuesday Inaugural Dinner of 2010 was as follows:

1. Coleslaw with Old Bay Seasoning
2. Roasted Loin of Pork with Roasted Potatoes with Sage
3. Apple Upside Down Cake

I had made this Coleslaw once before and I truly enjoyed it as well as my other dinner guests that evening. Bob, my sister's boyfriend, went back for seconds that night and had filled half his plate with just slaw. Everyone else raved about it as well! So I was confident this was going to be successful once again. I found this recipe in my Williams Sonoma Cook Book but is is also available online via this link:
http://www.recipezaar.com/coleslaw-with-old-bay-seasoning-361222
I found my Roasted Loin of Pork recipe in my cooking bible. This cookbook has not failed me yet and is my favorite "go to" book for recipes. It's The New Best Recipe from the editors of Cook's Illustrated. The Recipe I used for the Loin was on page 467 and for the potatoes, I used the variation for this same recipe found on page 468. It was simple to prepare, required minimal dishes and the end result impressive. Judging by the lack of left overs, I would have to say everyone enjoyed this as well!
Dessert was a breeze. I purchased the President's Choice Apple Upside Down Cake. It took a whole 8 minutes to have this ready to eat. I served it with Vanilla Ice Cream.
After our feast, we watched the Season Premiere of the Biggest Loser! It's one of our guilty pleasures after pigging out on dinner.
The Mardi Gras Group left by 10pm.
Next week is Jude's turn! She been an eater at Mardi Gras for quite some time and we've finally convinced her to try her hand at cooking. I can't wait to see what she decides to prepare. I think she's leaning towards making a meat loaf! I find this a little risky considering she'll be competing against Dan's version of Martha Stewart's Mother's recipe for Meat Loaf which is fantastic.
Here's the link to Martha's Mother's recipe! Dan heats his up a little by adding hot peppers.
http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/meatloaf-101-with-mrs-kostyra
Till Next Tuesday!