Sunday Dinner, May 18, 2008

As promised in my last post, here I am with this week's Sunday Dinner post. I' know you've all been holding your breath in anticipation, so y'all can all breathe now.

As I type this the smell of roast pork is wafting through the house, along with the aroma of white beans, or for y'all non-Southerners, Great Northern beans.

I have a big Boston butt pork roast in my biggest enamel ware roast pan, roasting away at 375º. I added some water to the pan to keep the drippings from burning and so I'll have the pan juices to make gravy. I'll let it cook until it's done through but not quite tender, then take it out of the oven to cool. It will go in the fridge for the night.

After my beans get done and I've seasoned them with salt and a little oil, I'll set them off the stove to cool, then refrigerate them until I get home from church. I'll reheat them slowly and stir them often to guard against them sticking and scorching. There's not much worse than burnt beans.

I'll peel some potatoes tonight and put them in a bowl of cold water. Tomorrow afternoon when I get home from church I'll put the potatoes in with the roast and put it back in the oven to finish baking until the pork roast is tender and the potatoes are done. I'll thicken the pan juices with a slurry of corn starch and water to make the gravy.For those who may not know how to thicken gravies with corn starch, use one heaping tablespoon of cornstarch for each cup of pan juices. Dissolve the cornstarch in a quarter cup of cold water. Bring the pan juices to a boil in a saucepan and remove from heat. Add the cornstarch and water to the juices, stirring constantly.

After it's well blended, put the saucepan back on the heat and bring back to a boil, stirring constantly, and cook for at least one minute or until thickened and glossy. When you add the cornstarch slurry the mixture will be cloudy, but as it cooks the gravy will turn shiny and almost clear.

If it's a little too thick to suit you, add a little hot water at a time until it's the consistency you like.I know Jessica, Emmy and Jason will be here, and as far as I know Cecil and Ducky will be here, along with Ducky's granddaughter, Genna. According to who's here and general consensus, I may fix some green beans or cabbage, or maybe some steamed broccoli to round out the meal.

Boy, that roast is smellin' good! I may have to have a sample tonight just to make sure it's fit to serve tomorrow. ;-)

Now, what's for dinner at your place this Sunday? Going to Grandma's or out to eat? Just share your plans/menu in the comments if you'd like to participate this week.Y'all have a great remainder of your weekend. May God bless you with all you need, and enough to share.