Saturday, May 17, 2008

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 375ยบ. 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.

24 comments:

Jess said...

Man...I had two posts to read.. Hope the roast is as good as usual. Because it's normally GREAT!
See you tomorrow at church...love you

mer@lifeat7000feet said...

Sounds delicious, Diane. Your Sunday Dinner posts always make me so hungry!

I don't do big Sunday dinners. I think we're having leftover burgers that we grilled tonight.

Dawn said...

I love the smell of roasting pork - even better than beef. Sounds like a wonderful meal.

We'll be eating somewhere on the way home from a road trip.

Betty said...

Um, your dinner for tomorrow sounds delicious. What time should I be there? LOL!! Would love the food and the company, I'm sure.

Have a good day tomorrow, Diane.

Hugs,
Betty

Dawn said...

I forgot to thank you for your prayers and for letting your SS class know of our need.

Anonymous said...

Can I come over?

Granny said...

Yum. I'm doing Thanksgiving in May. I've had a turkey breast in the freezer for some time. Roasting it today, making dressing, etc. to go with.

It won't be as fancy as a holiday dinner but should be good and we'll have sandwiches from the leftovers.

Unknown said...

Sure sounds good to me.. We are having pork roast today too. It is the best kind too. The kind that someone else is cooking. Today is my Mother's Day celebration and Chris and Melody are fixing dinner for us. Chris cooks his roasts on the grill and it is delicious and so tender.

Hope you have a blessed day.

Mary said...

Diane,

Roast pork with homemade gravy and all the fixin's sounds delicious. I'm afraid I'm not that energetic this week. Not sure what we are having but I better figure it out soon. LOL

The photos of Emily are precious. Thank you for sharing.

About the English violets on my post today - they were fragrant at one time but not so much so now. I'm wondering if it is something to do with the soil. I love them. They are so dainty and pretty.

Take care and enjoy your family and your Sunday dinner.

Blessings,
Mary

Linda said...

Hi Diane,
Sunday dinner sounds delicious - I can almost smell it from here.
We're having spaghetti with clam sauce tonight. I seem to be able to go only a few days without a pasta "fix". It must be my Italian heritage!
Enjoy the day with family and have a blessed week!

Lucy Stern said...

Hi Diane, I have that Pork Loin in the crock pot and it should be ready when we get home from church tonight. Still not sure what I will cook with it, but it will probably be your cabbage and either rice or potatoes...No pudding pie this week, I'm out of milk...

Rest up, Lamar will be home before you know it.

Susie said...

Hi Diane,
Roast pork with those side dishes sound yummy!
It's still hot here, so I think Bill will grill some burgers for us today. I'll make a salad and some home fries (which he can do out on the grill)
Have a wonderful Sunday!
xoxo

Anonymous said...

I really wish I could come over to your house. I'm sitting here all alone this afternoon because Hubby is playing in a charity golf tournament and I'm trying to think where me and Lucille might go for a bite of supper. But, you know, it's just not fun to eat alone so PBJ may be it for me and I'll save of "feed" for Miz Lucille ;)

Hope you are having a wonderful day!

Love YOU!♥

Alice Grace said...

I love your style of writing about your meal you are cooking! Seems like I was right in the kitchen with you!

MightyMom said...

yummy sounds great! and poor Emmy's ruined that outfit! but it looks like it was fun in the ruining!!

I've never seen actual instructions on thickening with corn starch. I just use a bit of starch in a dash of water, stir in till it looks right, hold mouth to the left while stirring and to the right while waiting to boil.

:-)

MightyMom said...

but I forgot to ask how you seasoned that pork roast? one of my favs is when you poke holes in the top and stick sliced garlic in the holes, then rub with salt and pepper....dang, you dun thrown a cravin on ME! :-)

Lib said...

Hi,
Mmmmm sounds yummy!
Hope you're doing good ,I'm trying to catch up on blogging.
Hope you have a great wk.
Blessins,Lib

Brenda said...

Hello Diane!

I haven't been able to blog this week so I have a lot of catching up to do! I just want you to know how much I enjoy your's and Jessica's blog. When you see in the news how much 'stuff' goes on out there in the world and then come over to your blog, it's just comforting to know there's people out there like you who have normal yet wonderful days to share with us. Wonderful times in a wacky world!

Sunday was Grace's birthday, so we had friends over for a barbeque...burgers and hotdogs, potato salad, doctored up pork n' beans and chips...just simple but yummy stuff. And since Grace doesn't like cake, except for the frosting, we decided on ice cream with fresh strawberries. Yum!

Have a wonderful week!
Brenda :)

Nashe^ said...

Just FYI, my mom never allowed me near puddles like that, and now that I'm older, I'm somewhat disgusted by mud, soil, earth and grass. Hmm.


Wow. Looks like you've had quite a week! Emmy looks really really pretty (somewhat like her gramma). The cake and celebrations looked good... Man I wish my week was as exciting... =/

Mississippi Songbird said...

I love the smell of roast.. I'm hungry now and It's luchtime..lol
Have a great day..

Mim said...

Hi Diane
I actually found you through Barb and your daughter through you, but hadn't said hi to you yet!
Love the way you love your family, daughter and grandbaby. Now that is one cute little girl, muddy butt or not! How sweet.
Mim

nancy said...

I like your new photo.
Nancy

Mountain Mama said...

When you described your pork roast in the oven I think I could smell it! I haven't made one in years. I do have a lot of home canned gravenstein applesauce though and I know how good they go together! I guess I'll have to get a pork roast now. Talked myself right into it!
I love the pic of Princess Emmy in your sidebar. She is such a little sweetheart.
Hope you are having a good week Diane.
Love & Hugs

auntpearl said...

Oh my goodness a pork roast sounds so wonderful. I haven't had a home cooked meal since my father went into the hospital...just no time...fast food for me.

Hope you all had a great day and enjoyed your family time.

Hugs,