Orphan Thanksgiving Dinner

Okay, so I'm not really an orphan. But as the dining hall lines thin and the university quiets over Canadian Thanksgiving weekend, it starts to feel that way. It doesn't really make sense to go home on a 3-day weekend and it would be nice to see my family, but missing out on a major food holiday is what hurts more. An entire turkey would have been a bit much, but this rolled pork loin stuffed with an autumnal stuffing was a festive and showy alternative.

Pork Loin Rolled With Apricot, Prune & Walnut Stuffing (serves 4)

• Pork loin, approx 800 g (my dad's original calls for a tenderloin but I bought this instead)
• 2/3 cup dried apricots, chopped fine
• 2/3 cup prunes, chopped fine
• 1/2 cup walnut crumbs
• 4 shallots, minced
  
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp oil - walnut, olive or canola
• 2 tsp honey
• 4 tbsp rum/Irish whiskey/port/sherry (I used Grand Marnier, but really, almost any booze)
• 1/2 tsp dry thyme
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3 sprigs fresh rosemary
• 2 slices bacon

1. Preheat oven to 375˚. Start by butterflying the meat so it lays flat at 1/4" thickness. I had never butterflied before but it's not so hard. I recommend subscribing to the Cook's Illustrated podcast on iTunes and watching the Grilled Stuffed Pork Loin episode for instruction on butterflying. If you haven't been entirely even in your cutting, you can pound it to the desired thickness, laying the meat between to sheets of plastic wrap, or putting it in a ziploc and whacking it with a heavy skillet.


2. Cover chopped apricot and prunes with boiling water, let stand 5-10 minutes. Meanwhile, mince and gently sauté shallots and garlic in oil until they turn golden (do not brown). Combine drained fruits, walnuts, shallots & garlic, honey, liquor and dry spices in a bowl, stir and let sit a few minutes.


3. Spread stuffing evenly over the pork loin, leaving a bit of space at one end. Sprinkle on the leaves from 2 sprigs of rosemary, roll up the loin from the small end. Top with slices of bacon and remaining sprig of rosemary, and tie up with string/twine. Place on lipped baking sheet, and bake for 30 minutes.


4. To serve, remove strings, slice thinly and serve. Ideally you will not be using a paring knife, but it still turned out okay.


Glazed Carrots

• As many carrots as desired
• Generous piece of butter
• Pure maple syrup-the better the syrup the better this will be
  

1. Begin by steaming the carrots. We were short on pots and pans, so this was accomplished in the microwave (in a large microwave safe bowl, add about 1 tbsp water to cut and peeled carrots, cover with plastic wrap and microwave for approx 3 minutes).
2. In a large skillet, melt the butter and add maple syrup. Add carrots to the skillet and cook until a glaze forms, being sure to coat the carrots entirely.


Mashed potatoes

• Yukon gold potatoes (we did 5 largeish for 3 people)
• Butter
• Milk if desired

1. Peel potatoes and cut into uniformly sized sections. Boil and salt water, add potatoes and cook approx 25 minutes (use fork test to check doneness-you should get no resistance and they should almost start falling apart).
2. Drain water and turn heat to lowest setting. Using a potato masher, mash the potatoes to a uniform consistency. Add butter, a lot or a little as you are so inclined. I would recommend a lot. Taste frequently to determine if it needs more butter or possibly some milk. Serve.


Pumpkin pie post coming soon!