And Out Popped a P-9/24/09

Eyrleigh and I have had the best time with the September Alphabet themed menus in Gourmet. We made place mats for the table with the letter of the day. We sang the alphabet song while we were cooking. We loved telling Daddy all about what we'd made and the letter we were making. Honestly, I could do this with every letter of the alphabet. Well, maybe not the tough ones, a menu with X may not have much in it and we'd have to run out for ice cream.
Tonight was the letter P. This first picture on the left is probably one of my favorite pictures in this entire blog. I was trying to take a picture of the first recipe from the menu, the Mini Provolone Popovers, and all 4 pictures had Eyrleigh's hand in them. She absolutely loved these little popovers. Sadly, I halved the recipe because I only had a 12 cup mini-muffin pan. These were gone within minutes and all of us wished there were more. They puffed up beautifully and the chives, Parmesan, and Provolone added wonderful flavor to the standard popover batter.
I've mentioned before that growing up my mom cooked with an emphasis on vegetarian options. She was not a strict vegetarian but large roasts were not in her repertoire. I don't know that I have ever made a pork roast, tenderloins, yes, but not a pork butt roast. I was a bit nervous about under cooking the pork. I was so pleased with the Peppercorn Roasted Pork with Vermouth Pan Sauce. This dish tasted like I'd made pork roasts for years. I had bought a smaller roast than the recipe called for so I cut the cooking time proportionally. I was right on. The roast was cooked perfectly and moist and delicious. The pepper crust was flavorful and easily shook off if it became too much. The vermouth sauce was excellent and complimented the meat well.
The Sugar Snap Peas and Potatoes with Parsley Pesto was traditional pairing with pork but the pan saute of the peas did not get them soft enough. They were basically raw and they didn't blend well with the soft potatoes. They were so fresh and crunchy that the pesto couldn't stand up to their strong flavor. I liked the pesto on the potatoes but again the peas needed to cook longer.
I've noticed Gourmet likes to add a sour element to each large menu. I made the Picked Collard Greens with Pineapple with a little change. I had beet greens left over from a recipe last week and so I used these instead of collards. Beet greens are a bit sweeter but have that great purple color, in keeping with the P theme. These pickled greens were good and the pineapple worked, just like the recipe said. My only complaint is that I never crave much of the sour component of these menus and end up with lots of leftovers. I should have halved this recipe, not the popovers.
The Persian Cucumber and Purple Rice Salad was probably one of the prettiest dishes I have ever made. I used the suggested combination of black and white rice instead of searching for the more elusive purple jasmine rice. The color combination was pretty amazing but the flavor was a bit ho-hum. The dressing of oil and lemon was not distinctive and the scallions didn't add much. Maybe a bit of basil or other fresh herb would have helped add a little zing.
The Poppy Seed Pound Cake with Plum Pluot Compote was packed with P's. I loved the pound cake and so did Eyrleigh. It was moist and dense, perfect for a loaf cake. It was easy to make with a stand mixer. The crust had that wonderful sugary crack and I kept bumping pieces off just to take a little piece. The Plum Pluot Compote was really sweet, almost too much so. It also did not have the great color that the picture on page 84 of the magazine showed. I don't know how they got that color because as you can see in my picture, a rather boring yellow was what I got. It didn't affect the taste but it didn't look as pretty as I had hoped.
I enjoyed the last two recipes of this menu a few hours after dinner. These recipes were more conducive to enjoying a movie or in our case, a little baseball. I made the Peach Prosecco Spritzers and Pecan Praline Popcorn Treats very quickly and brought them upstairs. The peach spritzers were not what I expected. This drink was not very sweet and had a bit of bite to it. I think this was the seltzer. I would have liked the drink a bit sweeter. The slight bitterness from the seltzer didn't work well with the peach puree or with the very sweet popcorn.
The Popcorn was sweet but excellent. There was the right mix of caramel to popcorn and the nuts added a nice crunch. Sadly, I wasn't hungry enough to eat much of this treat but I think I'll save this recipe for our annual fall movie party


Mini Provolone Popovers-A
Peppercorn Roasted Pork with Vermouth Pan Sauce-A
Sugar Snap Peas and Potatoes with Parsley Pesto-C
Pickled Collard Greens with Pineapple-B
Persian Cucumber and Purple Rice Salad-B-
Poppy Seed Pound Cake with Plum Pluot Compote-B+
Peach Prosecco Spritzers-C
Pecan Praline Popcorn Treats-A