October at Gal Two's House

Gal One, I love you, but WOW! This was not an easy menu. I started prepping and cooking around 10am, and The last dish got washed around 8pm. No, That time was not all spent in the kitchen working on the menu! Never the less, there was a lot to do and I think I used almost everything in my cupboards (pots, measuring cups, bowls, etc.), and I was ready to scream due to my severe lack of counter space! (The counter space has nothing to do with Gal One; but thank goodness this is the last menu I will be making in this kitchen!) Dinner also ended up being pushed back a few hours (thank you Mr. Two's job!) and so I was hungry and tired as I finished up which didn't help.

Did you make it through all that up there?

On to the menu!

I started with dessert. I asked Mr. Two and he voted for the pears to be chilled instead of warm. I am SO GLAD I did it this way because I would have never made these after dinner last night. I was beat. But I'd like to try it warm another time. 

 I was scared about peeling the pears, but it's super easy!

 My pears floated... there was no nice, neat submerging them in the sugar-water. No biggie, I just kept rolling them over with a spoon. I had ripe pears and they cooked for just 15 minutes and were fine!

 Next came the pork loin. I bought it pre-packaged (I had a coupon). It's nice that you can do this ahead of time and put it back in the fridge, which is what I did.

 Note the use of dried and not fresh rosemary below. I've had fresh growing in my herb pot all summer, and when I went to pick it I found it all dead. :( I think it would have been better with fresh, but oh well!

 My beautifully trussed pork, seasoned and ready to go in the fridge.

 In an effort to get some more things done not last minute, I made the dressing ahead (not waaaay ahead, just a little). I wasn't a big fan, but I'm also not a big salad dressing person in general!

 It was pretty though :)

 Once the pork went in I started my cherry brandy sauce (with less chicken stock per a previous tip). Please note my adorable brandy bottles, they each are 1/4 cup. The onion I chose at the store however, not cute! EVIL! I was crying and my nose and throat were burning. A lot.  

I actually think I could have used more liquid! Mine thickened up a little too much. Oops! Still yummy.

This was prep for the potatoes. As with everything, I halved the recipe! This entire menu halved still made lots of food and we have leftovers! I did cut the garlic down a wee bit in this recipe.

 Our mashed potato expert at work

The final result was really good! Mr. Two said it made a nice change. I could have used a little more liquid though; I had no issues getting all that liquid into my potatoes. I thought they were a great pair with the spicy pork!

The finished salad. Mr. Two was ... hesitant to say the least! (I may or may not have force fed him a single bite...) He declared it "not gross". I thought it was OK, but not great. For me there wasn't a whole lot of taste. It did pair well with the rest of the food. I wont be making it again because the ingredients we don't use at home (the vinegar and mustard, etc.) and Mr. Two ....

 Our lovely dinner table! Yes, we had corn out of a can and not the green beans. I didn't have a pan, burner or energy left for them! I will make them later this week though. 

The pork! Our FAVORITE! This is a keeper and will be made again. It's easy, make ahead and it came out VERY juicy and tender and flavorful. Not sure if it was the dried rosemary or the pepper (or a bit of both) but it was a bit spicy/strong. Perfect with the other food. The cherry sauce was just right!! We loved the sweet with the spicy pepper crust. AMAZING!

 My beautiful plate. This was a very visually appealing meal and very fall looking. You could make this for a major holiday!

 Dessert. It was easy and simple and with a little ice cream and chocolate, YUM! I would make this again. Nice light and cool dessert after that heavy meal.