From the ArcaMax Publishing, Recipes by Zola Newsletter:
http://www.arcamax.com/news/zola/s-377853-730601
The New Halloween...
Our Halloween parties used to be "famous". We did 10 years in a row
before we decided to retire the event. About 70 people came each year.
We'd invite a base of loyalists and then we'd add new folks to the
list each succeeding year. We'd meet people during the year, at some
point we'd end up talking about that party, so it just seemed natural
to add the new folks.
The costumes were amazing. You could always tell the first time folks
from the veterans. First year people would come in a standard
Halloween costume. At their first party they'd look around at the
elaborate costumes and realize these people were in a league of their
own. Some folks started their costumes before their invitations
arrived. Some left the party planning what they might wear the next
year.
We'd hire a DJ and I'd serve dinner at midnight. There'd be about 8
courses of appetizers before midnight just to keep everyone going on
the dance floor. Lots of laughing, an amazing decorating job by family
and friends. Our house looked more like a night club than a home for
that one evening a year.
In Chicago we decided that the 4th of July was going to be our new
Halloween. That would be the big party of the year. We have a base of
invitees again and each year we add clients and friends we've added to
our lives during the year. This year we had about 50 people for dinner
on the roof decks.
Halloween is easy to invite folks to. The 4th of July takes on a whole
different dimension because so much of the 4th of July is about family
to so many. There are traditions they hold to. It might be a trip up
north to the lake or a family reunion, so we always expect the 4th of
July bash to be smaller than Halloween was. This year I was amazed how
it had grown. I guess word is getting around; sort of like the
Halloween party. One guy flew in from Albuquerque for this year's
party, and thankfully, at the end he told me it was way worth it!
Yeah!
What happens in Chicago on the 4th is a site to behold. At dusk the
horizon begins to light up. For hours we watch fireworks from every
municipality, country club, rich fireworks fanatic and more. They all
come out on the 4th to display their fireworks prowess. That's the
only part of the 4th of July party that makes me nervous. What if
everyone decided not to do fireworks this year? Would the sky be dark?
When I don't have control over the entertainment I get nervous. How
silly. Who's going to skip fireworks? The only thing I really need to
worry about would be really bad weather. A roof deck party is hard to
hold in a downpour. This year's weather was better than I could have
ever asked for. It was 75 degrees when guests started to arrive. Late
at night all you needed was a light sweater and I was even prepared
for the women who forgot sweaters with a collection of pashminas laid
out. A few got used.
I did the food a little differently this year. Instead of serving
several appetizers, then dinner and then dessert, I sort of morphed
them all into one parade of food. That way, each person could try the
ones they wanted and about the time they got their choice finished
another one arrived. There were plenty of things to eat. One of the
major hits was a pork roast with a garlic-honey mustard aioli. That
will be today's recipe. So simple. Even a novice party-giver can
handle this one.
Aioli's are a big hit this year. About a decade ago when I began
making aioli's it seemed imperative that you start your aioli by
making homemade mayonnaise. This year that's all gone. Doctoring up
commercially made mayonnaise is the new aioli base. Sure makes it
faster and easier to make! And it makes it safer for parties, without
the fear of food poisoning. And on that note, enjoy your roast, your
party and the rest of your summer.
Pork Loin Roast with Garlic-honey mustard aioli
Serves 6
- 8 (double or triple for a party)
One pork loin roast (Approx 8" long and 4" in diameter)
Olive
oil spray
Italian herb mix, 1 - 2 tsp.
1 cup of
mayonnaise
1 Tbl of minced garlic (jar garlic is fine)
3
Tbl of honey-mustard (Or any other mustard you prefer; even
horseradish mustard)
Parker House rolls (optional-- if you want
to make little sandwiches)
In a 9 by 13 pan set your roast. Spray the whole roast liberally with
olive oil spray. Sprinkle the Italian herbs over the top of the roast
(the fatty side up). Let sit in a cold refrigerator for up to 4 hours.
Then prepare to grill. Heat grill on high to 500 degrees. Oil the
grill and put the roast on the grill grate fatty side down. Sear the
roast at 500 degrees for 5 minutes. You'll have beautiful grill marks
and a good crust on the top.
Turn the roast over. Turn the grill down to 325 degrees and grill
until the loin roast reaches 155 degrees. Use a meat thermometer to
check. This may take 20 - 30 minutes depending on how your grill
behaves. Try not to open the grill too often so you don't let the heat
out.
Let the roast sit for at least 10 minutes before cutting. One nice
thing about this roast is you can stop here, wrap the roast in foil
and put it in your refrigerator until the next day. This is a great
way to prepare for a party in advance. The roast can be served hot,
cold or room temperature. For the party, I took the roast out of the
refrigerator and sliced it very thinly. Then I put it back in a 9 X 13
pan and heated it at 300 degrees. While the roast was heating I poured
a cup of white wine over the top to give it more moisture. You can use
wine, water or even orange juice. Choice is yours.
When the roast was warm I served it with the rolls and the aioli.
People could make little sandwiches using the aioli as a spread or
just have pork and use the aioli as a dip.
To make the aioli. Mix the mayo, the garlic and the mustard in a nice
serving bowl. That's it! You can also make this a day ahead and just
pull it out of the refrigerator a bit ahead of serving it so it's not
completely refrigerator cold. This will even make a fun dinner in
front of the fireplace in the winter so don't hold back. Enjoy!
Cheers,
Zola
Send email to Zola at zolacooks@gmail.com.