Final Grilling 2015

We had a spot of nice weather Monday this week and I had a pork tenderloin that wasn't being used for anything else, so I determined to hit the grill. By 7pm though, I was grilling in the dark. Fortunately, as a professional chef, I know what a cooked pork tender feels like, even in the dark. Sadly, I am afraid that the lack of daylight signals the end of grilling for 2015. Though I'm looking forward to comfort food, I know it won't be long before I am jonesing for the grill again.

Grilled Pork Tender, Roasted Potatoes, Garlic, and Asparagus

We had some potatoes and garlic at home, so I decided to roast them because, quite honestly, there is hardly anything better in my book than potatoes roasted with whole cloves of garlic. And, yes, that is asparagus in October. As much as it offends my chef sense of seasonality, it makes my wife happy and so I roasted some asparagus for her. Annie, you are corrupting me!

A Really Expressive Willamette Pinot

Pork and Pinot is such a classic combination and this 2013 Terrapin is delightfully expressive, lightly extracted, and blessed with zippy acid. For an inexpensive bottle, this wine is a great value.

A One-Pan Vegetable Roast

Though my wife will try to argue this point, I always try to keep the number of dishes and pans that I use to a minimum, especially at home where Ann and I are the dishwashers. Here's a great trick. The potatoes and asparagus have vastly different roasting times. In a hot oven, the potatoes will take 25 minutes or so to become golden brown while the asparagus only want about five minutes with the convection fan running to become soft and tender. So I cook the potatoes until they are about five minutes from being done and place the asparagus right on top for the final five minutes. Two roasted vegetables, one pan to clean.

It may be the end of grilling season 2015, but we can always roast potatoes!