Haven't been posting for a while for two reasons. One, Kevin's been doing the cooking (and the creating of recipes) and hasn't been writing anything down. Which is a pity, because the Spaghetti Squash Alfredo was utterly lovely. Also, I'm going to be doing some major blog work Very Soon Now, so I had everything all safely backed up. But as that seems to be further in the future than I wanted, I figured I'd get this written up.
Easter began quite traditionally yesterday with the coloring of the eggs. We used homemade dyes, done by dissolving dye in vinegar (about 12 drops per 1 T vinegar and 1 cup water). Next year I'm going to use only 1 t vinegar and 1/3 cup water. We do it in little ziploc bags which are easier for the kids to handle, but they still spill when filled with a cup of water and the child is far more interested in getting the egg into the drying rack rather than closing the bag (two major spills yesterday).
Today's dinner was somewhat less than traditional. We started with the sweet and spicy appetizer. Dinner was the saffron risotto (posted at Christmas), smoked pork roast (recipe below), broccoli, asparagus (both steamed, separately), and rolls. The roast and risotto were a big hit with my in-laws. Yay!
Rubbed & Smoked Pork Roast
1 large boneless pork roast
mesquite smoking chips
rub (below)
olive oil
Soak mesquite chips for 30-40 minutes. Wrap chips in heavy duty foil and poke holes in the foil. Set at back of grill, just above coals (or bars if you use a Weber like us) and fire up the grill. Let it go at full strength for 20 minutes to get everything good and hot and smoking.
Rub the roast with olive oil, then generously rub in the spices (use all of it). Place the roast on the grill and immediately turn the grill to indirect heat and WAY down to as low as it'll go. Cover and smoke for about 1 1/2 hours, or until the internal temperature reaches between 155 and 160 degrees.
The Rub
4 tsp onion powder
2 Tbsp garlic powder
2 Tbsp smokey seasoning
1 Tbsp salt
2 Tbsp zesty barbecue rub
Mix ingredients well. The zesty barbecue rub comes from Auntie Arwen's Spices although I can't manage to find it on the website for ordering. Without it, I'd substitute a mix of chili powder and extra cayenne.