Brown Sugar and Mustard Roast Pork

I felt like making a nice dinner tonight. Our menu:

Goat cheese and arugula salad with pears, dates and walnuts

Brown sugar and mustard-crusted roast pork

Rosemary-garlic duo of potatoes

Brown Sugar and Mustard-Crusted Roast Pork

*2 tbsp. whole grain mustard
*1 tbsp. packed brown sugar
*1 tsp. salt
*1/2 tsp. freshly cracked black pepper
*1 tbsp. olive oil
*1 tsp. dried rosemary
*6 cloves garlic, each clove sliced into 4 slivers
*1 to 1.5 kg pork roast

1. Mix first six ingredients and set aside.

2. Stab pork roast in several places and insert garlic sliver into each hole.

3. Put pork in roasting pan and rub with mustard mixture. Let stand to marinate for a couple of hours.

4. Roast in a 350 oven until thermometer inserted into the thickest part reads 140, approximately 60-90 mintes. Once your thermometer reads 140, turn oven to 500 and finish roast for another 10 minutes. You can also use the broiler for 5-7 minutes.

5. Let roast sit for 10-15 minutes before carving.


Rosemary-Garlic Duo of Potatoes

*6 medium Yukon gold potatoes, cubed into 2 inch pieces, skin on
*2 yams/sweet potatoes, peeled, cubed into 2 inch pieces
*3 tsp. minced garlic
*1/2 cup olive oil
*2 tsp. kosher salt
*1 tsp. cracked black pepper

1. Toss everything together.
2. Roast in 350 oven for 30-45 minutes.
3. Brown under broiler or put back in oven when you raise the roast temp. to 500.
4. Watch closely because the sweet potatoes can burn. Brown for about 5 minutes.

Goat Cheese and Arugula Salad with Pears, Dates and Walnuts
*3 cups arugula leaves
*2 slices goat cheese, cubed
*1 bosc pear sliced
*1/2 cup walnuts, toasted lightly
*4 dried dates
*2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
*3 tbsp. olive oil

1. In a small skillet, saute pear slices and dates in a bit of olive oil until pear slices are lightly caramelized.
2. Toss with arugula, goat cheese and walnuts.
3. Dress with an emulsion of 2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar and 3 tbsp. olive oil.