Kelly the Culinarian: July 2010

Saturday, July 31, 2010

Cooking with Kelly: Rosemary roasted pork

We're growing our own veggies and herbs this summer as part of a little experiment. One of the best growing items in our patio repertoire is the rosemary. I have it in a giant urn-style pot on my from porch and it's starting to look like a topiary. But, I love the scent, I love the look and I love the robust, woodsy flavor it imparts to all sorts of foods. I'm looking forward to all the tasty dishes I can accent with this awesome flavor.

The first thing I tried was this recipe I saw on Claire Robinson's show on the food network. However, I only used one large pork tenderloin and marinated the pork much longer than she recommended.

The result was delicious. The pork was aromatic, moist and well flavored throughout. It even stood up to reheating and made for several other great meals throughout the week. A very cost-effective dish, indeed.

Friday, July 9, 2010

Tasty Tours: Good Eats in Australia

That's right, I was lucky enough to go to Sydney last week! It was amazing, beautiful, and ridiculously expensive. I saw a Caesar salad that cost $25! Granted, the exchange rate reduces that, but only slightly.
Here are some of the tastier meals I had:
Prosciutto and rocket pizza -- It didn't taste like what I expected, but I love having my salad on my pizza!
Lamb shank -- There was this nice little lounge near my hotel called Oscar's that had nice dinner specials. For example, on Sunday, I got a steak and ale with mashed potatoes and a salad for $12. This meal was $15 with a glass of house red. And I really liked the red too!
There were a few food habits that I found very interesting in Australia. First, bread for sandwiches are buttered and dusted with salt and pepper before any other condiments are added. Ketchup, even Heinz, tastes sweeter and more 'earthly,' maybe with nutmeg or something added. You can get your French fries (chips) with regular or chicken-flavored salt.
Tasty food and a beautiful country!