Subject: Pork Braised in Milk (Arrosto di Maiale al Latte)
From: Unicorn (unicorn@indenial.com)
Date: Thu Oct 17 2002 - 08:54:02 EDT
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FOOD FUNNY
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Here's a true food funny/near disaster from reader Anne Nelson:
It was my boyfriend's birthday and I was preparing a casual dinner for
about 12-15 people. Lasagna works well for this type of party, so I
made a couple of pans. Unfortunately, my pans always seem to get
layered a little too high and then bubble over while they are baking.
This particular time, it was even worse. Not only did the two pans
bubble over, but the drippings caught fire in the bottom of the oven.
Smoke poured out into the kitchen when the oven door was opened. We
extinguished the fire readily enough, and the lasagna did not seem to
be burned or even really crispy, so I let it continue cooking. At the
end of the prescribed cooking time, I took the two pans out of the
oven and all seemed fine.
Upon serving, the guests liked it, with a couple of people even going
back for seconds. But then someone asked the loaded question, "I just
love that you used smoked cheese for this, where did you get it?"
Guys being guys, my boyfriend said, "She smoked it herself. You
should have seen the flames in the oven!" I could have just died! We
all had a good laugh, and everyone said they really did like it, but
two years later, the phrase "smoked cheese" still has the power to
make me cringe with embarrassment and turn several shades of red.
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TODAY'S RECIPE
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Braising pork in milk sounds a little bit eccentric, but this classic
Italian dish forms a delicious sauce with the browned milk solids that
result at the end of cooking.
Pork Braised in Milk (Arrosto di Maiale al Latte)
2 Tbs (30 ml) butter
2 lb (900 g) pork loin roast
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
2 1/2 cups (625 ml) whole milk
2-3 Tbs (30-45 ml) water
Heat the butter over high heat in a pot just large enough to hold the
pork. Season the pork with salt and pepper and brown on all sides.
Reduce the heat to low and add the milk. Simmer partially covered for
1 1/2 to 2 hours, until the meat is tender and the milk has been
reduced to nut-brown clusters. Remove the meat and allow to rest 10
to 20 minutes before slicing. Skim off and discard the fat from the
pot, being careful to leave the clusters of milk solids behind. Add
the water and cook over high heat, whisking constantly, until the
water has evaporated. Adjust the seasoning of the sauce and spoon it
over the sliced pork. Serves 4 to 6.
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