Mustard Roasted Pork Loin

My gmom and poppy took the MARC train down from a little vacation in Perryville to spend a Friday afternoon with their eldest granddaughter and one of my gmoms Air Force Flight Nurse buddies, Elizabeth, who lives in Cleveland Park. All of a sudden, the nice weather we'd been having down here turned into a 95 degree Friday. Needless to say, 80 year olds (and 28 year olds) do not like to walk around in that kind of heat. What to do...what to do? I made a big lunch for them and we sat around Mark and my apartment all afternoon eating, drinking great wine from Virginia, and listening to my grandparents and Elizabeth swap great memories. I couldn't have enjoyed myself more. Mark even rode his bike home from work for the occasion and I couldn't have done it without him. The pork loin was tender and delicious. The wine and tangy mustard marinade was just the thing it needed. I served it with herbed cous cous and Curry Sweet Potato Salad and the Plum Coffee Cake. I think gmom and pops had fun and don't want their money back.

Mustard Roasted Pork Loin

Ingredients:

1 3-4 lb. pork loin

Marinade:

2 cups dry white wine

2 Tbs. each Dijon and whole grain mustard

1 Tbs. kosher salt

1 tsp. whole black peppercorns

Rub:

2 Tbs. each Dijon and whole grain mustard

1 small bunch flat leaf parsley

3 garlic cloves

salt and pepper

olive oil

1. We've talked about pork before. Lean cuts need to be marinated or else you will be sweating it out, worried that it will be dry, dry, dry. Combine wine, mustards, salt, and peppercorns in a large plastic bag and put the pork loin in there. Allow to marinate for 2 hours, but overnight is best.

2. To make the rub that you will slather on top of the pork loin before roasting it, chop the parsley as finely as you can. Smash the garlic with the flat part of your knife and keep mushing it until it turns into a thick paste of sorts.

3. Combine mustards, garlic, and parsley with a sprinkle of salt and pepper.

4. Take pork loin, wash it off from the marinade, sprinkle it with salt, rub it on top with the marinade and place it in a roasting dish. I chopped up an onion and set it down as a bed.

5. Cook the pork loin at 425 degrees for 15 minutes and turn down the temperature to 350 and cook for about an hour, until a thermometer reads 155 degrees. I use a thermometer because it is the best way to gauge that your meat is cooked to the right level and not overdone.

6. Allow to rest on a cutting board, covered with foil, for 10 minutes. Then you are ready to slice up and serve.

Serve up to your very happy guests. Here we are (thanks to Mark's expert photography shills): Uncle Ed, Aunt Sher, Poppy (Sandy), Elizabeth, Gmom (Anita), and me!