Eric's Roast Loin of Pork with Rosemary/Balsamic Glaze

~3 lb. boneless pork loin
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 t. chopped fresh rosemary
1/4 c. brown sugar
3/4 c. balsamic vinegar
Salt
Freshly ground pepper
1 T. extra virgin olive oil

Prepare the glaze first:
Combine garlic, rosemary, brown sugar, and the balsamic vinegar in a small saucepan. Over high heat, bring just to a boil and then turn down heat to low. Cook 5 minutes more until all the brown sugar has dissolved. Set glaze aside.

Then prepare the pork loin:
Preheat oven to 300° F. Season the pork loin well with salt and pepper. In a large ovenproof saute pan (or large ovenproof dutch oven), heat the olive oil over high heat until smoking hot. Add the pork and sear it well... about 5 minutes on all sides. Turn off the heat under pan and immediately brush the pork generously with the glaze. Place the pan into the oven and roast the pork loin for 15 minutes. Brush the pork with more glaze and then continue roasting 15 to 20 minutes longer for medium doneness. Let it sit at least 5 minutes before slicing very thin.

Serves about 6.

Grilled Shrimp Scampi

This is a super-easy marinade I made for the first time last weekend. Wonderfully garlicky and easily customized to suit your palette. Fresh lemon, parsley and garlic give the dish its bright flavor. I used shrimp, but I think you could successfully use this with chicken or scallops also.

Grilled Shrimp Scampi

1/3 c. olive oil
1/3 c. fresh lemon juice (about 2 lemons)
3 to 4 T. chopped fresh parsley
4 to 5 cloves of minced fresh garlic
ground black pepper to taste
crushed red pepper flakes to taste (optional)

2 lbs. medium to large raw shrimp, peeled and deveined

DIRECTIONS:
In a large, glass bowl, combine the olive oil, lemon juice, parsley, garlic, and black pepper. Add some crushed red pepper, if desired. Place shrimp in a shallow glass dish (a rectangular Pyrex baking dish works great) and pour marinade over shrimp, tossing to coat. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes (2 to 4 hours is better). (You can also marinate in a large ziplock bag if that's a method you prefer.)

Lightly oil your grill grate with vegetable oil. (Plain olive oil will burn and smoke at high heat). Preheat grill for high heat. Thread shrimp onto metal or wood skewers. Pierce the shrimp twice, once near the tail and once near the head. (If using wood or bamboo skewers, SOAK THE SKEWERS FIRST in water for about 15 minutes so they don't burn.) Discard any remaining marinade.

Grill for 2 to 4 minutes per side, or until opaque. (Note: shrimp cook really quick!)

Serves about 6

QUICK recipe!
Prep time: less than 30 minutes
Marinade time: as little as 30 minutes
Cook time: 4 to 8 minutes

Continuing Eric's collection

Well, it's been 2 months since the last recipe entry. Although Eric was the adventurous one in the kitchen, I was a pretty good cook when I met him. Eric taught me that recipes are really just guides... In other words, if you want to put a half-cup of chipotle tabasco in your pizza dough, why not? Sometimes these experiments worked; sometimes they didn't. But you never know if Corn Nut-Encrusted Eggplant will work unless you try it, right? (From what I've heard, that one didn't work in the biggest way.) So I've become brave in the kitchen due to Eric's influence. I understand the process of cooking in a way I hadn't before.

Do you have a favorite thing that Eric used to cook? Let me know and I'll look if there is a recipe in Eric's binder. He didn't write recipes down very often; he kept most of them in his head. I tried to get the lowdown on eggplant from him - he was so good with eggplant - but alas! He took the secrets of baba ganoush with him! (If he wrote it down for anyone, please leave a comment for me so I can get in touch with you!)

Eric wanted me to contribute to this site, but both of us were otherwise terribly occupied shortly after he set it up, weren't we? My intention is to continue this collection. As I make recipes we loved together, I'll share them with you. When I discover something new, I'll share that too.

Cheers!