Recipe(tried): Turn on the oven - Pork Roast with Cider Gravy, Sweet Potatoes with Apple and Onion, Shredded Sprouts with Caraway, 'Nilla Parfaits

It's soooo cold here today that I can only bear sitting at my desk while wearing 3 layers. I can hardly wait to turn on the oven and heat up the kitchen for dinner.

Here's what's on the menu:
Pork Roast with Cider Gravy
Sweet Potatoes with Apples and Onions
Shredded Sprouts with Caraway
Red Grapes with Mandarin Orange Slices
'Nilla Parfaits

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PORK ROAST WITH CIDER GRAVY

It's surprising the depth of flavor cider gives to the sauce.

2 1/2 to 3 lb. pork loin roast, thin layer of fat left on one side
1 medium onion, sliced vertically into 1/2-inch shreds
1 large baking apple, in /2-inch slices, washed but unpeeled
1/2 cup water
Freshly ground pepper
3/4 cup apple cider
Wondra or all-purpose flour
Salt
Low-sodium chicken broth

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Place onion and apple slices in bottom of dark roasting pan with cover. Rinse and dry roast, place on top. Cover top of roast well with pepper. Add water to pan and cover.

Place in oven for 20 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 degrees. Continue roasting for a total of 2 hours. Remove pan cover and roast another 15-20 minutes. Remove from oven and place roast on a warmed platter, tent with foil, and let rest. Scoop out onion and apple mixture into a small bowl, set aside.
While roast is cooking, place cider in a small saucepan and boil gently to reduce by about 1/2. Set aside until ready to make gravy.

After the roasting pan is emptied, place on burner over medium heat and add 2 tbsp flour. Scrape vigorously to mix in flour with pan drippings and get any browned bits loosened. Whisk in 1/2 tsp salt and reduced cider. Then add chicken broth to bring gravy to desired thickness. Continue to whisk until simmering and fairly smooth. Let simmer gently 5 minutes, continuing to stir occasionally. Serve with sliced pork.

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SWEET POTATOES WITH APPLE AND ONION

An easy way to use the fruit and vegetable that flavor your roast and add 'zing' to bland sweet potatoes.

2 medium sweet potatoes, scrubbed and pierced
Apple and onion mixture from roasting pan
1 tbsp butter (optional)

While meat is roasting, place potatoes on a piece of foil with a 1/2 inch edge turned up on all sides (to catch sugary leaks), and place in oven.

Bake 1 to 1 1/2 hours, until soft when gently squeezed. Remove from oven and cool 10 minutes.

Split in 1/2 lengthwise and scoop out flesh into a bowl; save skins. Add onion and apple mixture and butter (if desired - sometimes the mixture has enough juices from the pan that I don't add butter) to bowl, and mash roughly - don't stir until smooth. Loosely stuff skins with mixture. If needed, cover with foil and return to oven to keep warm until roast is done.

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SHREDDED SPROUTS WITH CARAWAY

Lots of recipes in magazines this fall mention shredding sprouts - it's the fast cooking that keeps them sweet, and the caraway gives a little crunch.

1/3 lb Brussels sprouts [the smaller the better!]
3 tbsp butter
Salt, pepper
1/2 tsp caraway seeds

Rinse and drain sprouts, then cut vertically into thin shreds with a sharp knife. Discard tough center areas if needed.

Preheat 10 or 12 inch skillet over medium-high, add butter to melt, and when foaming, add shredded sprouts. Cook, stirring and turning constantly with a wooden spatula, until bright green, fragrant, and a little underdone.

Remove from heat and quickly stir in caraway seed. Place in warmed bowl and serve immediately.

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'NILLA PARFAITS

Pure comfort food on a Sunday that's cold and gray. I time making the pudding so it's still a little warm when I put the layers together.

10 vanilla wafers
1 (3 oz) pkg butterscotch pudding (not instant)
Finely chopped pecans
Light whipped cream

Prepare pudding according to package directions.

Beginning with wafers, break to fit into bottom of 2 parfait glasses. Top with 2 tbsp pudding. Sprinkle with 1 tsp pecans. Repeat layers until glasses are filled.

Top with a big rosette of whipped cream and stand a cookie upright in the cream. Serve right away or refrigerate no more than 1/2 hour or cookies will soften [unless you like it that way!].

Happy eating--