Last week we hosted our monthly family dinner, which rotates between us and my SIL. I forgot to take pictures but we made the best carnitas we’ve ever made, from this Rick Bayless recipe, roughly doubled, because if you’re going to make carnitas, make leftovers, right? Besides, tortillas and guacamole, I made a fresh tomatillo salsa, and a pico de de gallo, some arroz verde from a forgettable recipe, and made refried beans following Ranch Gordo’s recipe and using RG Pinquitos. Saved bacon fat for the win on those.
Tonight was date night, but the real story behind tonight’s dinner is I had it all prepped yesterday only to realize that neither of us really were hungry for dinner. I’d made sous vide pork chops, prepped smashed potatoes for the oven, and steamed some spinach for creamed spinach. It all went into the fridge last night and tonight’s dinner was easy to finish and a success. I made a quick pan sauce for the chops with dry vermouth, whole grain mustard, and chili fig jam, served it with a lovely 2013 Oregon Pinot Noir and thanked my luck.
Also thanks to some discussion here that pointed out that adult spinach sometimes trumps baby spinach, as I made sure to use full grown spinach for the creamed spinach and am glad I did. It is a heartier and more bitter contrast with sauce.
