Dinner Tonight (and tomorrow) - Apple Honey Five Spice Pork

Great crockpot asian pork with Chinese Five Spice

A very common combination in american cooking is apple and pork, but I was looking for a way to bring something more to the flavor profile this time.  When I started thinking I realized that a lot of the same flavors that we use with apples are present in Chinese Five Spice recipes, and thought this would be a great combination.  The pork came out fall apart perfect with a great combination of flavors.  It was at once both familiar and exotic.  This one will get made again here in Fat Boy Heaven.

Apple Honey Five Spice Pork

YIELD
 6 servings
ACTIVE TIME
 20 minutes
TOTAL TIME
 7 hours, 20 minutes

INGREDIENTS

    •  Pork Loin, 2.5-3 lbs.
    •  Red Delicious Apples, 3 sliced
    •  Honey, approx 4 T
    •  Chinese Five Spice, 2 T

INSTRUCTIONS

    1. Lay the apple slices (from two of the apples) in the bottom of the crockpot.
    2. Sprinkle with five spice.
    3. Cut slits in the pork loin (approx 1/2″-3/4″).
    4. Drizzle some honey into the slits.
    5. Then place apple slices into the slits.
    6. Place the pork loin into the crockpot.
    7. Drizzle the top with the remainder of the honey.
    8. Place the rest of the apples on top.
    9. Then sprinkle the whole thing with five spice.
    10. Cook on low for 7 hours

NOTES

Serve with veggies

Flavors of Fall: Oven roasted lamb with Baked Fall Sweet Potato Mix

I love fall.  Brisk mornings and moderate temperatures.  The smell of the heater kicking on for the first time in months.  Most of all, I love the comfort food that fall brings.  Especially the early fall, when we have a bounty of fresh vegetables and aren't afraid of the house getting too hot to roast them in a warm oven for dinner.  

Last night I decided I was in the mood for Lamb.  When I was at the Feast of Portland I ran into the folks from American Lamb, who were handing out samples of their Lamb Rub.  A wonderful mix of Rosemary, Mustard Seed, Sea Salt, Pepper and other spices that is the easiest preperation I have ever had for lamb.

I paired the lamb with a fall favorite around our house, what I call my Fall Sweet Potato Mix.  An oven-roasted mix of sweet potatoes, yams, and apples coated in seasoning salt and cinnamon.  Super simple and a delicious piece of Fat Boy Heaven.

Lamb

Have your butcher butterfly and tie a leg of lamb (this removes the bone and trims up some of the fat)

Coat lamb roast with olive oil, then apply spice rub (as stated, I used American Lamb's 'Lamb Rub')

Roast in oven at 450 for 20 minutes and then reduce heat to 350 and continue to roast for 45-55 minutes or until internal temp reaches 140 degrees

Fall Sweet Potato Mix

3 medium Sweet Potatoes (yellow)

2 Large Yams (orange)

2 medium apples (I prefer a pie-crisp or Braeburn)

3 tablespoons cinnamon

2 tablespoons seasoning salt

1/8 cut olive oil

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350

Cut vegetables up into equal sized chunks.  I usually trim the yam and slice it, then cut the slices in half or quarter them depending on how rough I want the texture to look.

Combine cut vegetables in a 1-gallon zip lock bag.

Add oil and shake to coat evenly

Add spices and shake until well coated

Arrange around meat or on baking sheet and bake until tender