RoundAbout San Diego

Last weekend I cooked this pork loin recipe from Epicurious.com. Turned out to be delicious, moist, and tender. I served it with carrots and brussels sprouts and garlic-roasted potatoes.

Roast Pork Loin with Garlic and Rosemary



4 large garlic cloves, pressed
4 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary or 2 teaspoons dried
1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 2 1/2-pound boneless pork loin roast, well trimmed
Fresh rosemary sprigs (optional)

Preheat oven to 400°F. Line 13 x 9 x 2-inch roasting pan with foil. Mix first 4 ingredients in bowl. Rub garlic mixture all over pork. Place pork, fat side down, in prepared roasting pan. Roast pork 30 minutes. Turn roast fat side up. Roast until thermometer inserted into center of pork registers 155°F., about 25 minutes longer. Remove from oven; let stand 10 minutes.

Pour any juices from roasting pan into small saucepan; set over low heat to keep warm. Cut pork crosswise into 1/3-inch-thick slices. Arrange pork slices on platter. Pour pan juices over. Garnish with rosemary sprigs, if desired.

Serves 8.

We bought one of those huge bags of ravioli from Costco so I started looking for a sauce to serve with it instead of the usual marinara. I found this on Epicurious.com but think it would have been better if it had fewer walnuts - maybe it would be better with pine nuts?. The flavor of the sauce with the fresh herbs was really good and I might play around with it a bit when I cook the next batch of ravioli (or even the batch after - that's the problem with buying from Costco when there's only two of you).

Ravioli with Herbed Walnut Sauce



1 pound purchased cheese ravioli
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
3/4 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary

Cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to bite, or according to directions on package. Drain.

Melt butter in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add walnuts; sauté until golden, about 2 minutes. Add garlic; sauté 30 seconds. Add wine. Simmer until slightly reduced, about 2 minutes. Add parsley and rosemary. Simmer 1 minute. Add ravioli and toss to coat with sauce. Season with salt and pepper; serve.

Serves 4

This is the last posting of the bathroom remodel until it is complete. We're definitely close to the finish line and I cannot wait until it is all done. Since we've been back from vacation some tiles have gone up around the bath tub.



We bought a tile cutter through San Diego Craigslist and got a great deal. It's huge but it's made to cut large tiles which is what we have for the tub surround


Look at that perfect little hole (and No, Alex has not had a few drinks too many - that's just the way he looks at times) and then you can see how it will fit around the pipe for the shower head. You can also see the contrasting line of granite we put up to break up the greyness of the other tiles


So that's where we are - more pictures when the project is done.

Alex and I spent Thanksgiving day at the home of my boss Steve, and his partner Michael along with Angela and Dan. We had originally planned to go out to an all-you-can-eat buffet, which is what we usually do when we don't have guests or we're not visiting the east coast. Michael, a true southern gentleman, thought that if you couldn't be with family you should at least be with friends. Steve just gave me the photos today so here they are.

The living and dining rooms were all set for the Thanksgiving feast


Appetizers had already been laid out in the living room and the desserts were looking good on the side cabinet.


Angela and I tried to make ourselves useful in the kitchen and just ended up drinking more wine (me) and champagne (Angela). Eventually Steve put me to work mashing the potatoes. Dan stood in the background supervising.


We eventually sat down to a feast of Turkey, Steve's Mum's stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes with marshmallows, cheesy broccoli casserole, steamed cauliflower, and so much more that I'm unable to remember everything at this point.


Here are the happy hosts and the 'group' picture


Alex couldn't wait to start on the dessert and here he is with his pecan pie and whipped cream while Steve is just hamming it up next to the pumpkin cheesecake - his favorite. I also had the cheesecake and was sent home with some of the rum cake which was super moist and delish.


There were other pictures taken but you know how these things go - the more you drink the crazier the photos. So, this is it for now.

Back in late October Alex and I had 2 fabulous weeks in Europe. Ten days in Germany visiting Berlin and Bremen and 4 days in England visiting London, Liverpool, and Gloucester.

The trip to Germany was for a reunion of the Boese family. Alex has quite a few relatives on his father's side that live in Bremen, Germany, and it had been many years since they had all been together.

We started out in Berlin staying at the Clipper Hotel with Janet and Klaus. Toured all the hot-spots and ate the most incredible German food and drank a lot of German wine.



For more pictures of Berlin go to Kodak Gallery

We took the high-speed train to Bremen to meet all the family (more eating and drinking).



Family reunion photo



For pictures of Bremen, a really cold but very pretty old town, in the northern part of Germany go to Kodak Gallery

One of the best evenings was visiting Jutta and Wolfgang - they put on the most amazing cheese selection with fresh crusty bread, pickles, mustards, and relishes. And of course, the wine was free-flowing



For more pictures of the fabulous food we ate in Europe go to Kodak Gallery

After visiting all the Boese family in Germany we spent a few days in England visiting some of my family.

This is me and my Nan - as you can see I get my incredible good looks from her. Isn't she lovely?



For a round-up of our holiday in England go to Kodak Gallery

After a great Thanksgiving day with Steve and Michael I wanted to try something different with the leftovers they sent us home with. I was watching Rachel Ray on the Food Network Channel and decided to make the turkey croquettes she was making (without the gravy). Naturally I didn't have all the ingredients on hand so had to make a few changes.

Rachel's recipe for Turkey Croquettes looked great and my version of the recipe is similar (all credit goes to Rachel - I only made substitutions when I didn't have an ingredient she used).

Turkey Croquettes



1 clove garlic, chopped
1/2 small onion, chopped
1/4 small red pepper, chopped
1 small carrot, grated
1 cup cook turkey, chopped
1 cup mashed potatoes
1 egg
Salt and Pepper
Tony's Original Creole Seasoning (I used about 2 tsp)
Few sprigs of parsley
1/2 cup Italian bread crumbs, mixed with
1/2 cup Zatarain's Crab Cake Mix
3 tbsp olive oil (more if needed)

Place the garlic, onion, red bell pepper, and carrot in food processor and pulse to fine chop. Add turkey, potatoes, egg, salt, pepper, Tony's Creole seasoning, parsley leaves, and 3/4 cup crumb mix, then pulse to process and combine the mixture.

Use an ice cream scoop to form 8 croquettes. Coat the croquettes in remaining 1/4 cup bread crumbs and saute in hot oil until deeply golden all over, 5 to 6 minutes for each batch. Remove and drain on paper towels.

I served the croquettes with Carrots glazed with Balsmic Vinegar and Butter and a green salad.

I'm also going to try this recipe using other leftovers such as salmon or chicken (I'd like to add crab to the mix but I never have leftovers of that).

Astrid is already a fine horse rider and now she's taking on a new sport - sailing. Here she is learning the ropes in the beautiful ocean off Tanzania.



Way to go Astrid!