Monday Moanin’

As I said in Sunday’s post, I stayed up way too late watching the Olympics. I finally turned them off and went to bed just before 3:00 a.m. As a result, I was half dead all day on Monday.

Sidebar: I am too old for this shit!

I dragged my dead-ass butt out of bed about an hour after the alarm had gone off at 5:30 a.m. So, I hustled. I did get to work on time, but I looked like I was half dead. And, I felt like it, too.

At lunch, I went to Home Depot and got some more propane for my torch and two furnace filters. I stopped on the way out and bought two hot dogs. I dressed them with yellow mustard and a healthy amount of raw onions. I ate them sitting in the truck.

Then I headed back to work. I stopped at the closest car wash to work and spent five bucks to get the shit cleaned off my truck. It won’t last, but I hate seeing it covered in salt and crud.

The afternoon seemed to drag on forever, but it was finally 5:00 p.m. and I headed home. I dodged all the potholes (it’s a Michigan-acquired skill) and pulled into my drive.

I dragged the trashcan out to the road and checked the mail. Hot damn! I got my new license plate, sticker and the “official” registration! So, I laminated the registration, slapped the year sticker on the plate and went out and bolted my new plate to the truck. I pulled off the paper “plate” from the rear window and pulled the handicap tag from the mirror and put it into the glove box.

Back inside, I finally changed clothes. Then I immediately started on dinner. I was finishing the Sunday supper I didn’t get. I took the pork loin and marinade bag out to come to room temperature.

I got out some apple wood smoked bacon. Now, it was supposed to be thick cut apple wood smoked bacon, but I couldn’t find any that was thick cut. Thinking that the taste was probably more important than the thickness in this case, I bought the regular apple wood smoked bacon.  I laid nine slices out on the meat cutting mat.

So, I took the pork loin out of the marinade and laid it on top of the bacon. I wrapped each slice tightly around the pork loin. Then I got out my kitchen twine and tied a piece around each slice to secure it. I trimmed the twine tight to the knot, so the ends wouldn’t catch on fire.

I preheated the oven to 325 degrees F. I peeled and quartered two red onions. I put the eight hunks of onion around the edge of the rack in my deep roaster. Then I laid the loin in the center, knots down. That went into the oven.

I set the timer for 1 1/2 hours. But, just to be sure, I inserted my digital thermometer into the center of the loin and set the temp alarm for 145 degrees.

I went and watched the news until it ended and then Jeopardy. It was near the end of the hour and a half wait when it dawned on me I didn’t have a side. Why didn’t I roast some redskin potatoes with it??? Duh!

So, I cut some baby red potatoes in half and parboiled them (lame, John, lame…). Then I drizzled them with olive oil and threw them in the roasting pan. When the thermometer alarm went off, I took the pork loin out and let it rest for 10 minutes.

BTW, I was supposed to make a sauce out of the drippings. But it was already after 8:00 p.m. and I was tired. So, I skipped that step.

I cut some slices, discarded the strings and plated my dinner.

It was well worth the wait! None of the flavors stood out (you didn’t think, “Wow that’s good bacon," or "yeah, I really taste the blackberry jam or garlic.” But they melded together to make a deep. mysterious, delicious flavor. I ate way too much for that late at night. I put the rest of the pork loin and the roasted red onions in separate baggies and into the fridge.

Note to self: Next time roast the potatoes with the onions. Also, make the gravy (I bet it would have tasted fantastic!

I watched the Olympics until I fell asleep. At my first bathroom break, I turned off the TV and went to bed for good (or until the next bathroom break, LOL).