Easter

(a few days late)

Sidebar: I apologize in advance if I have forgotten anything. It’s been three days, after all. Perhaps Jake or Carla can fill in the blanks.

I woke up early on Easter Sunday and read my book until I heard movement in the house. Then I joined the clan for a cup of coffee.

Now, as you know, I normally serve as the prep cook, directed by Carla, on these events. I must say, this was the easiest Holiday, ever!

Jake had already scored the fat cap on the pork shoulder Saturday and applied the dry rub Carla had made. My task was to rip off the aluminum foil to wrap it.

Today, my only task was to cut the already peeled russet potatoes into 1/8-inch slices. I used their mandolin (easy-peasy). Carla combined that with a fantastic Gruyère cheese Jake shredded, heavy cream, herbs and seasoning to make scalloped potatoes.

The pork shoulder was already slow roasting in the oven. When Carla judged the time was right, the potatoes went in the oven.

We watched an old motorcycle movie, “The Wild Ones” from the 1950’s, starring Marlon Brando (can you dig it?).

Much later, some fresh asparagus and broccoli tossed in olive oil went in to get roasted.

Meanwhile, Jake cut up some fresh peaches. They went into a pan, along with some pinot grigio wine and some of the au jus from the pork roast. Carla reduced that until it was a thick sauce.

But Jake thought it was still too chunky, so he used an immersion blender to make it a smooth sauce.

When the meat was out and rested, Jake sliced it and we plated our dishes. Then we feasted!

It was fantastic. The roast pork flavors were accentuated by the peach sauce, the roasted veggies still had a nice crunch and the scalloped potatoes were the best I ever ate.

Seriously. I tend to go with potatoes au gratin as scalloped potatoes always seemed a bit too bland, but these were excellent.

After our stomach had settled and relaxed a bit, Jake made his dessert. He toasted unsweetened coconut in a skillet. Then he whipped the rest of the heavy cream to make whipped cream (what else?) He cut slices of pound cake we bought from Whole Foods, topped them with the whipped cream and sprinkled them with the toasted coconut.

OMG. Perfect.

Sidebar: Carla continued my Mother’s tradition of always forgetting something at Holiday meals. She spent hours in two stores (trust me, I was there) searching for the perfect wine to pair with the sweet peach sauce. She finally found it. We never opened it…

I had mentioned I wanted to see the new Hobbit movie, so they rented it for me. We watched that and when it was over (well, not “over.” I didn’t realized it was just part one of two) we went to bed.