Lovely Dinner

Last night's dinner was quite pretty, but you'll have to take my word for it. When I'm hungry, I tend to dig in quickly without thinking about taking a picture first. I'm working on that. I do want pictures for this blog.

Anyway, dinner was one of those "this is what I have, what do I do with it?" kind of meals.

I'd taken pork shoulder steaks out of the freezer, but had no particular inspiration in mind. So about an hour before the dinner bell rang, I figured I best get busy.

Mustard and maple syrup. Oh, that sounded good. So I mixed some up, sprinkled salt and pepper on the steaks and rubbed on the syrup. I browned them over medium-high heat in an oven-proof pan, then covered with a lid and tossed it in the oven.

350 for - about 50 minutes. Good have been in for less time - 40 might have been enough. But they were still tender and juicy.

Then what? Well I put the steaks on a plate (covered to keep warm), leaving lots of juice in the pan. I put the sauce over medium-high heat to reduce. I threw some frozen greens into the microwave, then made a batch of polenta.

I make it a no-fuss way most times, being a sort of impatient person. A cup of broth, 2/3 cup cornmeal, mixed in a bit of water to make a mush. Pour the cornmeal into the boiling broth, stir with a whisk, cover the pan and let it simmer on low for a while. I whisk it once in a while and when it's thick and creamy, it's done.

Then I did something, I don't usually bother with. I plated it.

A mound of polenta went on the plate first. The greens went on top of that, then slices of the tender pork were placed on top of the greens.

It really was very pretty.

Tasted good, too.

But you have to take my word for it.