Stuffed Pork Roast and "What Lies Beneath"

I'm a sucker for bread stuffing! It's my favorite dish on a holiday dinner table and I could make a meal alone out of it. The other day I woke up with a craving for it but instead of stuffing a chicken or a turkey, I thought I'd make a stuffed pork roast. Being in the last full week of October, I wanted to still take advantage of the delicious apples I'm able to find at the Pennsylvania orchards. Pork and apples are a classic combo so why not add some right into my stuffing? Sweet, savory, and delicious this pork roast is a great meal for any night of the week and any time of the year. I also have a great movie recommendation for you this week. Hey, we are a week away from All Hallows Eve so of course I had to pick one that might make you sleep with the light on for a night or two.

Stuffed Pork Roast - serves 4 to 5

3lb boneless pork roast
7 tablespoons of butter
1 large apple (diced)
2 shallots(diced)
1 clove of garlic (diced)
1 stalk of celery
5 slices of fresh bread cut into cubes
1 cup of chicken stock
2 tablespoons of Freshly chopped Parsley 
Salt and Pepper

Start by melting 4 tablespoons of butter in a medium sized skillet over medium low heat and sauté the apple, shallots, and celery until they’ve become tender – this will take about 10 minutes. Add the diced clove of garlic and cook for just about a minute. Next, add the freshly cut bread cups into the pan and mix everything together. The bread will quickly absorb the melted butter and all the flavors from the shallots, apple, and celery. Add the fresh parsley and stir in the chicken stock. Stir together so everything is incorporated and turn off the heat. Take a little taste of your stuffing and season to your liking with salt and pepper. Set the stuffing aside for now.

To prepare the pork roast:

Step 1: Slice about a half inch down from the top and make an incision almost completely across.

 

Step 2: Where the first cut ended, make the same kind of cut but going in the opposite direction.

Step 3: Your roast should look almost like an open book. Season with 1 teaspoon of kosher salt and ½ teaspoon of black pepper.

 

Step 4: Spread the stuffing onto the pork roast and roll the roast up starting at one end and ending at the other. Secure the roast by either using kitchen twine or sticking a few toothpicks where the edges come together. Season the top of the roast with a little more salt and pepper.

 

 


Preheat your oven to 400 degrees and melt 3 tablespoons of butter and 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a cast iron frying pan over very high heat. Take a few paper towels and pat the pork roast dry - this is very important because the meat won't sear properly if there is moisture. Once the pan is hot, carefully place the roast down on one side and leave it set. We are looking to get a nice golden brown crust on the meat, this should only take about a minute or less so watch carefully. Do this to all 4 sides of the roast and then transfer into your preheated oven. Roast the pork for 30 minutes and then lower the heat to 350 and roast for another 30 to 45 minutes. Use a meat thermometer to test the meat, if it reads between 150 and 160, remove the roast and allow it to sit for about 10 minutes before you start to slice. Don't forget to remove the toothpicks or twine before serving!

Dish up your plate with a side fresh green beans or any of your favorite vegetable. For my green beans I simply blanch them in boiling water for a few minutes and shock them in some ice water to stop the cooking. I saute a diced clove of garlic with some olive oil in a small pan and toss the string beans right in there. Just cooking them enough to heat the green beans through again. Season with salt and pepper. Serve this pork roast with a nice chilled glass of white wine and fire up that DVD or Blu-ray player because we've got a great movie to watch this week! I'm really excited to review and recommend one of my very favorite movies, What Lies Beneath.

What Lies Beneath is the 2000 film starring the great Michelle Pfeiffer and Harrison Ford. Directed by Robert Zemeckis, What Lies Beneath is a mystery/horror film that will leave you on the edge of your seats. When a series of strange events begin happening at the couples lake front home, Michelle Pfeiffer's character, Claire, believes her house is being haunted by a woman's spirit. Claire's husband Norman, played by Ford, doesn't believe his wife and fears the stress of their only daughter going to college is causing her to imagine things. Soon the events become more intense and Claire begins searching for the identity of the spirit that has evaded their home.

I'm not a huge fan of the horror movie genre, and while this movie might not be the most frightening film you'll ever see it still gave me a sleepless night or two after my first viewing. Pfeiffer and Ford are two of my very favorite screen actors and they both give great performances in What Lies Beneath. One thing I will say about this film is if you haven't seen the movie already - DO NOT WATCH THE TRAILER. Remember last Monday's movie post about how some movie previews give up way too much information?? Yup, this one falls into this category and gives away major spoilers. So instead of showing the trailer for the film like I usually do, here is a quick clip of one of Michelle Pfeiffer's encounters with her haunting spirit.