Pappa Al Pomodoro

I think I am one of the very few who love this time of year, cool weather, shorter days, football, pretty fall colors, and the first dusting of snow.

Nothing is better after a long day of work then to come home and enjoy some nice warm soup. This was a crowd favorite. The only note I have is to make more toppings, b/c it's so yummy!!

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 2 cups chopped yellow onion (about 2 onions)
• 1 cup medium-diced carrots, unpeeled (about 3 carrots)
• 1 fennel bulb, trimmed, cored, and medium-diced (1 1/2 cups)
• 4 teaspoons minced garlic (4 cloves)
• 3 cups (1-inch) diced ciabatta cubes, crusts removed
• 2 (28-ounce) cans good Italian plum tomatoes diced
• 4 cups chicken stock
• 1/2 cup dry red wine
• 1 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan

For the topping:

• 3 cups (1-inch) diced ciabatta cubes
• 2 ounces thickly sliced pancetta, chopped
• 24 to 30 whole fresh basil leaves
• 3 tablespoon olive oil, plus more for serving
• Salt and pepper

Directions

Heat the oil in a large stockpot over medium heat. Add the onions, carrots, fennel, and garlic and cook over medium
low heat for 10 minutes, until tender. Add the ciabatta cubes and cook for 5 more minutes. Add the tomatoes to the pot along with the chicken stock, red wine, basil, 1 tablespoon salt, and 1 1/2 teaspoons pepper. Bring the soup to a boil, lower the heat, and allow to simmer, partially covered, for 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

For the topping, place the ciabatta cubes, pancetta, and basil on a sheet pan large enough to hold them in a single layer. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and toss well. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 20 to 25 minutes, until all the ingredients are crisp. The basil leaves will turn dark and crisp, which is perfectly fine. Reheat the soup, if necessary, beat with a wire whisk until the bread is broken up. Sprinkle parmesan over soup once bowled and serve hot with topping.

Sooo yummy thanks Ina Garden!

Chicken Spaghetti

A friend mentioned to me recently that she'd had chicken spaghetti for dinner.  YES, I thought.  I hadn't had of or even thought of that dish in ages.  So I popped online, picked out my favorite recipe version, tweaked it, and tried it out.  The results were quite favorable at my house and for your trying pleasure, here it is:

Ingredients

• 8 ounces uncooked spaghetti
• 1 medium white onion, chopped
• 1/2 bell pepper, chopped
• 2 celery ribs, chopped
• 2 tbsp butter, melted
• 2 cans condensed cream of mushroom soup (I went for the 98% fat free stuff and it still tasted great)
• 2 and a half cups cooked, cubed chicken
• 2 cups shredded cheese
• 1/3 cup dried bread crumbs

Directions

1. Begin boiling water to cook spaghetti.  When boiling, add the noodles and cook as directed on packages.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
3. Saute chopped onion, celery and peppers until tender
4. In a large bowl, combine cooked noodles, cooked chicken, sauted veggies, shredded cheese, and soups.  Mix to coat well.
5. Empty mixture into a greased 9x13 baking dish
6. Top with bread crumbs and drizzled butter
7. Bake 30 minutes or until heated through

Fiesta Turkey Skillet

Do you ever buy ground turkey instead of ground beef?  You should.  It's so lean and healthy.  We've got organic beef in our freezer so it is not as huge a concern but when I see that Jennie-O turkey go on sale, I buy it up and use it as a beef substitute in many ways.

My most recent new turkey recipe is below.  It is both a treat for the eyes as well as the mouth.

Ingredients

• 1 lb ground turkey*
• 1 half red onion, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 zucchini, sliced
• 2 bell peppers (a green and a red), sliced into 1/2 inch strips
• 1 can sliced water chestnuts
• 1/2 cup non fat sour cream
• 16 oz jar salsa
• 4 cups cooked pasta of choice - I used macaroni but penne would have been great too

Directions

• In a large skillet or wok (remember all this food will end up in there....choose something big enough to fit everything!), brown turkey over medium heat.
• When turkey is half-cooked, add the onion and garlic, continue cooking until turkey is done and onions are soft.
• Add remaining vegetables, saute 10 minutes

• Add pasta, sour cream and salsa and heat through

*Disclaimer: Many of you may be from states that are having recalls on ground turkey right now.  If so, please shop wisely and, if necessary, go ahead and use beef instead of turkey until things calm down.

Chocolate Zucchini Cake

You should have on hand:

· 2 cups all-purpose flour

· 2 cups white sugar

· 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

· 2 teaspoons baking soda

· 1 teaspoon baking powder

· 1/2 teaspoon salt

· 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

· 4 eggs

· 1 1/2 cups vegetable oil

· 3 cups grated zucchini

· 3/4 cup chopped walnuts

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9x13 inch baking pan.

2. In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Add the eggs and oil, mix well. Fold in the nuts and zucchini until they are evenly distributed. Pour into the prepared pan.

3. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes in the preheated oven, until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool cake completely before frosting with your favorite frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients

· 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened

· 1/2 cup butter, softened

· 2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar

· 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, cream together the cream cheese and butter until creamy. Mix in the vanilla, then gradually stir in the confectioners' sugar. Store in the refrigerator after use.

Sorry not picture but I feel like most people have seen a chocolate cake with "white" frosting!

Stuffed Yellow Summer squash…

Ingredients

• 2 large yellow summer squash (about 8 oz.)
• 1 small zucchini
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped (I used red)
• 1 pound lean ground turkey (I used lean ground turkey sausage)
• 2 cup chopped fresh or canned tomatoes (If you used canned I would drain off more then half of the “juice”)
• 1/2 cup canned low-sodium chicken broth – Ok it calls for this but I had to much moisture so I would not use this if at all helped
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
• Salt and pepper
• 1/3 cup dry Italian-style bread crumbs
• 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan

Preparation

• Fill a bowl with ice water. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Cut squash and in half lengthwise; scrape out seeds and stringy pulp from each squash half, leaving a large cavity for stuffing. Place in boiling water. Bring back to a boil; cook until slightly softened, 5 minutes. Transfer squash to ice water. Cool for 2 minutes. Remove; pat dry.
• Arrange snugly in a large, lightly oiled ovenproof baking dish.
• Warm 1 Tbsp. oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions and cook, stirring often, until softened, about 3 minutes. Add turkey and cook, stirring to break up until crumbly, 2 to 3 minutes. Grate the zucchini and add to the mixture. Stir in tomatoes, broth (if needed) and thyme. Stirring often, until turkey is thoroughly cooked and some of liquid has evaporated, 5 to 7 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
• I scraped most of the summer squash out of the cavity leaving just enough to help hold it together (left about ½ to ¾ of an inch
• left in the squash). Cut up what you scraped out into small bit sizes pieces and mix in with the cooked turkey mixture.
• Preheat oven to 425°F. Place equal amounts of filling in each squash half, piling it high in center. Mix bread crumbs with Parmesan, then sprinkle mixture over squash and drizzle with 2 Tbsp. olive oil. Bake until golden brown on top, about 20 minutes.

I know this is not the best picture! Sorry all I had is my cell phone!

Chicken with Mole Sauce

Mole sauce?  What's that?

If you are asking yourself that question, you are in the same boat I was not too long ago.  First of all, it is pronounced with a Spanish pronunciation: moe-lay.  Let's just get that straight so you don't embarrass yourself.

Mole is a sauce that can be served several ways but the most common thing I've seen is it being poured over chicken and rice.  It is a spicy sauce with a flavor that is enhanced by a bit of chocolate.  I realize this sounds odd and have to admit that I used to shy away from it.  But once I gave it a shot, I found it to be quite flavorful and good.  See for yourself....

Ingredients

• 4 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
• 4 servings rice, cooked
• 1 tbsp oil
• 1/3 cup white onion, very finely chopped
• 2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder (grated dark chocolate can also be substituted and would probably be better!)
• 1.5 tsp cumin
• 2 tsp dried cilantro (or 1 and a half tbsp fresh chopped cilantro)
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 can condensed tomato soup
• 1 (4 oz) can diced green chile peppers

Directions

• Heat oil in a sauce pan over medium heat
• Saute chopped onions until tender
• To onions, add chocolate, spices, garlic, soup, cilantro and green chile peppers
• Bring to boil and then reduce heat, cover and simmer for 10 minutes
• Serve over chicken and rice

Chipotle Honey Glazed Chicken with Sweet Potatoes Plus Fiery Grilled Asparagus

 Two great recipes for the price of one in this post!  This recipe was shared with me a year ago by Tonia but I finally pulled it out and gave it a shot.  It got a big thumbs up at our dining room table and hopefully will at yours too!

Chipotle Honey Glazed Chicken with Sweet Potatoes

Ingredients

• 4 boneless chicken breasts
• 2 sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped into 1 inch cubes
• 2 tbsp oil
• 4 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, minced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tbsp honey
• 2 tsp cider vinegar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp cumin
• Chopped cilantro for garnish, if desired

Directions

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees
• Toss cubed sweet potatoes with oil and place into a large casserole dish or roasting pan
• Place potatoes in oven for 20 minutes

• Into a small bowl, combine minced peppers, garlic, honey, vinegar, salt, cinnamon and cumin to make a thick paste.
• Rub paste evenly over each chicken breast
• When the potatoes have finished their 20 minutes in the oven, place chicken on top of them and return to oven for an additional 30 minutes or until chicken is done

Going into the oven!

• Garnish with cilantro if desired.

Fiery Grilled Asparagus

Here's a recipe that I picked up from one of those recipe cards in the grocery store.  It's definitely worth making again....and SOON!

Ingredients

• 1 lb asparagus
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp crushed red pepper flakes
• 2 tsp rice wine vinegar - I didn't have this so used regular white vinegar instead and it seemed to work just fine.
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tbsp sesame seeds, toasted - I also didn't have this and omitted them but am sure they would be a nice addition
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

• Preheat grill to a medium heat and coat with a non-stick cooking spray
• Trip and discard tough ends of asparagus
• In a shallow dish, combine asparagus, oil, red pepper flakes, vinegar, sugar and salt and pepper
• Let stand 15 minutes
• Place asparagus on grill and grill 5 minutes, turning once
• After grilling, sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve

And here's the picture of the delicious meal:

Mexican Turkey Burgers

Happy almost Cinco de Mayo!

Little known fact: Cinco de Mayo is NOT a celebration of Mexico's independence.  That is actually celebrated each year on September 16th.  Cinco de Mayo actually marks the unprecedented victory of the Mexican army over the French in the Battle of Puebla.  It is celebrated in the Mexican state of Puebla but more so in the United States.  The rest of Mexico could pretty much care less.

Crazy.

Anyway, here's a zesty dish with a Mexican flare in honor of Cinco de Mayo with which you may want to celebrate :

Ingredients

• 1 lb ground turkey
• 1 tbsp oil
• 1 white medium onion, finely chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup salsa
• 1/2 cup whole kernel corn, drained
• 1 package taco seasoning (or make your own using this recipe)
• 1/3 cup dried bread crumbs
• 6 flour tortillas
• 6 tbsp sour cream
• 2 cups shredded lettuce

Directions

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees
• Heat oil in skillet over medium heat and cook peppers, onion and garlic until tender, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly
• In a small bowl, mix salsa and corn.  Set aside
• In a larger bowl, mix tbsp of the salsa mixture with the sauted vegetables, turkey and taco seasoning
• Divide turkey mixture into 6 patties and press into bread crumbs, covering each patty evenly
• Arranged patties in a greased baking dish and place in oven for 10 minutes

• At end of 10 minutes, drain fluid, turn patties, and top with remaining salsa mixture

• Continue baking 10 more minutes or until internal temperature is 165 degrees
• Serve wrapped in warm tortillas and with sour cream and lettuce garnish

Fried Rice

When was the last time you were offered fried rice and said "no"? That's right...fried rice is always a yes. Especially when you can make it at home and not go to a nasty Chinese place for it :)

This recipe is kind of one of those ones where amounts of ingredients are not very important, as you'll see below. Just go with it. Short one ingredient? As long as it is not rice, you'll probably be alright. Serve as a side dish or as a main dish with a protein meat!

For this recipe, you will either need a wok or a sauce pan with high edges.

Ingredients

• 4 servings of rice, cooked and cooled - the cooling is helpful when mixing the rice with other things later but not imperative.
• 2 green onions, thinly sliced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2-3 carrots (or 2 handfuls of baby carrots), finely chopped
• 2 eggs, scrambled
• 1 can peas
• 3 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 cup cooked meat, if desired (chicken, pork, shrimp, etc.)
• Olive oil

Directions

• If possible, prepare rice ahead of time and put in refrigerator to cool
• Place a small amount of oil in a saucepan over medium heat and saute carrots for 3 minutes

• While carrots are cooking, scramble eggs in another pan
• To saucepan, add the minced garlic and sliced onions. Add more oil if needed. Cook 4-5 more minutes until soft

• To the veggies, add all remaining ingredients and mix well.

We used smoked pork

• Heat through and serve!

Sugar Free Fresh Strawberry Pie

You will need:

• 1 package of sugar free cook and serve vanilla pudding
• 1 package of sugar free strawberry jello
• Strawberries - about 3 cups cut up in bite sizes chunks ...
• 2 cups water
• Pie Crust
• Cool Whip

Mix together sugar free cook and serve vanilla pudding with two cups of water (do not follow directions on the box). After it becomes thick stir in the cook and serve sugar free strawberry jello.

Let cool but not still it is so cool that it is forms up.

Mix in strawberries. Put in fridge till it forms up and put cool whip on the top!

Enjoy this great summer "healthy" desert!

Spicy Dr. Pepper Pulled Pork

I happened upon this recipe about a week ago and had been looking for an excuse to try it.  It makes a lot of food so I didn't want to do it with just me and my husband.  So I invited some friends over and gave it a shot.

O.M.G.  So delicious.  If only I could convey the fantastic smell of this dish to you through this blog.  Darn blogspot.  They need to do some upgrading...

So here's how you do it....

Ingredients

• 1 pork shoulder.  They generally come in the 5-7 lb range.  The packaging may read "pork shoulder butt".  Do not be afraid.

hehe...butt

• 1 (7 oz) can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce - I'd never purchased this before but found it in the grocery store aisle that had other types of "ethnic foods"

• 1 white onion, roughly chopped
• 2 cans Dr. Pepper
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

• Place the chopped onions in the bottom of a crock pot

• Season the pork shoulder with salt and pepper
• Place pork shoulder in crock pot, fatty side up
• Pour peppers and sauce on top of pork shoulder

• Sprinkle brown sugar on top
• Pour Dr. Pepper on top as well.

• Cook in crock pot on low for 8-10 hours - I did not have quite enough time for this so I did it on high for about 3 hours and low for another 3.  Turned out just fine!
• If possible, flip the pork shoulder over a couple times while cooking.  If you aren't around and can't, no biggie.
• When cooked, shred with two forks.

After the meat is cooked and shredded, you can do tons with it.  Serve it on burger buns as a sandwich, in warmed tortillas as tacos, or even on pizza.

For a little added flavor, we strained out the cooked peppers and onions and diced them up to be served on the side for those who wanted a little more of a spicy kick.  It was great!

Enjoy...we sure did!

Easy Sloppy Joes!

Who doesn't love a good sloppy joe?  The stuff in the can just doesn't cut it for us.  Next time you want some sloppy joe action, give this a try!

Ingredients

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1/2 yellow onion, diced
• 1 green bell pepper, diced
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp mustard
• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 1/4 BBQ sauce
• 3 tbsp brown sugar
• Salt & pepper to taste
• Few splashes liquid smoke (if you have it.  don't go buy it for this recipe)
• Desired amount of spicy peppers if you'd like a little heat :)

Directions

• Over medium-high heat, brown the beef with the diced onion and bell pepper

• Drain fat, return to skillet
• Combine remaining ingredients and add to skillet
• Reduce heat to low and allow to simmer for 30 minutes
• Serve over hamburger buns

I like mine "open face"
For the realistic sloppy joe eater :)

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Now HERE is a definitely favorite from this household.  I make a few pots of this every winter and this week marked pot number one.  Never has anyone expressed anything but love for this recipe.  Don't let the longish list of ingredients scare you off!  The recipe is derived from one I found online and modified to get as close to the one used at my favorite little Mexican place.

Ingredients

• 2 large chicken breasts (or equivalent amount), cooked and cubed
•  1 package taco seasoning, or make your own with this recipe
• 30 oz chicken broth
• 3 minced garlic cloves
• 24 oz stewed tomatoes
• 1 jar of your favorite salsa or about 3 cups (pretty much takes care of most of the seasoning!)
• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
• 1.5 tbsp ground cumin
• 1 chopped zucchini
• 2 diced avocados
• 1/2 bag baby carrots, chopped
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 1 can whole kernel corn, drained

Directions

• Coat chicken with taco seasoning and cook chicken in small amount of oil.  When done, cut into cubes.
• Combine cooked chicken with all other ingredients into crock pot and cook on low for 6-8 hours
• Serve with tortilla chips and shredded cheddar cheese

Sorry no picture!  Ate this bad boy up before I thought about grabbing the camera :(  

Guess I'll have to make it again :)

Spicy Shrimp Pasta

Here's a gem of a recipe that I made for the first time last year and forgot all about until just recently.  It got two thumbs up this evening and hopefully, you'll try it too!

Ingredients

• 2 lbs shrimp, peeled and deveined, tails removed
• 1 lb penne or other tube pasta
• 1 large can diced tomatoes
• 1 tsp red pepper flakes, or more to taste (in this out, we double it)
• 4 cloves minced garlic
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

• Start water boiling and, when ready, cook pasta as directed by package instructions
• In a skillet, season shrimp with salt and pepper and cook in small amount of oil until opaque and cooked through - as I cooked this most recently, it occurred to me that it would be totally fine to start with pre-cooked shrimp for this recipe.  If you elect to do this, just set the shrimp aside for later.

• Remove cooked shrimp from skillet and set aside.  To skillet, add tomatoes (with juices), garlic, and red pepper flakes.  Cook, uncovered over medium-high heat until juices thicken, about 10-15 minutes.

• Add cooked pasta and shrimp to tomato mixture and continue to cook until heated through.

We served with shredded mozzarella cheese

Candy Cake Balls...

Ok this is something that my mom has started to make and it is so blog worthy!

You will need:

• One box of family size cake mix (we used German Chocolate) - and ingredients to make cake as directed on back of the box
• One thing of frosting (we used German Chocolate frosting)
• One package of white almond bark
• One package of white chocolate chips

1.) Make cake as followed on the box

2.) When cake is done take out in dump in a mixing bowl and mix in frosting a with mixer

3.) Make into teaspoon balls and place in the freezer for a couple hours till cold

4.) Melt almond bark and white chocolate chips together (we melted in small amounts so it did not get hard)

5.) Dip balls in white chocolate and let cool on a cookie sheet or wax paper

ENJOY!

Some other amazing combinations are cheery cake and frosting dipped in dark chocolate...

Stuffed Crust Pizza

My husband and I had been talking about it for a few weeks and tonight, we finally got down to business and took a crack at making a stuffed crust pizza, originally made famous by Pizza Hut maybe 15 years ago.

First, we started off with this whole wheat pizza recipe that I have used with success a few times now.

Next, we took string cheese and cut it in half lengthwise and lined the outside of the rolled out pizza crust with it. We folded the crust over it.  Be sure to seal the crust very well around the cheese.

Not quite sealed all the way but you get the idea

 Then add your pizza sauce and desired toppings.  The pizza shown below is a knock off of our favorite pizza served at a little pizza joint about an hour from here.  The pizza is called "The Roadrunner" and consists of pepperoni, sausage, and green chiles.

Bake as directed by crust instructions and enjoy!

Check out that cheesy crust

It was delicious and we can't wait to do it again!

While I have your attention, I've got a quick product review for you.  Faithful readers will remember that, as is the New Mexico tradition, I frequently cook with green chiles. Something I haven't yet ventured into since moving to New Mexico is trying different...shall we say....abnormal green chile products.  A few examples are green chile ice cream, green chile wine, and green chile vinaigrette.

I'll be honest...some of this stuff freaks me out.  But this evening, with our Roadrunner Pizza, we popped open some green chile beer and gave it a shot.

It was great!  It smelled like green chile and had a vague aftertaste of the heat of a green chile but went down just as smoothly as regular beer.  Do not fear the green chile beer!

BBQ Chicken Burritos

This has been a favorite around the Moore household for as long as we've been married (3 years last week for anyone keeping score at home).

Ingredients

• 1 lb chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1 small onion, diced
• 1 tbsp oil
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 (15 oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 (15 oz) can corn, drained
• 1/3 cup favorite BBQ sauce 
• 1/2 cup shredded cheese
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 4 tortillas, warmed

Directions

• Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat
• Add chicken to oil and cook for 2 minutes
• Add garlic and onions to skillet and continue to cook until the chicken is done all the way through
• To the chicken, onion and garlic, add the corn, beans and BBQ sauce and heat through - this amount of BBQ sauce will not seem like enough at this point but when you add the sour cream in the next step, it starts to take on the consistency that you are looking for.  Don't be tempted to add more (like I have done before!) because it will make it too soupy!
• Mix in sour cream and heat through

• Sprinkle with shredded cheese and allow to heat (without stirring) until cheese melts - about 2 minutes
• Serve in warmed tortillas

Bacon-Wrapped Maple Pork Loin

Ok friends and people I never have meet before this is AMAZING! I did not get a large pork loin b/c I feel like two smaller ones cook better with more flavor and it makes it easy for leftovers! See a review for yourself here.

For brining pork

• 8 cups water
• 1/3 cup kosher salt
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup (Grade B or amber)
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed black peppercorns
• 2 sprigs fresh sage
• 1 large garlic clove, smashed
• 1 Turkish or 1/2 California bay leaf
• 1 (4- to 4 1/2-lb) boneless pork loin roast, trimmed (I used two smaller ones b/c I feel that they cook better and taste better, also great for leftovers!)

For roasting pork

• 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh sage
• 3 tablespoons maple syrup (Grade B or amber)
• 16 bacon slices (about 1 lb)
• 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon water

Brine pork:Combine all brining ingredients except pork loin in a 3- to 4-quart saucepan and heat over high heat, stirring, until salt is dissolved. Pour brine into a deep 4- to 5-quart pot; cool to room temperature, uncovered, about 2 hours.

Add pork to brine, making sure it is completely covered by brine, and marinate, covered and chilled, 8 to 24 hours.

Roast pork:
Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F.

Pat pork dry (discard brine) and remove any strings, then transfer to a roasting pan. Stir together garlic

, sage, and 1 tablespoon syrup in a small bowl and rub all over pork. Lay bacon slices crosswise over loin, overlapping slightly, and tuck ends of bacon underneath loin.

Roast pork until thermometer registers 140°F, about 1 1/4 hours. Stir together 1 tablespoon syrup and vinegar until combined. Brush vinegar mixture over bacon slices and continue to roast pork until thermometer registers 150°F, about 10 minutes more. Remove from oven and let stand in pan 15 minutes. Transfer roast to a cutting board with a lip, reserving juices in pan, and let roast stand, uncovered, while making sauce.

Skim fat from pan juices and discard, then transfer jus to a small saucepan and bring to a simmer. Stir together cornstarch and water and whisk into jus. Simmer, stirring, until slightly thickened, about 1 minute. Remove from heat and stir in remaining tablespoon syrup. Serve pork with sauce.

(Please note this picture was a leftover picture but oh so good!)