Testing - Roast Pork with Apples and Parsnips

1 - The flavours were good but the roast was not. The art of butchering has weakened! The roast was gristly which detracted from the recipe. I made a few amendments to the recipe as well.

2-4 lb boneless pork butt roast
2 tbsp wholegrain mustard
2 tbsp honey
juice of 2 lemons
2 garlic cloves, pressed
leaves from 2 sprigs fresh thyme
4 Tbsps olive oil
2 firm baking apples peeled cored and cut into thin wedges lengthways
4 parsnips peeled and cut into thin wedges lengthways

1. Optional: untie and unroll your roast to cut out any gristly bits that might be lurking inside. Roll it up again into a roast and procede to step 2. 
2. In a large bowl mix together marinade ingredients: mustard, honey, lemon juice, garlic, thyme, olive oil.
3. Put the roast in the marinade and turn it a few times. Let it rest while you do the next steps.
4. Heat up a pan to brown the meat. Let it get nice and hot.
5. Meanwhile, prepare the parsnips and apples.
6. When the pan is hot, brown each side of the roast - this is a pretty quick procedure.
7. Cut up the parsnips into halves and then into thin wedges. toss in the remaining marinade, and arrange in a roasting pan, around the edges, where they will get more heat.
8. Peel and cut the apples into quarters, then into this wedges. Also toss in the remaining marinade, and arrange in the middle bottom of the roasting pan.
9. Finally, arrange the roast on top of the apples and pop in the oven for 40 minutes.
10. Check the temperature - the internal temperature should read 140F for doneness. 
11. Take the roast out of the oven and let it rest for about 10 minutes before carving.
12. Meanwhile, if the parsnip has not caramelized around the edges, pop back in the oven while the roast is resting.

Pasta with Cheddar and Bacon - PUBLISHED

http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/pasta-with-bacon-caramelized-onions-and-cheddar-cheese/38ad3d0f-791a-4e35-ad49-34a8c7e9407f
http://www.bonappetit.com/test-kitchen/common-mistakes/article/caramelized-onions-common-mistakes-avoid
http://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-caramelize-onions-35933

1 - I've actually made this twice but didn't have the correct ratio the first time. Very good the second time, and to re-heat, some chicken stock works quite nicely.
2 - Made for a table of 5 people and there were no leftovers! And there was bread! Although there is lots of salt in the bacon and cheese, I will add extra salt to the next iteration - the flavours could pop a bit more.
3 - Holy smokes, the secret to making this stellar has nothing to do with the bacon fat, and everything to do with very, very slowly caramelizing the onions! What a difference this makes. I'd recommend using a diffuser every time to get the onions to cook down super slowly, the flavor is absolutely improved.
4 - Awright, we're almost there. The ratio of sauce to pasta isn't quite right. I wonder if, in past iterations, I only used a lb of pasta? Although I did note '5 servings of 4oz'. Anyway, we both agree that more sauce to pasta would be better. Darn it! I thought this was ready to go! NO WAIT! I think I understand what's happening. Last night I used chunky pasta which captures sauce, while in my testing at some point I decided a linguine would be better, which gets covered in sauce but has no pocket or hole to capture it. Maybe that's the difference? I'm keeping the amount of pasta IF it's a straight noodle, and reducing it by a 1/4lb if it's chunky.

5 - I only had 6oz of bacon so I altered the recipe but kept the same amount of cream. It was just right! I will keep this here even though it's at Test 3 since I did change the recipe. Otherwise, I'm willing to risk it and publish if it works out as well next time!

5 servings of 4oz with linguine etc, 4 servings of 4oz with chunky pasta

6 to 8oz bacon, cut into lardons
¼ cup bacon fat
4 medium onions (24oz/680g) thinly sliced
¼ Tbsps white wine
1 lb spaghetti, linguini or fettucine etc.
1½ cups whipping (heavy) cream
6oz shredded Cheddar cheese 
Salt, to taste

1. Cook the bacon until just before it crisps, or until it is of a light golden colour. Remove it from the fat and set aside, keeping about ¼ cup of fat (if there isn't enough fat, add butter. Chop the bacon into pieces and set aside.
2. To the hot bacon fat add the onion to caramelize. To properly caramelize, cook the onions over med-low heat, preferably using a diffuser, stirring every 5 to 10 minutes; this can take a half hour+. 
3. When the onions are of a delicious brown, the sugars will have stuck to the bottom of the pan creating the fond, and needs to be deglazed with the wine. Add as much wine as you need to get that lovely fond moving (within reason. If you want more white wine, pour some in a glass and drink it).
4. Put the pasta on to boil.
5. Add the cream to the onions and bring to the boiling point. Turn off the heat. Mix in the cheese and the bacon.
6. Pour over the noodles; toss to coat. Test the seasoning and add salt to your liking, a pinch at a time.
7. Serve with a good grind of black pepper.

Crème Anglaise - Test 2

http://www.recettes.qc.ca/recettes/recette/creme-anglaise-3310
http://cuisine.journaldesfemmes.com/recette/322949-creme-anglaise-facile
http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/traditional-vanilla-custard/0441faec-b569-4b1d-87d3-782d73fc52d4

1 - I have never successfully made crème anglaise. It has always looked like finely scrambled eggs in sweet cream. In the new year, I will master this recipe, @*#$%&!

2 - @*#$%&! I buggered up again! Sweet scrambled eggs. @*#$%&! I think my mistake is that I expect it to become much thicker than it actually can be, so I cook it too long. It should come out as whipping cream, not as a thick custard.

3 - I finally did it! It is relatively simple, and it's just a matter of erring on the side of caution.

4 - Did it again! And actually 10-20 minutes is too long, so I will change that to "can take up to 10 minutes" or something. It was just on the verge of starting to curdle and it was 8 minutes on Low, but I recognize, especially on this stove, that every stove and every element is different.

1 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup cream
1 Tbsp vanilla
4 egg yolks
1/3 cups sugar

1. In a small saucepan, heat the milk, cream and vanilla over medium-high heat until just boiling, stirring constantly. Turn off the heat and set aside.
2. In a bowl, whisk together the yolk and sugar until the yolk turns a pale yellow.
3. Very slowly whisk the flavored dairy into the egg mixture. Do this slowly, to gradually increase the temperature of the egg and avoid making scrambled eggs with the hot liquid.
4. Stir constantly over medium heat with a wooden spoon. Avoid boiling at all cost! In about 10-20 minutes, depending on your heat setting, the crème will thicken to a heavy cream and like whipping cream will leave a coating on the back of spoon.
5. Pour the finished liquid right away through a fine mesh.
6. Allow it to cool completely before serving. The cooled product will thicken even more.