Brian was here for dinner last night. I scrapped plans for chicken and decided to make pork instead. I used 1″ thick pork chops for the cutlets, and at the last minute changed my mind to make carrots instead of a spinach dish (Brian doesn’t like spinach). Larry thought the dinner was just okay – he wasn’t that wild about the pork, but liked the potatoes. I think I like the smashed red potatoes with the olive oil better. The cake was excellent. It probably could have cooked a few minutes less. (Note to self: Brian doesn’t like strawberries).

• Pork Cutlets with Orange-Dijon Rosemary Sauce (Fine Cooking #43, March 2001, p. 43)
• Smashed Red-Skinned Potatoes with Boursin & Scallions (Fine Cooking #56, March 2003, p. 47)
• Glazed Carrots (Fine Cooking #42, January 2001 p.24)
• Vanilla & Sour Cream Pound Cake with Vanilla Glaze (Fine Cooking #71, May 2005, p. 69) with Mixed Berries

Wine: Merry Edwards 2002 Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir (Sonoma Coast, California). A bit closed, still. I wanted to open this because we’ve been allocated some of the 2003 vintage and I’m not sure what I want to buy. It’s a nice wine, more traditional than the fruitier style of Pinot I like. We have another bottle of this but I’ll wait a couple of years to open it.