I’ve been wanting to make this dish ever since this issue of Fine Cooking came out. Finally, I had most of the ingredients at home and the time to make it. Trader Joe’s didn’t have Bosc pears (they never do, and I wasn’t willing to go to the OTHER grocery store), so I just used Asian pears. Bosc would have been more flavorful, but these weren’t bad.
The balsamic vinaigrette is used to deglaze the pan after the pork is cooked, and the warm vinaigrette wilts the arugula. The vinaigrette will break if it’s overheated – mine did. If this happens, it’s possible to re-emulsify it if it hasn’t been too overheated. I used a blender and strained out the chunks that formed from overheating (McGee has a good explanation of broken emulsifications). The trick with this vinaigrette is to have the pan hot enough for deglazing without breaking the sauce.
- Wilted Arugula Salad with Sauteéd Pork, Pears & Blue Cheese (Fine Cooking #77, March 2006, p. 82c)
- Sourdough bread with Sauteed Garlic Butter (Fine Cooking #43, March 2001, p. 49)
Wine: Windward 2002 Monopole Pinot Noir (Paso Robles, California). This is a good Pinot – beautiful strawberry nose. But it’s Burgundian, and I’m a fruity wine kind of girl. Still good, just takes me a bit of time to get into it.
