We had Easter Dinner for four people this year. I cannot remember a time when I cooked for so few people for a holiday meal. Rather than opt for a ham, which would be too much for one meal and leftovers, I decided to make a boneless pork loin roast. The fact that they were on sale at our local grocery store helped in the decision.
Here was our Easter Dinner menu:
Boneless Pork Loin Roast
Fluffy Mashed Potatoes
Steamed Peas
Buttermilk Butter Rolls
Homemade Apple Pie
Buttermilk Butter Rolls
I used a recipe that I found in The Fanny Farmer Baking Book © 1984 (now out of print) to make the Buttermilk Butter Rolls. I had some buttermilk in the frig that wasn’t going to be usable in the next day or two, so I made some buttermilk pancakes for breakfast and these rolls for dinner. Used up the buttermilk – waste not, want not! These rolls were yummy so I will be making them (and sharing them with you) again soon.
Homemade Apple Pie
Yes, I make my crust from scratch, and it is really good. I have been working on making a good pie crust for years. I have also been working on making a really good apple pie for years – not too tart and not too sweet. What I do is to use a combination of Honeycrisp, Gala, and Granny Smith apples with some sugar, cinnamon, lemon, and tapioca flour.  The crust I have been making is so good, you will eat the edges first and then you can savor the balance of apple flavors in the rest of the pie.
Boneless Pork Loin Roast
My family loves pork, and we make it often. Pork tenderloin, pork roast, pork chops, pork steaks, bacon, ham, sausage – well, you get the idea.
The secret to making a really good pork roast is not to overcook it. Most people cook pork roast to death, and it turns out dry and tough. I used a recipe in my Joy of Cooking cookbook with some adaptations.
While we would have enjoyed having a crowd for dinner and all of our kids home, too, we did really enjoy our quiet and simple Easter dinner this year.
Boneless Pork Loin Roast
Adapted from Joy of Cooking © 1997
Serves 6 to 8
One 2 to 3 pound boneless pork loin roast
1 TB olive oil
1 TB finely minced fresh rosemary
1 tsp salt
½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 cup chicken stock
1 rounded TB cornstarch
¼ cup water
Preheat oven to 400° F. Prepare a roasting pan with rack by coating with cooking spray. Clean and dry the pork roast. Set aside. Combine the olive oil, rosemary, salt, and pepper and rub all over the roast. Set the roast on the rack in the roasting pan.
Roast for 10 minutes and reduce the heat in the oven to 250° F. Roast until a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the meat registers 150° to 155° F. The time will vary depending on the thickness of the roast. Start checking after roasting for 30 minutes at 250° F if you are preparing a smaller roast and after 40 minutes if you are preparing a larger one. Total cooking time should be less than 1½ hours.
Remove the roast to a platter or cutting board and cover with aluminum foil and let rest for 15 minutes. The meat will continue to cook out of the oven.
While the meat is resting, place the roasting pan on the stove. Combine the cornstarch and water and set aside. Deglaze the pan by adding the chicken stock and bringing to a boil on high heat while scraping the bottom with a wooden spoon. After all of the bits are off the bottom of the pan and the juices have reduced slightly, lower the heat to medium and add the cornstarch mixture. Whisk until thickened about 1 to 3 minutes.
Slice the roast and serve with the gravy made from the pan juices.
