Turtle on 14/2/2005 at 02:17

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Maybe a little of both.
But the meal still turned out pretty well.
It'll undoubtedly turn out better next time I make it, though.
Thanks Geebums.

Gingerbread Man on 14/2/2005 at 06:47

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And TV. Figure out which TV shows you like, and watch them. And no, that doesn't mean sodding Full House reruns, Turtle. I get most of my learn / inspire / education from Good Eats, Food 911, and Molto Mario (sadly, no longer on the air). But then FoodTV Canada has some different shows to the American station... You don't get Sugar or Christine Cushing Live, I think. And Cook Like a Chef, holy cow... what a GREAT show that is. Half an hour strictly dealing with GARNISHES? HRAY. And plus we don't get Bobby Flay (w00t).

Those potatoes are a bit tricky, though. Like Starr said, don't squash them too much... you just kinda want to break the skins a bit. I really wish I had taken pictures, it's hard to describe. Depending on the taters you start with, you want them to end up nearly an inch thick after squoshing. Basically, you just want to make them flatter, not actually flat. And go easy when you blot and get them in the gremolade.

Iggles, if you ever omit garlic entirely I will wedgie you. :D Well, unless you're making ice cream. Then feel free to eschew the garlic.

Basic rules of garlic: The smaller you crush / cut it, the stronger it will be. The longer you cook it, the sweeter it will be. Unless you burn it, in which case it goes straight to Filthy Nasty. If it was too heavy on the garlic and you minced it for the marinade, maybe try just crushing a couple of cloves with the flat side of the knife before chucking them in instead. Or -- obviously -- you could use less garlic.

Alternatively, figure out a way to balance it as PigLick suggests. And yeah, sugar is good, but that is just gonna devinegary things more than anything else. That might not be a bad thing, though...

Turtle on 14/2/2005 at 08:16

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And yet none of this helps the fact that Tenderloin and Yukon Gold potatoes were on sale and i wanted to make <i>this</i> recipe.
I know how to cook, but recipes are there for a reason.

Kolya on 15/2/2005 at 19:42

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Just cooked your meal. I don't know where it all went wrong...
Wait...it was the potatoes, unearthy big things! I chose them for their size thinking: Mmh, GBM would have chosen these!
At first everything went fine...I slashed the pork, rubbing the sage in I felt like a real cook (obviously I'm not). The oven was hot so I put the pork in and started the sauce. All fine. I had only found real maple syrup here but that would be okay, now wouldn't it?
Turning the pork. Now on to the genetically enhanced superpotatoes. Water boiling? Check! Drop them in.
They had to be fork-tender. Fork tender!
I started mumbling this like an old wizard who forgot about his best spell.
Potatoes? Still not ready....
Finally I had to get the pork out and add more syrup to the sauce since it both seemed to a bit dry.
Potatoes? Not yet!
Stirring, stirring, stirring... It'll all work out finally. GBM said so.
Did i put enough salt on the pork? I have no more. Should suffice.
Potatoes? Um...not exactly pork tender!
Anyway, I have to act now! The pork starts getting cold!
So I throw them into cold water wondering if they will start to scream in pain.
I heard lobster does that when dropped into boiling water alive. Trying to imagine the sound I pull out the potatoes again and into the hot oil with them!
This will teach you not to respect my will! (And GBM's.)
Squashing them I end up with something that looks more like potatoes dropped from a cairplane.
And they don't even try to get crisp! Another ten minutes are gone until I the pork starts yawning at me.
I put the potatoes on plates dripping gremolade over them.
Come on, you little pig, it's your turn finally!
It's getting brown real fast so I slip it onto another plate.
What did GBM say? Let it rest to soak up it's own juices?
Well there are none. Consider it done.
Put it on the plates next to the potatoes, spoon the sauce over it steering clear from the sugar crust that's build up on the edge of the pan.
I call my girlfriend.
"How does it taste?" I ask her since she's already started eating.
"The potatoes taste of lemon and the tenderloin of maple syrup." she answers.
Try to relax now! No, her head doesn't look like a potatoe, it doesn't need to be...! She smiles.
I sit down and start to eat slightly nervously.
She was right. The potatoes were still not completely done and tasting like squashed lemons. The pork itself was fine after scratching the cold crust of maple sugar from it's surface. A bit cold maybe.

Okay, I will not resign. I'll do it again. There's still a bit of maple syrup left. I'm gonna start with cooking some tiny potatoes, less lemon, less syrup and everything will work out.

Kolya

Shug on 15/2/2005 at 23:16

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You're preaching to the choir, Turts ;)