4 medium baking potatoes, sliced 1/8" thick
1/4 cup butter, melted
4 cloves garlic, crushed
2 medium onions, thinly sliced
3/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated
salt and pepper
ice water

1. Soak potato slices in ice water for about half an hour. Drain and pat dry with paper towels.
2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
3. Layer 1/3 of the potato slices in a greased pie plate, beginning from the outside edge and working toward the middle.
4. Combine garlic and butter and drizzle 1/3 of the butter over the potatoes.
5. Layer 1/3 of the onions on top of the potatoes, then sprinkle with parmesan cheese and season with salt and pepper.
6. Continue layering the remaining ingredients and sprinkle the top with parmesan cheese.
7. Bake for 1 hour or until the top has browned and crisped and potatoes are tender. Slice into wedges to serve.

Makes 6 servings

4 six ounce pork tenderloin medallions, trimmed
1/2 cup dried apricots, chopped
1/4 cup dark raisins
1/2 cup white wine
3 anchovies
6 cloves garlic, crushed
1/4 cup cashew butter
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1-1/2 teaspoons lemon juice
1/2 cup flour or fine bread crumbs
2 eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 cup chicken stock
freshly ground black pepper

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Pour white wine into a small saucepan over medium heat and simmer apricots and raisins until white has evaporated or been absorbed by the fruit. Remove from the heat.
3. Meanwhile, place the pork between 2 sheets of plastic wrap and pound as thin as possible with a meat mallet. Repeat with remaining pork.
4. Spread 1/4 of the cashew butter over the pork, then place 1/4 of the apricot and raisin mixture overtop of that. Roll the pork up tightly and tie with string. Repeat with remaining pork and filling.
5. Dip the pork bundles into 1 of the beaten eggs, then roll in flour or bread crumbs to coat.
6. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Fry the pork until golden brown, turning to brown each side, about 1-2 minutes per side.
7. Transfer pork to a baking sheet and place in the oven to finish cooking. If meat is already cooked, transfer to a warmed plate and tent with foil while making the sauce. Allow meat to rest before slicing.
8. Add anchovies to the remaining oil and stir until they dissolve. Stir in crushed garlic and season with pepper.
9. Stir chicken stock into the oil and raise the heat to bring it to a boil. Continue boiling until it reduces slightly. Remove from heat.
10. Whisk remaining egg in a bowl with the cornstarch and lemon juice.
11. Slowly add about 1/2 cup of the chicken stock mixture to the egg, stirring frequently. Return this to the skillet, stirring until sauce has thickened to that of a thin custard.
12. Slice pork into several pieces. Pour a portion of the prepared sauce in the center of a plate and top with pork to serve.

Makes 4 servings

I thought that tonight's dinner was fancy, but strange. I lazily made the Pork Roulade, yet paid very close attention to making the sauce just right. I thought that I pulled it off quite well and now that I'm aware of this whole egg tempering thing, I could probably make proper Carbonara a lot tastier than my previous attempt. The pork was stuffed with dried apricots, raisins and a little bit of cashew butter. The sauce accompanying it is not dissimilar from hollandaise, basically a savory custard, which sort of made this dish taste like fruit cake crossed with eggs Benedict. Somehow, this actually grew on me the more that I ate it, being somewhat savory and sweet simultaneously, but I don't think that I would make it again.

Aside from a few pickled greens beans, I had Pommes Anna as a side. I guess Anna's potatoes are something special, because they seem quite renowned. To me they seemed like creamless scalloped potatoes, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. The top layer was crispy and the center was soft, all infused with garlic butter and parmesan cheese, or as Shannon was saying, "pommes anne" cheese. I used a combination of baker potatoes and Yukon golds and think I would've just preferred mashed potatoes with garlic and parmesan, so maybe I'll just make garlic mashed potatoes in the near future.