Roast Pork with Red Wine Reduction

My son Aaron works at a great Italian tratoria, "Cafe Citti" in Kenwood, California (north of San Francisco near Sonoma and Santa Rosa. (You can go to http://www.yelp.com/biz/cafe-citti-kenwood for a review.)

I can tell you that I've enjoyed Italian food from all over, and one of my best friends in the world, Bill Nico, is a fabulous chef who specializes in the Italian tradition. But I have to say that some of the best meals I've ever eaten were served to me at Cafe Citti....

If you are touring Sonoma County vineyards, (you can find a list of close by vineyards at: http://www.sonoma.com/wineries/sonoma_valley), you need to take a meal at Cafe Citti. The atmosphere is funky cool and casual, the wine list includes many outstanding local vintages. You may find yourself dining next to Joe Montana or Tommy Smothers or any number of celebrities who enjoy "wine country". Ask for Aaron. He'll hook you up in the manner to which you'd like to become accustomed. The following pork roast recipe is adapted from one that they prepare.

Roast Pork with Red Wine Reduction

Preheat oven to around 425 degrees

I use about a 4 lb pork roast trimmed of excess fat and covered in olive oil, salt and peppered liberally and placed fat side up in the center of a roasting pan or glass cake pan.

Surround the roast with quartered baby red and/or Yukon gold potatoes, carrots, cherry tomatoes and three or four garlic cloves minced and sprinkled in with the veggies.

Slice up a couple of garlic cloves, make half a dozen slits in the top of the roast and insert the slivered cloves.

My sons recipe calls for dried porcinni mushrooms powdered in a blender and sprinkled on top of the roast with the salt and pepper, but it's too damned expensive, so I just use the old food proccessor to fine-chop some fresh mushrooms, (maybe 6 or 7 - however many you need to spread evenly), mixed with a 1/8 cup of Italian breadcrumbs slathered on top of the roast after I salt and pepper it.

Pop it in the oven and cook until around 155 degrees in the center using a meat thermometer, (it should be five to ten degrees below where the meat thermometer says it's done, about an hour in my oven). When you get there, pull it out and let it rest for at least ten minutes before slicing.

While the roast is cooking, take a bottle of cheap red wine of your choice, (my son uses Chianti, but I usually buy an inexpensive Cabernet), pour it in a sauce pan and add a chopped shallot or a couple of green onions and reduce by half over med high heat. Add chicken broth to original depth and reduce by half again. Strain out onion/shallot and stir in about a half stick of butter (Okay...I use a whole stick, but many people find that too rich). While stirring in butter, add a bit of flour or corn starch so you have a smooth sauce-like consistency.

Slice your roast thin and plate with the veggies. Drizzle your reduction over the whole deal and....HOLY CATS!!! That son-of-a-sailing-sea-cook is mighty tasty!

If there are leftovers, I generally slice it real thin, pile it on a slice of focacia bread and drizzle with the reduction and serve it open-face with some pesto-mayo on the side.

Oh yeah...

...mmmmm...

oh...my...god...oh...

...that's good.....

Doug Alchin / Credit to Aaron Alchin