The Weekend Report

It is the nature of the Blogger gods to be capricious. Therefore, you will not be regaled this morning with photos of The Child as koi, a photoessay of the Columbia City neighborhood parade (for which The Child was dressed as koi) nor mouthwatering photographs of the luscious Italian meal we prepared last night for our friend Sarah and her new husband, Erick. More's the pity:

Because The Child made a very cute koi. One of our neighbors, who is very active in the community, had the idea to create a "peace bridge" (apparently this models one in the Japanese Gardens) which would wheel down the street, stopping at intervals for spectators to cross. She found someone to engineer the thing and then spent the summer making koi costumes for a bunch of kids, who would "swim" alongside. It was actually rather moving, when all is said and done, and was a big hit with a crowd. They won the award for "Most Creative". (Possibly not hard to do when most of the other "floats" were things like hydroplanes being pulled on trailers behind plumbing company trucks, but still).

Because the parade itself, for all the hydroplanes and drum corps, was a little slice of Americana and frankly, I never really think much about the importance of neighborhood identity and celebrating history. Our 'hood is our 'hood and it has a lot of wonderful attributes but one just takes them for granted. It was lovely to see everyone coming together, participants shouting out to the people they knew in the crowd and all that. It was fun. And we got a 2 for 1 coupon to Geraldine's, which is a restaurant we like very much. All good.

Because the dinner last night was fantastic. Sarah used to be our neighbor in our old apartment and has known The Child since birth. She moved to Phoenix years ago, went to law school and is now a city prosecutor. She married a terrific guy and we liked him immediately. Wine flowed, much food was consumed and laughter was the lynchpin of the evening. It's always nice when your friends marry someone you can like as much as you like them.

But I can't show you the pictures so you'll just have to take my word for the cuteness of koi children, the charm of a neighborhood parade and the bon appetiteness of the meal. It was a good weekend.

Here's the recipe for last night's entree, a recipe from Mario Batali:

Braised Pork in the Black (Barsato di Maiale Nero)

1 (4 pound) pork loin, tied at regular intervals with butcher's twine
2 t. kosher salt
8 fresh sage leaves
2-1/2 oz. pancetta
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1/4 c. flat parsley leaves
1/4 c. extra-virgin olive oil
2 cups red wine
1 (28-oz) can tomatoes and their juice, crushed
black pepper to taste

Season the pork with the salt, rubbing it into the meat, and place the sage leaves around the loin, secured under the twine. Set aside for 30 minutes.

Mince together the pancetta, garlic and parsley to form a smooth mixture. In a large, cast-iron casserole or Dutch oven, heat the olive oil and add the pork paste, cooking until it has melted into the oil. Place the pork in the pan and brown on all sides so that a uniform crust is formed. Add 1 c. red wine and reduce by 3/4. Add the remaining cup of wine and the tomatoes, cover, and bring to a low simmer. Cook for 2 hours, until meat is fork tender.

Remove meat from casserole, allow to rest 15 minutes, and remove string and sage leaves. Serve in 1/3 inch thick slices and top with tomato sauce from casserole.

The Menu

Almond Stuffed Green Olives with Orange Zest

Grilled Figs with Proscuitto on Rosemary Skewers

Braised Pork in the Black

Tortellini in Tomato Cream Sauce

Green Beans & Fava Beans with Onion, Bacon and Orange Zest

Italian Plum Tart

I forgot to serve the en salade misto. No one cared.