Pot Roast Pork with Cinnamon Apples

 

Cinnamon, Pork, and One Very Hungry Boyfriend

So… this was my first official dish from The Encyclopedia of Family Cooking. I decided to make Pot Roast Pork with Cinnamon Apples, and I have to say, for a first try, it was pretty magical. I felt like I was creating something that says "I love you" without words, that's exactly how I felt making this dish.

Here’s my version, scaled down for two servings. Because it was just for me and my boyfriend, Jaden:
Butter (17g), pork shoulder (about 400g total, four slices, around 90-100g each), salt and pepper to taste, cinnamon (2 tsp), and two green Granny Smith apples. One peeled, one not.

First, I preheated the oven to 200°C. Melted 17g of butter in a flameproof casserole, rolled the pork slices in a mix of salt, pepper, and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, then seared them in butter until they were browned on every side. After that, I covered the casserole with foil and roasted it on the middle shelf of the oven for 40 minutes, flipping the pork halfway through.

While the pork was in the oven, I moved on to the apples. Melted a little butter (just enough to coat the pan) added the apple quarters and the rest of the cinnamon, covered it, and let it cook gently for about 10 minutes. You want the apples soft but not mushy, kind of like how you’d describe your ideal pillow, if....your pillow was edible and smelled like Christmas. #lol

About 15 minutes before the pork was done, I arranged the cinnamon apples around it and roasted everything together to let the flavors blend. Then I poured the buttery apple cinnamon juices into a small saucepan, simmered it till slightly thickened, and served it as gravy.

And let me tell you. While all that was happening, the whole house smelt like cinnamon. Warm, sweet, and comforting. It smelt like a cozy home, like I was a wife cooking for her husband who’s on his way home from work back in the olden days. It was such a simple thing, but standing there, surrounded by that smell, I just felt so... content. Jaden kept asking, “Are you done yet? Are you done yet?” because he was starving, and honestly, I don’t blame him.

When it finally came out of the oven, the pork was just. Perfect. Tender, juicy, that kind of beautiful golden brown that makes you want to take a thousand photos before cutting into it. When Jaden sliced through with his knife and fork, the inside was just stunning.. roasted through but still so soft.

Now, Jaden told me before that he likes pork, but he’s not obsessed with it. So yes, I was risking it a little. I even told him to pretend I was a chef and he was Gordon Ramsay and to judge me strictly (bad idea by the way, terrifying).

But guess what? He loved it. Like, (could not stop talking about it) loved it. He made this sound when he took his first bite.. somewhere between a moan and a “wow”, and I felt so relieved. After that, he just kept asking, “When are we having this again?”

So yeah, my first dish turned out to be a total win. It wasn’t just about cooking something delicious. It was about seeing someone I love enjoy it, really enjoy it. Maybe that’s what cooking’s all about anyway, not just feeding stomachs, but feeding hearts.