Salted Pork Redeems the Danes

This past week I researched the culinary wonders of Denmark.  I can't exactly see why it was noted as Michelin star worthy for some local eateries since most of the dishes I had researched look very bland and unappetizing.  I was hoping for some flavor like the previous attempts at ethnic food, but sadly, the only thing that redeemed the dish I prepared was the salted pork.

I am not big on pork to begin with but since I wanted to end the weekend breaking my predominate vegetable diet, I figured, salted pork was the way to go.

What was worth noting was that peasant dishes are the root of the history of Danish cuisine through the Industrial Revolution.  Which was good for my budget constraints and desire to donate 10% of the remainder each week to the local food bank at the end of the year.

Stegt flæsk med persillesovs (Fried, uncured bacon with parsley sauce)

In any event, Stegt flæsk med persillesovs (Fried, uncured bacon with parsley sauce) was only tasty due to the uncured bacon even though I tried to make the parsley sauce with the bacon fat to give it a little more flavor.

It is worth noting however, the boyfriend liked this dish since he found the sauce to be tasty enough to eat with all parts of the dish.  Without the sauce, this dish had no depth we concluded so it probably won't be high on the list of repeats any time soon, though who knows, I might get bored and say, parsley sauce and potato please!  Unlikely though.  Next week, we'll go back in time and hopefully we can get a little bit of flavor back onto our pallets.

Ground Pork isn't Grounded

Ground pork is one of those ingredients I sometimes don't always understand the purpose of.  Aside from the constant comments from the boyfriend and the boyfriend's brother saying, "its just tasty," I really haven't cooked pork.  The boyfriend requested that I ground the pork in his meat grinder.

While researching what cut to ground, I found that the best cut to ground was the shoulder.  I also decided to do a bit of an experiential meatball with the ground pork since I really just had no idea what to prepare with it.  Egg rolls were a bit overdone in my history of ground pork so I experimented with Italian meatballs and fresh spaghetti.

I combined the ground pork with ground beef to make meatballs, and fresh spaghetti consisted of egg, flour and salt.  I cheated when it came to the sauce, but the rest tasted pretty darn close to what I have tried in an Italian restaurant.  I was personally impressed and don't mind trying to do this again!

Just as long as the boyfriend isn't in the mood for quick fresh pasta for a challenge...