Simple recipes make nightly family meals possible

Jeanne McNabney is a busy working professional, but she’s made a commitment to have family dinners most evenings.

The attorney and municipal judge lives with her husband, Luke McNabney, in Liberty. The couple appreciates family time with their son and daughter.

Q: Do you cook often in spite of a busy schedule?

A: I love to cook. I also enjoy sewing and quilting, am a Girl Scout leader and occasionally act in a community theater. We are busy, but when I cook or make something, I appreciate seeing the results of my work. We eat dinner five nights a week at home and rarely eat fast food.

Q: How did you learn to cook?

A: My mom was a great cook, at times running a small restaurant, while at other times running a school cafeteria in St. Louis. My father also loved to cook. Our kitchen was small so I didn’t cook often, but I watched and learned from them.

Now I read cookbooks, often checking out new cookbooks from the library. I am encouraging my children to be in the kitchen so both enjoy cooking, but my son especially likes to bake.

Q: What tip can you offer to those learning to cook?

A: Don’t be afraid to experiment. If you are baking you must follow the recipe exactly, but if cooking, you can experiment and adjust the flavors to suit your family.

Q: What suggestions do you have for busy families to help get dinner on the table each night?

A: I often put a roast in the slow cooker. I now have an electric multi-cooker/pressure cooker that I use to prepare Chicken Masala and Chicken Tikka Masala. These small appliances are a great help on busy evenings.

Q: How does your family heritage affect your cooking?

A: Both my husband and I had ancestors that immigrated from a variety of countries, so we enjoy celebrating the customs and making traditional foods at holidays.

For St. Patrick’s Day, in honor of our Irish heritage, I always make soda bread. Plus, we have a Guinness beef roast or Guinness chocolate cake, and champ, a mashed potato dish. We also make Irish dishes for Halloween and cherish our traditional Swedish celebration at Christmas.

Q: What recipe are you sharing?

A: This pork roast recipe is Arista al Latte, which is an Italian pork dish. I found it online, then tweaked it to fit my family’s preference.

I buy large pork loins or pork tenderloins when they are on sale, cut them into the size needed for my family, then freeze the rest.

The pork dish is flavored with rosemary and lemon, two of my favorite flavors. I feel the more lemon the better, so if you like lemon, increase the number of lemons to your liking. Be sure to zest only the yellow part of the lemon peel, as the white pith is bitter.

Arista al Latte

Makes 4 to 6 servings

1½ pounds boneless pork loin or tenderloin

4 cloves garlic

Salt and pepper, to taste

2 lemons

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 cups whole milk

3 fresh rosemary sprigs or 1 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed

Pat the pork dry with a paper towel. Cut the garlic into slivers and roll each garlic sliver in salt. Zest the lemons. Cut several slits in the pork and slip the slivers of garlic and a lemon zest strip into each slit.

Season the meat with salt and pepper. If desired when cooking two pieces of pork, tie the pork together using butcher’s twine.

Quarter and seed the lemons and set aside.

Heat the olive oil in a Dutch oven. Add the meat and brown well on all sides, turning to brown evenly.

While the roast is browning, heat the milk in a saucepan until almost boiling. Watch the milk carefully so it does not boil.

Arrange the lemons and two rosemary sprigs around the roast, then pour the hot milk over the roast. Reduce the heat to low and maintain a simmer.

Simmer, uncovered, until the pork is almost done, about 1 to 1½ hours, turning occasionally and scraping the bottom of the pot to keep the curds that form as a result of the interaction between the lemon and milk from sticking. If you want the sauce a little thicker, cover the pot during the last 15 minutes or cooking.

When the pork is cooked, almost all the liquid should have evaporated, leaving curds and thick sauce. At this point, stir often to prevent sticking or burning.

When the pork is done, remove the pot from the heat and let it sit for a few minutes. Remove the string, if used, slice the meat and spoon curds and sauce over the slices. Garnish with fresh rosemary.

Do you want to nominate someone to be featured in Come Into My Kitchen? Maybe a friend, neighbor, sibling or even yourself? Email us at KCComeIntoMyKitchen@gmail.com. Roxanne Wyss and Kathy Moore are cookbook authors and food consultants that make up The Electrified Cooks. They have published over 14 cookbooks and thousands of recipes. They are members of Les Dames d’Escoffier and blog at pluggedintocooking.com