I've mentioned before that a bunch of us prepare a meal at the Friendship House once a month. We plan the menu, do the grocery shopping, cook the food, and serve it to about 40 residents. The one thing we do not have to do is the dishes! Our gentle leader John takes pride in ensuring that every dish is made from the best ingredients and served with soul. This month we planned a German menu. John bought a feast's worth of wurst and sauerkraut from Mattern, a German deli in the city of Orange. Mattern is one of those places where people stand on line for 45 minutes to place their order. Judging from the sauerkraut, I can attest that it is worth any wait.It's hard to pull off a German meal. When you're messing around with all that wurst, pickled cabbage, pork, and potato salad, it really can go either way. I admit that I had some misgivings going into this on Saturday. Minutes after arriving at the Friendship House, John put three of us to work peeling peaches and washing berries for the fruit cobbler. The other three started peeling potatoes for the potato salad--using a treasured recipe from John's friend's grandmother. No mayo. Just vinegar, sugar, green onions, and bacon for seasoning. Served warm, of course.
It's hard to gauge which dish was the piece de resistance, but I think I have to go with the bacon-wrapped pork loin. Yeah, you heard me right. We took two pork loins (5 lbs each) and wrapped them unabashedly in bacon, browned the meat, and popped it in the oven. We basted the meat with a syrupy mixture of vinegar, honey, onion, rosemary, and raisins. We thought there would be a ton of leftovers, but there was absolutely nothing left in any pot, dish, or pan.
Dinner always tastes delicious at the Friendship House. It's a combination of our hard work, the fun of cooking with friends, the gratitude from the residents, and truly good food. Next month is Kansas City-style BBQ.
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