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Keep your holiday meal simple and stress-free. Roast this easy cider pork, serve with a vegetable, some rolls and a bottle of wine and you’re set.
No matter how hard I try to plan ahead, come holiday season I wind up scrambling to get it all done at the last minute. I promise myself every year to take time to enjoy the season, but every year I end up stressed and overwhelmed. 
Especially when it comes to entertaining.
It always sounds likes such a great idea. Host a big holiday meal with all our friends and family. Set the perfect table, fix the perfect meal. Create a signature holiday cocktail…basically channel our inner Ina’s. In theory it all sounds wonderful. Then reality hits.
Not this year. Hosting family and friends does not have to be stressful or complicated to be a night thoroughly enjoyed by everyone, including the host.
This is not the time to recreate a 7-course tasting menu from your favorite fine dining restaurant. No experimenting with new hard to find ingredients. Stick with easy to find items and meals that can be prepped ahead of time. I love to start the night with a few of our favorite wines from Sonoma–Cutrer. I am a Chardonnay fan, and the Cutrer from the Russian River Valley is mild, and creamy. Their Russian River Pinot Noir is incredibly versatile, perfect for hosting guests, with an amazing fruity aroma and ultra smooth finish. To pair with all that great wine you need a great charcuterie board. As much as I love a baked brie for parties, charcuterie can be completely done ahead of time, wrapped, and then brought out when guests are about to arrive. Plus, it is a great way to make sure there is a little something for everyone.
For the main event, I love this cider roast pork with vegetables. It is as easy as it is delicious, and the perfect meal for serving a crowd (we love to serve this family style). A nice salad and some dinner rolls are all you need to complete the meal.
Cider Roasted Pork
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
Ingredients
- 1 – 2 – 21/2 pound boneless pork loin (trimmed of fat)
- 2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 2 Tbsp olive oil (divided)
- 2 red onions (sliced)
- 1 bunch of carrots (ends trimmed)
- 1 lb brussels sprouts (trimmed and halved)
- 1/4 cup boiled cider
- 1 Tbsp dijon mustard
- chopped fresh sage (optional)
Instructions
- preheat oven to 400 degrees
- season pork with 1 tsp salt and the pepper
- heat 1 Tbsp oil in a large skillet over medium high heat
- sear pork on all sides (2-3 minutes per side) and set aside
- toss the vegetables in the remaining oil with 1 tsp salt
- add the seared pork to a large roasting pan and place the vegetables around the pork
- whisk together the boiled cider and the dijon, and drizzle over the pork
- roast until the pork reaches 145 degrees in the center (about 35 minutes)
- remove from the oven, cover pork with foil, and let it rest 15 minutes before slicing
- slice pork into 16 slices and place on a platter with the roasted vegetables for serving
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
