Rutabaga!

If the Brain and I ever have a kid, it would be fun to name it Rutabaga. Well if we decided to go with a super non-traditional name. And if you yell it its really fun. Or try saying "there there Rutabaga it'll be okay." OK, I'm not really serious. But it is an incredibly fun word. One of my favorites. Maybe that's why I like eating it so much?

Well and its orange. My Kitchen Aid mixer is orange. Yellow is my favorite color, but orange definitely comes in second. And to be honest, I like the taste of a good rutabaga. Its turnipy and yet not.

Tonight's vegetable side dish, although not the most inspired, comes yet again from Mr. Jack Bishop's Vegetables Every Day cookbook. People you need this cookbook. Not only does it have a plethora of recipes for all different vegetables, it has tips on how to pick a good one and how to store them and the best methods of cooking. Its like a vegetable manual. For example, there are four recipes devoted to rutabagas and he says that "Rutabagas can be refrigerated for at least a week in the vegetable drawer. Because they are generally coated with wax, they may stay fresh for a couple of weeks." Seriously. Where else would you find this kind of information? There's also a bunch of vegetables I've never heard of in here, like Boniato (3 recipes), Malanga (2 recipes), and Salisify and Scorzonera (2 recipes). Don't worry though, common vegetables have many more recipes to them. Peppers have 13 recipes.

Alright, so tonight I made Mashed Rutabaga with Orange and Ginger. This is a pretty foolproof recipe. Or Mary-proof if you will. See, I wanted to cut the recipe in half because I'm going to get fat on vegetables if I continue to eat such huge portion sizes. Remember the cucumber salad? Unfortunately, although I managed to cut all the other ingredients in half, I neglected to cut the ginger in half. ooops. Not to worry, I added some salt and its way better now. I also pureed it in the Cuisinart because I don't like it lumpy. Even though mine is still mighty gingery, I know that if I had followed the directions correctly, the poor Brain would spend another dinner without a vegetable.

Mashed Rutabaga with Orange and Ginger

adapted from Vegetables Every Day

1 large (2 pound) rutabaga, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes

Salt

2 Tbsp unsalted butter

1 tsp grated orange zest

1/4 cup orange juice

1/2 tsp ground ginger

Put rutabaga chunks in a saucepan and cover with 2 inches of water salted generously. Boil for approximately 30 minutes or until rutabaga is very soft. Drain.

Add butter and zest and mash with a potato masher (or stick it in the food processor like I did) until the rutabaga is smooth. Stir in orange juice and ginger. Serve.

Thank God for Pork

I don't have the words to describe how good this Pork Tenderloin with Cider Jus and Rutabaga Puree is. The picture definitely doesn't do it justice. I admit that I picked the recipe because I like apple cider and rutabaga. To be honest I was intrigued on whether rutabaga would make the transition from humble root vegetable to something fancy. I in no way expected the delicious yumminess that was this dinner.

I wish I had more friends out here in nowhere land that I could invite over for a dinner party so that I could serve this again. The smooth earthiness of the rutabaga. The silky richness of the sauce. The smokiness of the pork. I'm so glad I went outside and barbecued the pork. Each element of the dish was just right and the dish on a whole was unbelievable. The Brain, who didn't want to wait for dinner and had a turkey sandwich instead, watched speechless as I licked my plate. I honest to God licked my plate. I may not have the best table manners, but that's not something I've ever done before.

I feel like making speeches and blowing kisses after eating this. I'd like to thank the pig that died and gave me it's tenderloin. I'd like to thank the farmers for growing the rutabaga and apples for cider. I'd like to thank my mother in law, who managed to find star anise in Amish country. I'd like to have another helping.

Pork Tenderloin With Cider Jus and Rutabaga Puree

Bon Appetit

2 cups apple cider

1 cup low-salt chicken broth

3/4 cup chopped onion

6 whole allspice

3 whole star anise

3 large fresh thyme sprigs

2 cinnamon sticks

2 tsp apple cider vinegar

1 bay leaf

5 Tbsp unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes

Rutabaga Puree (recipe follows)

2 (12 oz) pork tenderloins, well trimmed

olive oil

Make Rutabaga Puree first.

Mix first 9 ingredients in heavy medium saucepan (apple cider through bay leaf). Boil until mixture is reduced to 1 1/2 cups, about 20 minutes. Strain, pressing on solids to extract liquid. Discard solids. Return liquid to saucepan and boil until reduced to 1/2 cup, about 3 minutes. Whisk in butter a few pieces at a time. Season with salt and pepper.

Meanwhile prepare barbecue (medium high heat)

Brush pork with olive oil. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Grill until instant-read thermometer inserted into center of pork registers 145°F, turning frequently, about 20 minutes. Let pork rest 5 minutes (temperature will increase to 150°F). Thinly slice pork crosswise.

Divide pork slices among 6 plates.

Spoon Rutabaga Puree alongside. Drizzle sauce over pork and serve.

Rutabaga Puree

3 pound rutabaga, peeled and cut into 1 inch chunks

3 Tbsp butter

Cook rutabagas in large pot of boiling salted water until very tender, about 45 minutes. Drain well. Transfer to processor; puree until smooth. Return to pot. Stir over medium heat until any excess liquid evaporates. Add butter; stir until melted. Season with salt and pepper. (Can be made 2 hours ahead. Let stand uncovered at room temperature. Rewarm over medium heat, stirring often.)