Garlic Pork Roast, mashed Yukon gold potatoes, green beans, and MORE scones

Nick and I took a little break from some cooking over the weekend. Friday night was his work's holiday dinner/party. Saturday we went out to dinner with friends at Saigon Bistro. Sunday was Nathan's grandma's 80th birthday. There was a surprise birthday lunch for her and, a gathering afterwards. 

Basically, the only cooking we did over the weekend was breakfast. I made the usual breakfast on Saturday; bacon, eggs, and hash browns. On Sunday Nathan came over so, we made the usual but added a Dutch baby to the mix. I forgot to take any photos of the Dutch baby but, it turned out even better this time. Previously, we made it with whole milk but, this time we bought some skim milk to cook with(per the recipe).

Sunday evening some house guests, Daniel and Kristen, arrived on their way from Boston to KC. Nick and I decided to prepare a big dinner for Monday night. The menu for the evening was garlic pork roast, Yukon gold potatoes, with green beans. I am not a huge pork fan but, I am starting to like pork roasts and tenderloins(I have always loved bacon).

The recipe, from Cook's Country, called for butterflying the roast, something I had never done before. The roast was then brined in oil, salt and 10 cloves of crushed garlic for an hour before rolling it with a garlic, thyme, and red pepper paste. The end result was pretty fantastic(photos below). Everyone at the table loved it.

The recipe for the mashed potatoes was different than any we have tried before. It called for boiling the potatoes whole with the skin still on them. Once drained, you peel the skin with a knife before mashing. The mashed potatoes get a good review in my book, they turned out great.

The green beans were nothing special. We just made them because Nick said that we should have something green on the plate. Just threw some onion, salt and pepper in with some canned green beans.

After everything was all cleaned up, Nick baked some more blueberry scones. We had already prepped everything so, all he had to do was mix the wet and dry ingredients etc. They are delicious!

Shot of some of the hash browns I made over the weekend, very exciting, right?

The pork roast searing in a hot pan of olive oil before it goes into the oven

The pork toast, just out of the oven

The finished product!