Sundays in my family are traditionally big food days. Roasted chicken, mashed potatoes, veggies…desserts…we love to eat. It’s very telling that one of our favorite movies is “Fatso” starring the lovely, talented and sorely missed Anne Bancroft and the very much alive Dom Deluise.
That movie revealed our family’s dirty secret. We are EATERS of the highest order. Something to celebrate? Let’s make a cake. Unhappy? Let’s get something to eat while we talk it out. Feeling tepid? How about some comfort food. Unsure of how you feel? Grab a bite. Sometimes I think it would be easier if we had alcoholics instead of foodies in the family.
Don’t get me wrong, there’s dysfunction on that front as well…but it’s not satisfying to talk about.
So, today since I was feeling like I needed to reward myself for my hard work (The hard work was getting out of my own way to write my great American novel), I decided to make myself a good savory treat. I made pernil.
Pernil is Puero Rican pork roast. It takes the lowly pork butt or shoulder and elevates it to the sublime. Garlic, oregano, and other spices are forced into slits in the meat and as it roasts, melds with the flesh…sorry, I started drooling a little. The apartment was perfumed with the aroma of roasting meat, garlic and oregano. Even the cat was purring happily as the roast cooked.
Is it good for you? Well, since the meat is rather fatty, I would say that it’s a heart attack on a plate, but it’s soooo yummy. I made arroz con gandules and string beans to go with and I ate like it was going out of style.
I’m full and sleepy…but there’s room for ice cream. Since I now have a gym membership, I think I will break even health wise. That’s the best I can do, right?
Now for that ice cream