Backlog: Braised Pork Chops With Tomatoes, Anchovies and Rosemary

Tomato Sauce, originally uploaded by essgee51.

(The above is an in-progress shot, obviously.)

Made this in Dec. 2010, following this NYT recipe pretty much to the letter, save for doubling the amount of garlic. Turned out very well - rich and tasty, with the anchovies adding savory depth to the always-winning combo of rosemary, pork and tomatoes. Sans pork chops, the sauce itself would probably go well over pasta - maybe even whole-wheat, if I added some heat to counteract the additional body.

Infusion: Rosemary Vodka

Having had a positive experience with rosemary simple syrup, I decided to try the recipe detailed in this Chowhound post: two sprigs for 750 ml. and anywhere from 48-72 hours. Those Mason jars I purchased from Peapod are certainly getting a workout!

It's great to have a friendly upstairs neighbor who shares the bounty from her healthy herb garden (if by chance you ever read this, thanks again, Kim!). Though the summer's surged back a bit from last week's chill, that woodsy tang on my fingers smells like fall (and roast lamb).

Rhubarb-Rosemary Daiquiri

I'm not normally a fan of sweet drinks, but this recipe seemed intriguing (and my last experiment with rhubarb turned out well). It was a perfect lounge-in-the-park drink for the July 4th weekend - sweet but not cloyingly so, with the woodsy taste of the rosemary and the sharp tang of the lemon adding levels of complexity. (Thanks, idogcow!)

• 2 1/4 cups water, divided
• 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp. sugar, divided
  
• 1/2 cup rosemary leaves
• 3 cups rhubarb, cut into 1/2 in. cubes
• 6 tbsp. lemon juice, divided
• 1 1/2 cups white rum

Bring 1 cup water and 2 tablespoons sugar to a simmer, stirring often. Remove from heat; add 1/2 cup rosemary leaves. Let steep 5 minutes. Strain, pressing on rosemary; discard rosemary. Let cool 1 hour.

Place rhubarb, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, 1 1/4 cups water, and 1/2 cup sugar in blender. Process until coarse puree forms. Strain through fine-mesh sieve into medium bowl. Use your hands & squeeze rhubarb pulp to release as much liquid as possible through sieve; discard pulp. Cover and chill rosemary syrup and rhubarb juice separately at least 4 hours and up to 2 days. [Note: The longer steeping time really does help - the rhubarb mixture developed a deeper, more complex flavor.]

Mix rosemary syrup, rhubarb juice, remaining 5 tablespoons lemon juice, and rum in pitcher. Serve over ice, garnished with rosemary sprigs and lemon twists.