Pork shoulder

Portland, Oregon, July 13, 2011—

I'LL COOK DIINER, I said recklessly, not really thinking about what I'd cook. It was that kind of day.

We drove to the butcher I like here, Laurelhurst, and I looked at the case. Exotic stuff: Irish bacon, Piemontese shortribs, that sort of thing. Not cheap, but decidedly fairly priced. Still, I mentally reckon the costs for dinner for five, and then I notice a pork shoulder roast, $4.49 a pound. I ask him to cut it in half, promising to take the big half. Four pounds, it turns out.

Back at the house I look into James Beard's cookbook to check the roasting procedure: 450 degrees, 25 minutes a pound. I mash up three or four cloves of garlic with a tablespoon or so of fennel seeds and enough salt to turn it all creamy, microplane in the zest of a half lemon I notice nearby, squeeze in the lemon juice, and slather that on all surfaces of the roast, then put it in the oven on a rack.

A little later Lindsey cuts a number of potatoes in half and puts them in the pan with the roast. Beard's right: in 100 minutes it's done perfectly. Green salad, of course.

Rosé, Luberon, La Ferme Julien