Monday Meals: Balsamic Brown Sugar Pork Roast

Here at Cool Dads Cook, we subscribe to a very simple philosophy: Food is Love. When you love cooking; the final, delicious product proves it. When you love the people you're cooking for; you put something extra in.

The holidays have been one long season of cooking, loved ones and... love. The Wisconsin Test Kitchen was gifted with a whole butchered hog. If that isn't the ultimate in love... I don't know what is. Bacon = Love, folks.

So we decided to use part (and I mean a very small part) of that hog for a Cool Dads birthday celebration this weekend. Happy Birthday Kevin! 33 never looked so good- or so cool!

We had a tried and true recipe for a balsamic brown sugar pork loin, and decided this was just the cold, snowy weekend to make it again.

Balsamic Brown Sugar Pork Roast

1 (2 pound) boneless pork tenderloin (or regular pork loin)
1 teaspoon ground sage
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 clove garlic, crushed
1/2 cup water

Glaze
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons soy sauce

Combine sage, salt, pepper and garlic.

 Rub over roast.

 Place in slow cooker with 1/2 cup water. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. About 1 hour before roast is done, combine ingredients for glaze in small sauce pan. Heat and stir until mixture thickens. Brush roast with glaze 2 or 3 times during the last hour of cooking.

Serve with remaining glaze on the side.

Recipe source: C & C Marriage Factory

We served the pork with some roasted purple potatoes and a loaf of homemade bread. It was one of those meals that looked and tasted really impressive; but required a minimal amount of work. And our Wisconsin Cool Dad was really happy with his special birthday meal. He's also happy with the fact he has leftovers to take to work tomorrow.

Now that the holidays are over; we look forward to sharing more recipes and ideas with you. Here's to a delicious 2014!

Stay Cool,
The Cool Dads Crew