The Next Food Network Star...

...will not be me. Not because I am a horrible cook or anything (goodness, I hope not), but because I would never put myself out there for all the world. I do enjoy watching my share of Food Network shows, especially Paula. David promised to take me to the mothership The Lady & Sons one day. I told him Lori would have to go in my suitcase with me.
I try to make a new recipe a couple of times a month. Usually I will try to branch out and try something that may require some new skills on my part. I also want to try to keep the meals diverse and let Benjamin (and sometimes Jonathan) try new things. I am hoping we won't raise picky eaters which is a part of this plan, too. I suppose the bottom line is that I love to cook and will subject my family to pretty much anything.
I told a few of you about my new favorite recipe on the phone and I was requested to blog about it. So to be completely nutty about it, here is my lame attempt to copy my other food idol, the Pioneer Woman.
The recipe is called Pan-Roasted Pork Loin with Leeks and can be found here. It is, indeed, a Cooking Light recipe because I am still trying (struggling) to keep things healthy(ish) around here. I won't bore you with the entire recipe since it is linked above, I'll just dazzle you with photos of one of my first experiences cooking with leeks. It's not nearly as glamorous as it sounds.

This is a leek. It is one dirty vegetable. Worse than spinach. It can't really be cleaned while it is whole, either.


This is how you remove the dirt from the filthy things:


Then you want to wilt them a bit (in a little butter)...really the purpose of this photo was to show my mother that I do, on occasion, start cooking supper before 5 p.m. See the clock? This one's for you, Mom.


Remove the leeks from the pan and sear your pork.


After some seriously sensational searing, add your leeks and other ingredients back into the pan. Snuggle them up to that pork.


After two hours of simmering in a covered pan, voila:


And now for the really fancy presentation:

Don't worry, if you come over to my house for a meal, we won't make you eat off of an Elmo plate unless you're under six.

This recipe even received the highest possible rating from my test kitchen. (Although this particular tester kept referring to it as onions and chicken.)


Bon Appetit, Y'all.