Winter Solstice Supper

It had been 350 years since a total lunar eclipse took place on the day of the Winter Solstice. To commemorate the two Heavenly events taking place at the same time, we celebrated by bringing two Earthly events together at the same time: Grilling and Baking! 


Solstice means "Sun Standing Still." Each fall the Sun crosses the sky at a slightly lower angle every day. Then on one particular day, the Winter Solstice, the Sun stops getting lower. It holds its lowest position as it across the sky for a day. The next day and every day thereafter, the Sun starts to increase its path-angle across the sky until it stops again at its highest point - that happens on the Summer Solstice. So we grill in the cold for the Winter Solstice and we grill in the heat for the Summer Solstice - and we try to grill every other day in between. 

It was cloudy in Tennessee for the Eclipse/Solstice, so try as I might, there was no sightings from beside the grill. But you can see a foil covered pork roast over low heat on the grill. 


The idea of a Winter Solstice Supper came from Dorothy's friends in Lincolnton, Maine at the Saltwater Farm. Dorothy took a baking class overlooking the rocky Maine coastline there last summer and I have never eaten better since. We wish we lived closer so we could participate more in Saltwater's "Farm to Table" movement - but we follow what they are doing there and for the Solstice we decided to grill-bake our version of what Saltwater Farms was serving for their Winter Solstice Supper - a Grilled/Baked Pork Pie! Please visit the Saltwater Farms site and you will see what we mean! http://www.saltwaterfarm.com/

First I took a pork roast and covered it with Canola Oil, coarse Kosher salt, ground peppercorns and oregano. I rolled the roast up in foil, fired up the grill and slow roasted the pork for about two hours. In the last half hour I took the roast from the foil and put it right on the grill grates. I also grilled some sweet Italian Sausage!

The pork roast came off the grill tender and juicy. This could have been the entire meal right here, but that is when Dorothy brought her baking "A" game. Butter, chopped onion, slices carrots and fresh sage leaves went into a saute pan and brought to a sizzle.

To this Dorothy added chicken stock and cream - and everything simmered and reduced. Meanwhile. Dorothy prepared the dough, let the dough rise in front of the fireplace and later rolled it out.

I chopped the pork roast and Italian sausage into chucks and everything went into the baking pan. Rolled dough on the bottom, followed by the pork, the sausage, the onion/carrot/sage cream and shredded cheddar cheese!

Then the top crust-dough went on, vents sliced and butter brushed.

Into the oven - maybe 45 minutes - then perfection!

It was cold outside (maybe not cold by Maine standards), but it was warm inside because of this perfect winter evening collaboration - the best of both worlds Grilling & Baking!

We opened a bottle of Sterling Vintner's Collection Cabernet Sauvignon. We visited the Sterling Vineyards in California and rode the tram up the hill to the winery once. But that was 1988 - we have been Sterling fans ever since and always have a bottle on hand. The label said this Cab would go well with roasted pork and mellow cheeses - that sounded exactly like our menu. It was the perfect wine for our perfect collaboration! Please check out their website and plan to go ride the tram to Sterling someday: http://www.sterlingvineyards.com/age_gateway 

Hope your Winter Solstice Supper was as memorable as ours. With 'Farm to Table' from Maine, wine from California, and Grill/Baking from Tennessee, the Sun, Moon and Stars seemed to all align. Happy Celestial Holidays - Paul