I generally try to cook something extra-special for Sunday dinner, and the plan for today was to do lamb shanks, braised with red wine, olives, orange zest, anchovy, and basil. Alas, Whole Foods had not a single shank, so I thought I would do a pork loin braised with celery root. The butcher wrapped up a beautiful loin, but then there was no celery root in the produce department. So, I had to settle for some other root vegetables, including a couple of carrots from the garden, some parsnips, a leek, and a few ribs of tired celery from the vegetable bin. After browning the meat and then the vegetables, I added a bay leaf and some tomato paste, cooked for a bit, and then added two cups of red wine and chicken stock. The secret ingredient was a tablespoon and a half of dried, powdered porcini mushrooms. The meat went back into the pot, which went into a 325 degree oven for two hours. It was about perfect with mashed potatoes, at least in the middle of October.
