Rhubarb Upside Down Cake and Strawberry Sour Cream Ice Cream with thanks to Melissa Clark and David Lebowitz

        It’s been a long, rainy spring here.  But true to form, we’ve gone directly from complaining about the cold to exclaiming about the heat. It hit the 90s this week which is way too hot, way too early.  Our garden, however, has never looked better and we’re ready to celebrate the end of what seemed like an endless winter.  And if anything says let a new chapter begin, it’s Rhubarb and Strawberries.  Sad to say, our local crops aren’t yet ready. But we were. And so last weekend, Andrew combined the two to create a wonderful dessert.

A Spring Stew of Pork, Mushroom and Peas on Parmesan Croutons

 

        A stew for Spring may seem counter-intuitive but this one is quick and easy to prepare—to say nothing of how delicious it is. After starting with a quick sauté of diced pancetta and shallots,  I was quite surprised at how quickly the pork cooked and how much juice it released as I cooked it.  It made this recipe a perfect candidate for a weeknight.   It’s also quite adaptable.  You can go stop your cooking once you’ve got the pan sauce to the right consistency.  Or you can forge ahead and add the tiny bit of cream that enriches the dish even further.