Last year we spent Thanksgiving weekend with our good friends and Corona-pod buddies Lucy and Drew. The feasting was not limited to just one day. We were only four people, but we collectively cooked for a full house as this group tends to go a little over the top. This meant LOTS of leftovers and many opportunities for leftover makeovers. PLUS, lots of wines pairing to go with it all. 

Last year I started an intended tradition of sharing the previous year’s feast and pairings. Given the copious amount of food last year, I’ll also be sharing all of those ideas to use up your leftovers as well!

Also, check out my Thanksgiving Pairing Guide Round Up.

Note: This post contains sample bottles. No other compensation was received and all opinions are my own. 

THE FEAST

The menu for the day included:

• Rolled turkey with sausage stuffing wrapped in bacon. Drew ordered this out, and we all focused on the rest
• Herbed mushrooms, similar to how my mom makes them 
• Cornbread stuffing with chiles and green onions 
• Potatoes Gregoire topped with cheddar and green onions 
• Brussels sprouts tossed in bacon jam 
• Butternut squash with brown butter and crispy sage
• Pan de Jamón, Venezuelan bread stuffed with ham, raisins, and olives)
• Black bottom oatmeal pie and custard apple custard pie with whipped cream

The feast day wines:

(Mind you, we didn’t actually finish all of these that night.)

While we cooked and noshed on apps we enjoyed J Winery Brut Russian River Valley, Kivelstadt Cellars The Family Secret Indian Springs Ranch Sauvignon Blanc Sonoma Valley 2018, and Twill Cellars Rosé of Pinot Noir Molly's Vineyard Willamette Valley 2019. These are all great crowd-pleasers that will pair happily with lighter fare. Plus, it’s a celebratory day, so gotta have some bubbly!

Domaine Ostertag Pinot Gris Alsace 2012 was our bridge wine leading into dinner as it also works easily with most of the dishes on the table, but particularly dishes with a hint of sweetness like the butternut squash, and the the bit of age on this one only helped align the flavors. I think it also matches nicely with slightly richer dishes. 

Pinot Noir is a Thanksgiving classic because of its ability to match with many dishes in the feast. New World version, in particular, have the fruit to work with a lot of those tricky, slightly sweet dishes too, but they also tend to have a savory, herbal quality that works with those flavors as well. Our selection was from Melville Winery Estate Pinot Santa Rita Hills 2010. Scribe Winery’s St. Laurent Carneros 2017 played a similar role, but from an unexpected grape, so it’s a fun choice for those who want to try something a little different.    

We all enjoyed a little L. Garnier Chartreuse as a digestif to make it all go down easier. 

Makeover 1 -Turkey Sandwiches

Well, obviously. They’re always a must after Thanksgiving.  .  . However, these might’ve been a little bit extra. Drew torched the slices of rolled turkey stuffed with sausage, layered on lardo, and piled it all on slices of challah bread. These were particularly delightful with a little mustard. Given that this was a pretty indulgent sandwich, a simple green salad on the side was definitely called for. 

We took a break from vino for lunch. 

Makeover 2 – Steak, Potatoes, and Veggie Gratin

We took a little break from turkey with dry-aged steak which Drew prepared sous vide finished with herbs and butter. On the side, we had a second round of Potatoes Gregoire, because they're just awesome as is. 

The actual leftover makeover came into play with the veggies. I turned the Brussels sprouts and butternut squash into a gratin. 

You can easily turn most leftover veggies into a gratin with this non-recipe formula: Make a bechamel, melt in cheese, pour it all over veggies in a baking dish, sprinkle a little more cheese on top along with some bread crumbs, then bake it all at 350° F until its all bubbly and browning on top.

We this round of feasting we enjoyed Thee & Thou El Rucio Grenache and Syrah Santa Ynez 2017 while cooking and to start. It’s medium-bodied, with both ripe fruit and freshness, and very versatile. It’s great on its own and with food, particularly the gratin in this case. 

The steak could certainly take a bigger wine, so stepped things up to Starmont Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 2006, which worked beautifully with the meatiness.  

The boys had a little Nikka Coffey Grain Whisky at some point along the way. We also had some Kopke White Port Colheita 2003 as a digestif. 

Makeover 3 - Hangover Hash Brunch

This group has a longstanding tradition of making "Hangover Hash" for brunch at least once during every multi-day gathering. Despite the name, no hangover is actually required and non was involved this time around. 

All that’s required for this non-recipe is that you crisp up some leftover potatoes, sauté and add in onions if you have them, then add in any leftover veggies you think will go well, followed up with any leftover proteins you want –– in this case, we added in steak from the night before, but turkey, ham, or all of the above, work too. Top it all with a fried egg and serve. It never disappoints! 

We also had a side of holiday fruit and yogurt to go along with our hash, since at this point something lighter was definitely needed! I mixed baking spices and a little maple syrup in the yogurt, then added a pinch of ground clove to orange slices and raspberries to give them a holiday feel. It was super yummy and definitely brought the lighter element needed.

Drink up any remnant from bottles, or switch things up in favor of a beer or bloody mary, or just give your liver a break. All good, no judgments.

Makeover 4 - Turkey Pot Pie

Turkey Pot Pie is always a contender for my favorite Thanksgiving leftover makeover. So comforting!

Here’s the non-recipe: Sweat a diced-up onion or shallot until translucent. Add in a couple of diced up cloves of garlic if you want once the onions are nearly cooked, then add in your turkey and any leftover veggies you want to use up that you think will work. I used mushrooms and butternut squash here, and you can also bulk it up with additions like frozen peas. Pour in your leftover gravy, plus a little more chicken or turkey stock or water to dilute it down to a soupy consistency. Feel free to season with herbs and spice. Allow everything to simmer. Pour it all into an oven-safe dish if it isn't already in one. Put your crust on top. I made a biscuit topping to put on top, but to make this even easier use store-bought pie dough or flaky pastry dough. Bake it all at 350°F until everything is bubbly and the topping is golden, and serve. 

If you prefer more of a recipe, find one here. (Plus, you'll find a couple of extra leftover makeovers.)

We were pretty sure that this Caprili Brunello di Montalcino 2008 was going to be a good pairing, but it turned out even better than we’d expected. AMAZING combo. I was sure it would work with the mushrooms, but the wine had gained sweet-savory notes in its age that were absolutely beautiful with the squash and sauce as well.

Makeover 5 – Dueling Croquettes

Things got a little competitive for this round of leftover makeovers. Drew and I went head to head in a duel to use up more leftovers.

I made stuffing croquettes out of the cornbread stuffing with chiles and green onions. Here’s the non-recipe: This stuffing was super flavorful, so I didn't feel like I had to do much in terms of flavoring. I added a little shredded cheese plus an egg for binding, then formed the mixture into balls. I rolled the formed balls around in flour, whisked egg, and bread crumbs, then fried them up until crispy.  I served them with cheese sauce and hot sauce.  

Drew made arancini with a bit of an Asian spin. These were rice balls with turkey/sausage fried up until crispy – kind of similar to Japanese Spam Musubi, but with the leftover meats instead. He then topped them with seared lardo and a spicy sauce. (I can’t give you a non-recipe since this one wasn’t mine.)

It might've been a dual, but there were no losers here since it was all delicious! (Plus, I think we each think we won.)

We had these with Symington Altano Branco Douro 2019 (sample), which made a lovely pairing for both croquettes. Afterward, we also tried a Quinta da Foz Douro 2017 and it was also delicious. Both of these wines have a balance of richness and brightness to match both the texture of the food and liven up the palate. 

Happy Thanksgiving!

And if you’re looking for ideas for how to use up leftovers, here are a few ideas:
Mushroom, Kale, and Ham Quiche
Turkey Enchiladas
Stuffed Acorn Squash
Post Turkey Day Leftover Makeover Trio 

Happy Thanksgiving Friends!

I know this year looks pretty different for a lot of us, and most of our celebrations are considerably scaled down from the usual thanks to the Zombie Apocalypse. Nonetheless, I hope you're finding ways to feast, share, feast, and find pockets of love and joy even if we're not with as many of our loved ones as we might want to be. (On the other hand, maybe you're being saved some awkward conversations with family members you don't speak to often and are just as happy to avoid. If so, then cheer for you!) For our part, we'll be celebrating with two friends we regularly pod-up with and the fours of us will be having a weekend of feasting. 

However, you're celebrating, if you're looking for pairing help for tomorrow, check out this Thanksgiving Pairing Guide Round-Up I put up last year. This year, I thought I'd start a tradition of sharing highlights from the previous year. This year, it's also serving as a nice trip down memory lane to think of family that's far away.

In normal times, we typically celebrate Thanksgiving with Greg's family, which is typically hosted by my sister-in-law Hillary, who always makes a parade-o-pies, which you can glimpse in the picture at the top. I will definitely miss gorging myself on those tomorrow. Next to the pies – and of course, the people – my favorite part of Thanksgiving is the smorgasbord of wines. There are a lot of wine geeks in the family, and many bring several bottles.  

Last year, my brother-in-law Dave (who is quite possibly responsible for sending me down the wine geek rabbit hole) and his wife Julia, hosted the event. It was a little smaller than usual, but it was a particularly nice holiday for me as my parents joined us as well. It's nice to be able to fall back on those memories now. 

Just a few memories from that weekend.

And here's a glimpse at the feast.

Turkey in the first 2, roasted delicate squash with cheese, bacon and pepitas, stuffing, herbed mushrooms, mashed potatoes, roasted carrots with nuts and crispy sage, and mushroom Wellington pockets. Dave and Julia made the turkey, stuffing, and mashed potatoes. My mom made the mushrooms. I made the squash, carrots, and Wellington pockets. Group effort!

Of course, with one of the bigger wine geeks in the family hosting, of course wine continued to be a big piece of the puzzle. 

These were the wines that kicked things off, and a good example of three styles that I think should always be candidates for the Thanksgiving table: sparkling, Chardonnay, and rosé. We had the Sommariva Prosecco di Conegliano-Valdobbiane Superiore Brut DOCG (avg. price $17),  Hanzell Vineyards Sebella Chardonnay Sonoma Valley (avg. price $32), and the Hamel Family Wines Estate Rosé from Sonoma County. (Sorry, not sure of the vintage on the latter 2.) Chards tend to go really well with a roasted turkey with gravy, as well as a lot of the savory sides, and even quite a bit of lightly sweet sides like squash and carrots – the Hanzell is a beautiful example. Sparkling wines, in particular a fruity style like this Prosecco Superiore DOCG, and rosés are utlity players because they can both serve as aperitifs and they go well with all kinds of dishes on the table, often even sweeter,  hard to pair sides. 

Here was the rest of our Thanksgiving Day Line-Up from left to right: Miles 10 Year Old Rich Tinta Negra Madeira (sample),  Paul Jaboulet Aine Domaine de Thalabert Crozes-Hermitage 2015 (avg. price $40), Jean-Louis Dutraive Domaine de la Grand'Cour Fleurie 2015, Whitehall Lane Winery & Vineyards Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2009 (avg. price $39), Domaine de l'Amandine Côtes du Rhône Villages Seguret  (avg. price $17), Sandro Fay Ca Morei Valtellina Superiore Valgella DOCG 2015 (avg. price $29),  Derby Wine Estates Cabernet Franc Paso Robles 2012 (sample).

These were all lovely, but will just call out a few and the role I think they play at the table. 

• Medium-bodied reds are excellent at the Thanksgiving table because they work very easily with lots of different dishes. Those that mix elements of fruitiness and earthiness such as Beaujolais Crus like Jean-Louis Dutraive Domaine de la Grand'Cour Fleurie have the widest range. Something a little unexpected like the Sandro Fay Ca Morei Valtellina Superiore Valgella can also be a lot fun. 
• Côtes du Rhônes, like the  Domaine de l'Amandine Côtes du Rhône Villages Seguret , are crowd pleasers and also work solidly well with a lot of things. 
• I love the Northern Rhône, so the Paul Jaboulet Aine Domaine de Thalabert Crozes-Hermitage 2015 was definitely a favorite with me. I scratches the itch for something a little bolder without being too aggressive. 
• The Derby Wine Estates Cabernet Franc Paso Robles 2012  was definitely full-bodied, but it had herbal notes mixed in that worked well with some of the savory dishes, and the tannins were smooth and ripe, so not super aggressive. A good option for those who just crave a big, bold red.
  
• Finally, the Miles 10 Year Old Rich Tinta Negra Madeira was sweet but had lots of brightness as well, along with notes of  blood orange skin, dates, touch of cherry, clove, and coffee and I thought it was delicious with apple pie!

Now as is often the case when family and friends are traveling in from various places, Thanksgiving was actually a multi-day affair. Several of those dinners had wines worth sharing for the holiday as well. 

Last year, we kicked off the first night of feasting with a dinner out with just Greg's and my parents at Mägo, one of our favorite restaurants here in Oakland. A lot of the dishes were Thanksgiving-esque , although turkey was kept out of the picture.

I think we pretty much ordered everything available that night. Top: Radicchio with wagon wheel cheese, pomegrante, and duck fat vinaigrette; Roasted young beets, persimmon mole, and buckwheat; Grilled skirt steak, honey nut squash, savoy cabbage, and walnut salsa. Middle:  Sturgeon, Mt. rose potato, fig leaf, curry, and leeks; Nettle tortellini, heirloom beans, Szechuan and sofrito;  BBQ carrots couscous, brown butter, and black sesame sauce (always one of my favorites!).  Bottom: Charred Brussels sprouts, black pepper, and miso caramel, bloody butchers Johnny cakes w. salted strawberry and radishes; Fried brown rice, hedgehog mushroom, and a farm egg.

To accompany this all we had the Arnot-Roberts Sonoma Coast Syrah 2016, which was sleek and elegant, with a mix of berry, pepper, and spice notes. In a way, it was like a New World version of that Crozes-Hermitage up above – it hits the spot for something a little bigger, but isn't too over-powering.

And finally, the day after Thanksgiving, we all met up again for leftovers + dumplings I'd made under the instruction of my friend Delia. 

Admittedly, they don't look so pretty in the pan, and I forgot to take a picture once at the table, but the dumplings sure were tasty. Our nephew gobbled up the lion's share!

For this round, we had several wines that would've also been great options.  

Ridge Vineyards Buchignani Ranch Zinfandel Santa Cruz County 2012, Domaine Faiveley Clos des Myglands Monopole Mercurey Premier Cru , Pax The Hermit Syrah North Coast 2015, and  Domaine Vincent Paris Cornas Granit 30 2015.

We'll leave it here for now before I get even more carried away. 

Have a very Happy Thanksgiving!

Don’t get me wrong friends, I love Napa and Sonoma; however, there’s more to California wine than these two counties. They’re famous for good reason, but sadly, they tend to overshadow all the other amazing areas making wonderful wines in this state –– a lot of which are making wines that are far more wallet-friendly to boot! Since we moved back to California five years ago (Wow, how the time has flown!) Greg and I have been making a point to try to visit and get to know more about these areas, and it has been incredibly rewarding.

Case in point, last year we decided to spend a weekend in Lodi, which is basically directly east of the Bay Area where we live. I admit that it’s easy to overlook this region as it’s home to a lot of big brands, making a lot of big, jammy wines that aren’t always all that well-made. As is often the case though, taking a closer look can be very worthwhile. 

Lodi is also home to one of California’s most comprehensive sustainability certification programs, Lodi Rules, which looks at many aspects of grape-growing and winemaking across various spectrums. (You can find out more about it here.) The program is so rigorous that it has even been adopted by wineries in other countries. (For example, Golan Heights Winery in Israel, which we took a look at in a couple of posts, is certified under Lodi Rules.)

History, old vine Zins, and sustainable winemaking are all reasons enough to give the area a second look, but we also found several wineries working with unexpected grapes, making wines with a lighter hand than one might typically expect from this region.

Acquiesce Winery & Vineyards was one of these spots that surprised and delighted us with their wines. Flying in the face of everything one expects of Lodi wine, this winery makes only white and rosé wines from Rhône grape varieties.

The Tiptons had purchased their vineyard property not with the intention of making wine, but simply to have the joy of living in the country. In the meantime, Susan fell in love with Rhône’s white grapes after trying a white Chateauneuf-du-Pape from BevMo! She tried to search out more, but they can be tricky to find, and that ultimately sent her down a new path. She elaborated on this point in an interview with Wine Business Monthly:

“I basically tried to buy more of it as a wine drinker and then when I couldn’t, just explored the possibility of planting it here in Lodi,” Tipton said. “I started with Grenache Blanc and really loved what came out of that and planted the other varietals. I wanted to focus on whites and do them right. I always felt that the white was like a second-class citizen in a winery. It was like, ‘Here’s a white and then let’s talk about our beautiful reds,’” she said.

Susan Tipton. Image borrowed from Acquiesce's website.

Making wine started out as a hobby, but it took off. Once she decided to start making her own wine, she and her husband pulled out the majority of the Zinfandel that had been planted on their 18-acre property – the grapes of which they’d profitably sold up until that point – and replanted 10.5 acres with white varieties including Grenache Blanc, Picpoul Blanc, Clairette Blanche, Bourboulenc, Roussanne, Viognier, as well as Grenache for Rosé. The new label took its name from a K.D. Lang song the couple liked.

Despite being known for big red wines, Lodi’s warm, Mediterranean climate with cool evening breezes turned out to be perfect for these white Rhône varieties. (It’s, after all, quite similar to their home region.) However, finding information on making white wine proved tricky, as there was a lot less info available than for red wines. She enlisted a friend to help her out, and brought on Heather Pyle Lucas, as consulting winemaker. Lucas was one of the founding winemakers at Opus One Winery and now lives in Lodi, making wine at Lucas Winery with her husband. “I was the winemaker, but she was my coach,” Susan explained to us on our visit. Nowadays, it’s basically her and her husband doing most of the work in the winery, plus a few helpers at various points during the year.  

Greg and I at Acquiesce in 2019. (Note: Our tasting was comped, as I’m a member of the wine industry. No other compensation was received and all opinions are my own.)

Here’s are very quick tasting notes for the wines we tasted on our visit and their pairings. You can find more details and current vintages on their website. 

Note: All prices listed here are for the current vintage listed, rather than for the vintage listed here.

Picpoul Blanc 2018

Price: $28

Tasting Notes: Green apple, citrus, white flowers, and white grapefruit. The citrus notes, particularly the white grapefruit, intensify further on the palate.

Pairing: Green olive tapenade on a pita cracker, which brought out more minerality and a savory note in the wine. It was also recommended with oysters and other seafood. (Check out this recipe for crab cakes paired with a French Picpoul.)

Grenache Blanc 2018

Price: $26

Tasting Notes: Perfumed with big white flower blossoms, white peach, tangerine skin, and a little grapefruit. This is their signature variety, as it was the first one they planted.

Pairing: Cheddar with violet flower confit. The goal was to bring out more of the wine’s floral character, and I also found it brought out the piquancy of the cheddar in a nice way. This pairing was a particular favorite with those working at the winery. Susan mentioned she also really enjoys this wine with sushi, as well as with steak tartare, as it helps cut the fattiness of the meat.

Clairette Blanche 2018

Price: $28

Tasting Notes: Honeysuckle, really bright tangerine, along with other mixed citrus notes, as well as a touch of tropical fruits on the nose. The wine became more savory on the palate, showing notes of fennel and other herbs, as well as potpourri.

Pairing: Spicy white bean dip on melba toasts. The pairing smoothed the wine out further, giving it an almost creamy mouthfeel in the combo. It was also recommended with Mexican food (which I think makes sense given how the spicy white bean dip worked), as well as raw scallops. It also works well with a wide array of cheeses.

I actually grabbed the recipe card for the simple, tasty spicy bean dip.
 

Belle Blanc 2017

Price: $34

Tasting Note: A mixed bouquet of flowers draws you in on the nose. Grapefruit pith, white peach join in on the palate, with white stones on the finish. This wine is an homage to the Chateauneuf-du-Pape blancs that piqued Susan Tipton’s interest.

Pairing: I don’t believe we had a pairing with this wine at the winery, but we brought a bottle home and really enjoyed it with a roasted chicken with lightly sweet soy-chili sauce.

Viognier 2018

Price: $26

Tasting Notes: Pear, small white flowers, a mixed fruit bowl, and lavender. Showed finesse on the palate. (Viognier can be viscous and weighty on the palate, this one was much lighter.)

Pairing: Mango chutney served on cheese. The wine becomes even lighter on its feet when had in the pairing.

Sparkling Grenache Blanc 2016

 Price: $55

Tasting Notes: White flowers, some blanched almonds, brioche, mixed citrus. Very pretty.

Parings: We had this one on its own at the winery, but I noted popcorn, sushi, and fish and chips as possible pairings.

Grenache Rosé 2018

Price: $25

Tasting Notes: The wine had a very pretty nose of cherry blossoms, crushed berries, and cherries, with a touch of cream. It was bright and tangy on the palate, with strawberries, raspberries, cherries, peach, flowers, and orange skin.  On my second tasting,  I also picked up a light hint of spice and a very light herb note on the finish.

Pairing: This was paired with a cherry pepper jelly on a cracker, and we loved it so much that we could not resist buying a jar.

Grenache Rosé & a Stuffed Pork Loin Roast

I'm pretty certain I started conceiving the idea for the dish I’m sharing here below on that very afternoon, because  I noted goat cheese and pork topped with the cherry pepper jelly in my notebook and the idea stuck in my brain since.

I got very similar tasting notes upon opening the bottle at home a few weeks ago, and the idea for this dish began to take shape. I decided to stuff a pork loin roast with goat cheese, as I’d originally planned, but added some greens, herbs, and almonds, then glazed it all with the cherry pepper jelly.
 
Butterflying a pork loin sounds tricky, but it’s actually pretty easy once you get the hang of it. If you’ve never done it before, check out this YouTube video for a little instruction. Sometimes, pork loin roasts come cut in half from the butcher, although it can be hard to tell when they’re tied up with kitchen twine. This turned out to be the case with mine, but the halves were large enough that I was able to butterfly the two smaller portions. You could also just sandwich the filling between the two halves and call it a day. 

In addition, I decided to roast some delicate squash along with the pork, as I thought the wine would be able to stand up to the light sweetness. I topped the squash with some pomegranate seeds and more almond slivers for extra color and texture. 

The squash seemed a perfect option for fall, but you could easily swap in other vegetables that more seasonal at other times of year.

The wine worked beautifully with the stuffed pork – just as I’d hoped! It was solid with the squash as well but didn’t sing in the same way. That said, the fact that it worked as well as it did with the lightly sweet squash makes me think that this wine would be a great option for Thanksgiving, where we tend to have so many different flavors on the table.

OTHER POSSIBILITIES  

Given that this was a fair amount of meat and that there were only two of us to eat it all, we had several chances to try several other wines with this dish. A California Chardonnay and a Gamay Noir from Tessier Winery both worked solidly well with the dish overall, although this rosé was still my favorite with the pork. The juicy Gamay perhaps worked a bit better with the squash.

pork, squash, fall, autumn, goat cheese,

dinner

American

Servings: 6 to 10 (depending on the size of the roast)

By: Nicole Ruiz Hudson

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Glazed Pork Loin Roast Stuffed with Goat Cheese and Kale with Delicata Squash

Ingredients

• 1 (3 to 5 lb) pork loin roast (this roast was about 4 lbs)
• ¼ tsp allspice (or as needed)
• ½ onion, diced
• 1 cup chopped kale (spinach would also work well)
• 4 to 6 sprigs of thyme, divided
• About ⅛ cup chopped sage leaves, divided
• 4 to 8 oz goat cheese (I used approximately 6 oz for a 4 lb roast)
• 1/2 cup chopped almonds (divided)
• 2 to 3 Tbsp cherry pepper jelly (feel free to substitute another flavor of your choosing)
• 4 small delicata squash, thinly sliced (cleaned and seeds removed)
• ¼ cup pomegranate seeds
• Salt
• Pepper
• Cooking oil, as needed
• Cooking twine

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 325 F.
2. Sweat the onion in a lightly oiled pan over medium to medium-high heat until soft, translucent, and cooked through – about 12 to 15 minutes. Add the kale and continue to cook until the leaves are softened as well. Season with salt and pepper. Pick the leave from two to three of the thyme sprigs and stir into the mixture along with the sage.
3. If the pork has been butterflied and tied (as in the case of the one pictured), open it up and separate it into halves. (If the halves are large enough to butterfly, do so carefully.) If it’s all in one piece, slice the pork roast almost through, so that it can open like a book. Open it up to lay flat, cut side up. In either case, once the pork is cut, place a sheet of plastic wrap over the pork and pound to flatten.
4. Sprinkle the meat all over with salt, pepper, and allspice and rub into the meat. Sprinkle and spread the goat cheese on the meat, leaving about a ½ inch of space from the edge of the meat. Spread the onions and kale on top of the goat cheese, followed by half of the almonds. (If the pork came precut into two pieces that aren’t thick enough to butterfly, you can sandwich the filling between the two halves and secure it with cooking twine or toothpicks.)
5. Roll the pork up, then tie it with kitchen twine. Using a brush or a spoon, spread the jelly in a thin layer over the rolled pork.
6. Place the delicata squash in a greased roasting pan and sprinkle salt, pepper, a pinch of allspice, and the remaining thyme and sage on the squash. Nestle the pork in among the squash slices. (Note: If you’re working with a single larger piece of pork, add the squash to the roasting pan halfway through the cooking process.)
7. Place the pork in the oven and roast until a meat thermometer registers at least 145°F. (As the pork rests, it will continue to rise in temperature another 5 to 10°.) Depending on the size of the piece of meat and how it was cut this timing can vary widely from about 1 to 2 hours. (For example, the pork roast used here came in two pieces, which were each butterflied, rolled, and stuffed. These two smaller pieces took about 1 hour to cook. If the roast had come whole, it would’ve likely taken two hours.) Be sure to stir the squash periodically, through the cooking process.
8. Remove the pork from the oven once it has reached its ideal cooking temperature and let it rest for 10 minutes. If you’d like a little additional browning on the squash, allow it to continue to cook while the pork rests, or place under the broiler for a minute or two.
9. Once removed from the oven, top the squash with the remaining almonds and the pomegranate seeds. Slice the pork into rounds and serve with the squash.

Notes:

This recipe gives various options for process and cooking times, as these can vary widely depending on the size of the pork loin roast and how it was cut. If you’re working with a smaller piece of pork or if your roast came cut into two pieces, as was the case with the one I purchased, your cooking times will tend toward the lower end – about 90 minutes with 15 to 20 minutes prep time in advance, for a total of about 1 hour and 50 minutes. In this case, it makes sense to add the squash to the roasting pan with the pork from the beginning. If you’re working with a larger piece of pork, you might choose to add the squash after 45 min to an hour. For larger cuts, cooking times could be up to about 2 hours and 30 minutes with 15 to 20 minutes prep time in advance, for a total of about 2 hours and 50 minutes. In either case, the majority of the cooking time is inactive.

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The rest of the members of the Wine Pairing Weekend (#winepw) blogging group are also exploring US wines from lesser known areas, hosted by Susannah of Avvinare .You can read her invitation here. Be sure to check out the rest of the group's posts: 

• Camilla from Culinary Adventures with Camilla says Mahalo Plenty! Hawaiian Sips and Nibbles.
• Wendy from A Day in the Life on the Farm adds Let’s Celebrate Thanksgiving by Eating and Drinking Locally.
• Jeff from Food Wine Click! brings Idiot’s Grace: Explorers in the Columbia Gorge AVA.
• David from Cooking Chat pairs Cranberry Jalapeño Dip with New England Wine. 
• Linda from My Full Wine Glass suggests Raising a Glass of PA Cab Franc – Paired with a Philly Cheesesteak.
• Gwendolyn from Wine Predator showcases Local Love: 6 Ventura County Wines from Local Vines paired with Watkins Beef, Ventura Fresh Fish.
• Deanna from Asian Test Kitchen asks Is Virginia for Wine Lovers?
• Susannah from Avvinare offers Wines from New Mexico Paired with New Mexican Style Beef Chile.

Additional sources used for this post: 

• Lodi Wine: A history of Lodi winegrowing, part 1 — before there was a Lodi
• Wine Folly: Lodi Wine Guide (With Maps) 
• Wine-searcher.com 

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