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We've got to have pork for good luck in the new year... look at a bunch of different world cuisines, and a whole darn lot of them have pork slotted in as the protein of choice when new year luck is on the menu. PORCHETTA-STYLE ROASTED PORK LOIN is just how is sounds, and it's great. We all know what porchetta is right? That super-tasty pork thing with a pork loin wrapped in skin-on pork belly and roasted to tender deliciousness? Well, this week's main event is a lighter version of that, skipping the heavy pork belly and sticking to the nice lean pork loin while still keeping things wintery and warming. I'll start with the classic spice mix, with fennel pollen, orange, and garlic being the frontline flavors. That'll be rubbed onto the loin and the whole thing will be roasted to just-done tenderness (no dry meat over here.) We'd probably be in a great spot if I stopped right there, but I can't help myself. I'll then make a nice pan sauce from the roasting juices to ladle on top of the sliced pork, and then I'll be sautéing some fennel and onion and finishing that with some balsamic vinegar, making it a bit of a sauteed agrodolce to serve with the pork. This whole dish could stand on it's own and be downright great, but with the rest of the menu items it's something that whoever hands out good luck for New Year's can't possibly ignore.

So here's the deal... lentils are an Italian thing for good luck. I guess they look like little coins? But when you think about it, if a lentil looks like a coin, then cannellini be beans surely look like bars of silver, right? Right??? We're going with that as the reason I'm making "BUONA FORTUNA" WHITE BEANS this coming week. Tender, creamy white beans stewed with sage and garlic, then finished with some fancy olive oil and just a touch of tomato, topped with toasted breadcrumbs and ready to bake in your home oven. I could make this paragraph a lot longer with fancy food descriptions and such... but really this are just great beans and will pair perfectly with the rest of the menu items this week.

We need something green right? Money is green, and we could all use more of that I bet. TUSCAN BROCCOLINI & WINTER GREENS is the perfect green dish for a menu like this, and it's even healthy! This one's simple, but don't let the simplicity make you think these greens are boring. Chopped broccolini sauteed with tender winter greens and accented with some garlic and mild chilis, then finished with a touch of fresh lemon zest for brightness. This dish provides a nice tasty vegetable contrast to the other menu items this week, and will really tie the whole thing together.

At this point I don't think my GARLIC-SCENTED FOCACCIA needs much introduction, but in case you're new around here, this is how it works. Homemade, slow-risen yeast dough, baked up tall and golden brown, then glazed with garlic butter. I'll be making big loaves of this, and slicing off a slab for each order, ready to warm up in the oven. It isn't garlic bread, but it is definitely related. This will be your companion throughout the meal, ready to enjoy on its own or to scoop up various sauces from the other menu items. Plus, we can say that the focaccia squares represent bars of gold, right? So there, we've got yet another good luck reference baked in.

Sometimes I feel like renaming things so that they sound better to people's sensibilities, but sometimes you just have to call something what it is and let people discover how great it can be. My CITRUS OLIVE OIL CAKE WITH RASPBERRY-PROSECCO COMPOTE is definitely one of those things. See, there's nothing about olive oil that makes it a savory-dishes-only kind of thing, but it's hard to think of using it in a sweet application. The truth is, things like butter, olive oil, and vegetable oil all make for a differently textured cake, and the texture of an olive oil cake is wonderful. This dessert doesn't have any secrets about it... it's just a plain and simple citrus cake with a very nice texture and the background flavor of quality olive oil. Since we need a little pizzaz and I refuse to change the elegant simplicity of the cake itself, I'll be serving this with a zippy raspberry compote made with prosecco... that'll fancy this up just enough without taking away from the soul of the cake. I love this cake, and I would bet that you will too.