A pair of long separated sisters are reunited

So this afternoon i got the surprise of my young life when i opened the door of my apartment expecting to find my parents laden with bookshelves canned goods and miscellaneous items and was faced instead with my little sister Zella bearing miscellaneous gifts as well. We all went for a little jaunt down to the south street seaport before realizing that it is essentially a glorified mall, getting a seasonal beer tour and nachos and turning back to astoria to make the most glorious meal i've had in some time.

The main dish- Bacon-Wrapped Pork Loin with Apples and Sausage
a recipe found in Food & Drink the Autumn 2010 issue featuring Ontario wines and chefs

2 large pork tenderloins totaling about 2 lbs
10 fresh sage leaves, finely chopped
2 or 3 large garlic cloves, minced
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper
9-10 slices of thick cut bacon
kitchen twine
3-4 large apples such as cortland or spy
1 large cooking onion
2 tbs all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups chicken broth or stock

1. If any silver skin on loins is present, cut away and discard. Sprinkle sage, garlic, salt and pepper all over loins (insert lots of giggles as this recipe is being dictated by Zella as I type). Place loins closely together length wise with thick ends meeting thin ends to even out roast thickness (again with the giggles).
2. Lay out slices of bacon snuggly together on a cutting board forming a rectangle. Place loins across bacon so bacon ends emerge from each side. (essentially i will never stop giggling). Beginning at one end lift a bacon end over loins at a 45 degree angle, then alternating sides, continue lifting bacon ends down the length of the roast forming a chevron pattern of bacon on top.
3. Cut five 12 in lengths of twine and one 30 in length. Place five shorter lengths of wine under loin width wise. Working out from roast center, firmly, but not causing deep indents to form, tie up each piece of twine, spacing evenly apart. Then tie up roast length wise with longer piece of twine (cuz its been quite naughty). Trim twine ends; discard.
4. When ready to roast, preheat oven to 425 degrees. Heat a large frying pan over medium heat, lightly brown roast on all sides, about 15 min. Transfer to a baking pan lined with a rack. Place in oven; set time for 30 min. Check and continue roasting until a meat thermometer reads 145 degrees. Remove from oven; transfer to cutting board. Cover roast with foil; let rest 15-20 min.
5. Meanwhile, peal core and slice apples. Thinly slice onion.
6. Drain most of fat from frying pan; place over medium heat. Add onion, cook 10 min or until lightly brown. Stir in flour; cook 1 min. Stir in chicken broth; add apple slices. Bring to a boil; simmer; cover 5-10 min or until apples are tender and sauce is lightly thickened. Add more broth if too thick, keep covered and hot (personally i like it very hot and thick).
7. To slice a pork roast, snip off length wise string. Then slice about 3/4 in thick, removing cross wise strings as they are encountered. Place a few saucy apples (i'll give you a saucy apple) on each warm serving plate, top with a couple slices of roast and drizzle with more sauce.

-so there you have it folks. We served this recipe with smashed potatoes and green beans sauteed with garlic and almonds but when you are eating pigs wrapped in more pigs it really doesn't matter what else you eat with it. anyway we also paired this meal with a couple bottles of cab sauv-genius.

This meal combined with all the family love gave me the warmest fuzziest feeling i've had in a while-love you all!!!