Short ribs, pork loin, veggie casserole and this and that – Recipe Roundup

Can a veggie casserole use The Force to stay together? Can a pork loin recipe remain indefinitely open in my browser? Can pumpkin chocolate cake replace harvest pear crisp? You be the judge!

Each week, fabulous recipes grace Debbie’s in-box and pop up on her computer screen, and she’s sharing her favorites with you.

Themes, be damned! This, that and the other thing crossed my screen this week — or never left it! — and I’ve just got share this jumble of fabulous recipes with you. If I’m hungry for it, it made the Recipe Roundup this week. A pork loin recipe that just won’t go away, a Russian veggie casserole that uses The Force to stay together and more, more, more….

I’m intrigued, yet perplexed by this one dish meal, Russian veggie casserole. While it sounds absolutely delicious, with its varied mix of veggies and sausage and sauerkraut, I’m really not sure what makes it stay together in that pie wedge shape as depicted. I really expected egg to be an ingredient, but nope.

I am positively chomping at the bit to try these Orange-Hoisin short ribs, but I can’t find any grass-fed beef short ribs! I think I’ll have to swing by Whole Foods at some point and grab some naturally raised ribs, which will have to be good enough. Isn’t the combination of the grated ginger and orange peel tempting you beyond belief? And a huge bonus: make them in your slow cooker. Oh yeah….

Christmas 2009 will go down in memory as the year of the pork roast. It seems nearly every recipe that came across my screen was for pork roast, and yes, we cooked a delicious plum-glazed pork loin with figs instead of plums — we just couldn’t resist. And this recipe for pork roast with winter fruits and port sauce still remains open in my browser. Apricots, prunes, apples; port, shallots, butter … I’ll be making this before winter’s end.

I’ve never met a fennel bulb I didn’t like, and even though I’ve not been craving fish much lately, this recipe for salmon salad with fennel, orange and mint definitely looks tempting.

Really, I don’t know why I’ve never thought of pumpkin chocolate cake, since I stick chocolate chips into everything pumpkin that I bake. We’re entertaining this weekend, and I may just replace the harvest pear crisp with candied ginger that I had planned for dessert with this, depending on the level of my chocoholism cravings that day.

What’s got you hungry this week?