Does this meal sound nice? Or weird?

[Habbs]

Cooking a nice dinner for special occasion tonight

Roasted pork belly slices
Creamy lightly garlic mashed potato
Balsamic and oil roasted tender-stem broccoli
Homemade apple sauce

I don't cook stuff like this ever. I think it's more the broccoli I'm worrying about, was going to just make normal roast but thought something different could be nice and stumbled across that recipe. Also not sure if with everything else going on should make normal mash rather than garlic? Belly pork is still roasting for another hour and a half.. but I'm stressing over everything else!!

That sounds lovely to me! I'd like the broccoli with the balsamic personally and I looove garlic mash.

Some people on here can be right snobby cows.

Sounds absolutely lovely!!!

Please report back.
I hope my comment wasn't snarky btw, it wasn't meant like that at all.

@ginghambox @CheddarAndCrackers

Perhaps you should reserve your blunt / rude responses for the AIBU board? This has been posted on Chat if you can't think of something constructive don't say it.

Can the broccoli just be broccoli?

It's not weird as much as everything doesn't need to be something.

I agree with this ^ from the first reply.
Sounds like you are putting a bit of stress on yourself trying to make every element a bit of a thing ? Just relax, and make one thing or the other a bit 'fancy' and keep the rest plainer, would be my suggestions

I think it sounds lovely. If I had roasting juices left in the pan, and a bit of flour and wine I would probably make a bit of gravy as well. I just mix the flour with some wine to make a paste, loosen it up til it's pretty liquid and then whisk it up in the roasting tin on the heat with the juices to make a yummy gravy.

I definitely don't have time to be doing slow roasted pork on a weekday! My goal is for dinner to take me less than 20mins of hands on time (don't mind if it needs to sit in the oven) for most weeknight evenings, maybe one longer thing but still under 45mins!

Oh yum, pork belly! It all sounds fab to me. Reminds me I have some pork belly in the freezer, must cook it soon.

Yum. I've never managed to get pork belly right, so I'd be delighted for someone else to hand it up to me. Recipe for the broccoli please?

Ok the pork belly was gorgeous - it was £1.99 from Aldi which shocked me as I always thought it was expensive but it actually tasted amazing. Slow roasted for a few hours and then grilled on the highest setting for 3 minutes on each side. Crispy on the outside melt in your mouth in the middle. I'm very impressed with myself for not slaughtering it.

On the other hand, we aren't going to talk about the balsamic tenderstem broccoli I cremated it

https://www.tenderstem.co.uk/competitions/spring/parmesan-and-balsamic-roasted-tenderstem

This was the recipe for the broccoli.. I skipped the Parmesan as didn't fancy it. But I cooked it too long because I got distracted trying to perfect the pork

'Only on MN hmm'

There are unpleasant people everywhere, not only on Mumsnet.

Sounds lovely OP.

It's a nice combo (if you like pork) otherwise but not really special, it's more a midweek meal. I disagree, I think the OP's meal sounds lovely and def not something I would make mid week. Though I don't have a lot of time during the week anyway.

This has made me hungry 😋 yum yum yum

Sounds fantastic to me! I'd not bother with the apple but that's just me. I like to stick BBQ sauce on my pork belly slices but then I don't tend to do a full meal with them, I just do the pork on its own (I'm not great at bothering with proper meals
If there are leftovers......

Just looked at the recipe, and popped balsamic vinegar in my online basket.....

Sounds nice enough but I'd want more veg, perhaps some carrots and cauliflower or cabbage?

Also, if you're having apple sauce, you can probably skip the gravy although I do love gravy.
I don't do poncy jus.

Cheddar what a tosser to pour scorn on someone who says herself she doesn’t usually cook stuff like that.
What’s your need to belittle her ?
Then compound it by calling her ‘darling’.
What an absolute tosser.
Op - sounds good - I’d have plain brocolli and up the garlic in the mash but that’s just cos I love brocolli with just butter.

My Dh would like your address please!

The thing i love is the broccoli done that way, but I wouldnt do garlic mash at all! Everything about that sounds wrong.

Like first pp said everything doesn't have to be something I'm not a pork belly fan at all, but I can see it's appeal roasted well, but in all honesty I would be making really scrummy crunchy crispy roast tatoes with that and then it would be all good (for me )

Bit plain to me

Well done for tackling it OP!! I have had to have a look at the broccoli recipe as that's right up my street!

Will be doing that for my dinner now! Thanks for providing the link.

Glad your dinner worked out even if the brocolli was a bit too glazed

Will you marry me? (no idea what sex you are) 😁

Pork belly is a very special meal to me: my men hate fatty meat, I even have to trim chicken breasts of membrane. I love fatty bacon, roast lamb, roast pork with crackling: pork belly is the ultimate. My daughter loves fatty meat too. We’ll be fine when the apocalypse comes.

Hmmmm. Fatty meat and garlic mash. Homer Simpson dribble .......

(Oh, the clue’s in the pregnancy 😁

Anyway, the meal sounds wonderful)

Thoroughly enjoyed my dinner! Was a little on the caramelised side also

Mixed haggis mince with it. Was yum and will remember this for another time