E.G. Jones said:
Hooray for Pepsi!
Last night it was pork loin (medium-rare) with a maple mustard sage sauce (which turns out black and can therefore be a little disquieting), brown rice and zucchini sauted with garlic and a splash of balsamic vinegar.
I'm a Pepsi fan, too. To me, Coke tastes like one of the ingredients is dirt. Seriously. Not enjoyable. That said, I rarely drink either. If I can't have beer, I'll take water. Either one is better for you.
I'm also a big fan of medium-rare pork. Many people aren't fans of pork at all, because most people overcook it to death. My mother certainly did, who learned it from her mother, and never had it any different anywhere else. Until only very recently, most people could turn a pork chop of any quality into something that resembled a building material more than food.
Of course, you almost certainly already know this, but for those who don't, the practice of ruining pork goes back about ~100 years to when they found out that tapeworms (
the trichinosis parasite) could frequently be traced back to under-cooked pork. At the time, the FDA or the USDA or some expensive and clueless government regulatory agency then decided pork had to be cooked to a minimum internal temperature of 160 degrees F for at least five minutes. Naturally, most cooks/chefs/mothers overcompensated, and took it to just below burnt. Not that limiting it to the recommendation would produce anything enjoyable; it wouldn't. But, that was the minimum standard for those who want the "best results" without exposing the family to a life-threatening parasite.
In more recent times, the USDA prudently and sensibly relaxed their recommendations to produce the table you can find at the link above, but most people aren't aware of it so they still cook the hell out of pork, much to the chagrin of those who have to eat it. Put enough salt and horseradish on it, and you'll salivate enough to at least swallow what you've spent 5 minutes chewing on, but that's hardly necessary if the meat is cooked properly. Trichinae are fairly easy to kill. That is, take a roast to 135 degrees internally for about 3 or 4 minutes, then pull it out after that. Let it stand covered for 10 minutes, and you'll have the best pork roast you've ever eaten. It will be a bit pink inside, but it'll be tender and juicy like you've never had pork before. Don't rely on time to cook pork roasts; use a meat thermometer.
You can actually pull the meat earlier, as there's almost no such thing as trichinosis in pork anymore, at least in the US. But, try convincing guests that it's safe. It's a battle. In reality, though, trichonisis is almost like polio or rabies - nearly non-existent in developed countries.