Roast Pork in a Banana Leaf and a little vent

I have said this a few times about work...  I am forced to go to a place that I don't want to go, to spend all day with people that I don't like, doing a bunch of stuff that I don't want to do.  For the past couple of weeks or so I have really been experiencing that.  I am not going to go into a lot of details because I like to keep things positive in my little corner of the web.  Last Friday I was off work I took on the project of painting Miss Lu's room again, it was actually a day I had taken off to paint the master bedroom. 

Other projects had to be set aside due to the fact that Miss Lu's bedroom became an emergency because well,  you know, she is nine and the old color just wasn't going to work now because she is growing up and any moron can tell you that pink is a baby color, purple however just screams maturity.  So on my Friday off I spent most of the day painting her room, I finished the first coat and promised Miss Lu and Mr Man that they could help with the second coat the next morning.

The next morning started early, I was still on cup of coffee number one.  "Daddy, can we start painting now?"  So we gather all of our supplies together, drop cloth, paint, brushes, roller, roller tray and start to paint.  Now the three of us NEED four paintbrushes and a roller and 3 vessels to hold paint.  Of course that isn't enough, Mr. man starts to complain that Miss Lu has a bigger brush, then Miss Lu counters that he is painting using horizontal strokes when vertical is obviously superior.  Painting lasts about half an hour, while I am cleaning three of the four brushes they both decide that they have to use the computer (our laptop crashed so this poses a problem).  I set the half clean brushes in the sink and to distract one while figuring out the password for the other.  I just got back to cleaning brushes when they both go outside, great I get to finish.  Well almost, a few minutes into it I get the helpful hints from them both,  "daddy is that drip supposed to be there?  why are you watching the SyFy Chanel on my T.V.?  that show is gross!  be careful not to drip on my bed."  Well you know how it goes, sometimes it is frustrating but in the end I love it!

What I am doing is taking a long long way around  to tell you that, I understand when a five and nine year old want 4 or 5 things at a time from me then act like children when I have to take things in a logical order and get frustrated when everything isn't always available at the same time.

Switch that to a forty five year old or someone in their mid fifties and some of the charm is lost.   So over the weekend we had the fun because the children are still charming when they act like children... grown up people not so much I was avoiding them as much as I could.

"How does this LONG bit of prose make the leap to a recipe?"  you ask, well it doesn't I just wanted to vent for a minute then go back to having fun.

So the recipe is Roast Pork, I picked up some Banana leaves from the store a few days ago, Do you want to know how much Banana leaf you get for $1.29 This is Miss Lu holding up half.

I hesitate to call this a recipe but here it goes
4 pound pork butt or some other inexpensive cut of pork (rolled and tied)
3 cloves of minced garlic
3 cloves of garlic peeled
salt and pepper
2 TBS orange marmalade
18 inches of banana leaf
2 cups of chicken broth

Take your pork rub the surface with the minced garlic, salt and pepper.  Put the other 3 cloves of garlic inside your meat and set on the banana leaf, smear the orange marmalade on top then wrap with the banana leaf.  Put in all in a roasting pan and pour in the chicken broth cover and cook in an oven preheated to 275 for about 3 hours.

The broth from this is wicked good, I used that as the cooking liquid for my rice which almost became the star of the plate.  We only ate about a third of it for dinner I pulled the rest apart and cooked it in the same broth for about and hour to make pulled pork sandwiches.  No picture of that though I ate it before I realized how good it was.

Apple Proscuitto Stuffed Pork (My refrigerator broke)

I was going to write some posts about how life has a way of getting in the way of things, when life all of a sudden got in the way of things... (is that irony?  I forget) Kris and I have been looking around the house the past few weeks deciding what we need to repair and/or replace around the house.

• Fix air conditioning in her car
• Replace kitchen counters (ours look like they came from a 1970s era trailer home)
• Replace dish washer (current one sounds like a train coming through our kitchen)
• Replace net around trampoline (a hole that I can walk through doesn't exactly keep kids safe)
• Finish the bathroom that I started 2 years ago
• Fix garage door

The list goes on for quite a bit, and since there are some big ticket items we are trying to prioritize.  So we were in the kitchen one afternoon discussing those priorities when Mr. Man asked for an ice-cream cone, he likes those foil wrapped chocolate ice-cream cones.  Kris pulled one out of the freezer opened it up and it was liquid.  Everything in our freezer was in some state of thawed and the refrigerator was sort of... kind of coolish. 

So what do we do?  Throw out everything that we can from the freezer (sorry tater tots we need the space) use the freezer as a refrigerator and cook a mess of stuff before it turns on us.  Our freezer was about the size of that refrigerator that I kept in my closet in college, but we made it work.  Since that item just moved from a couple of months down the road to the top of the list we started to look for a replacement refrigerator then wait for payday until we could get one.

So I went on a frenzy of cooking, from Prosciutto topped kids pizza to... well over the next few posts you'll see.

First up Apple Prosciutto stuffed Pork Tenderloin:

The Stuffing:
One Apple diced up
3 slices of prosciutto
About a TBS of thyme leaves
3/4 cup of bread crumbs
1/2 diced Onion
Enough apple cider or chicken broth to moisten

Mix all of this in a bowl and set aside while you get your pork tenderloin ready.  Trim the silver skin off the tenderloin then slice open from end to end.  Fill with stuffing and roll closed, this should be a little too full so it needs to be held closed.  I would have trussed but didn't have an inch of cotton string so I pinned it closed with tooth picks, not pretty but it worked.

Heat up about a TBS of oil in an oven safe pan, I used the iron skillet then brown the meat on all sides that takes maybe 5-6 minutes then put it into a 350 degree oven for another 20-25 minutes.  When it is done let it rest on the counter, covered with foil, for about 5 minutes then slice and serve.

Pork and Shrimp Burgers

Things have been a little slow around here for a few weeks, I have just been a little off my game lately.  It happens to us in the winter sometimes, Kris and I have a tenancy to go "underground" and hibernate just a bit, we don't see much of our friends, mostly we go to work then have dinner and go to bed.   We all have the worst case of that late February cabin fever.  You know how it goes you get the 2 or 3 nice days in a row, you pull out the windbreaker and start to feel like it is spring then get up for work one morning and end up spending 40 minutes scraping a half inch of ice off of the car windows.  I know it is going to happen, something like that has every year since... well... birth but it always is a kick in the b well it just isn't fun. Let me try to say it right.  On a normal day when I see just about any food related occurrence in my life (and I have a lot of them) I start to think of how I can describe them here, some make the cut most don't.  The past month or so I haven't, I have just been off...

That being said I think I have pulled my self out of my self inflicted funk, the recipes and a bunch of pictures are already.  Every time I look at food my mind starts to think of how I can fit it in here, there so it is just a matter of my fingers keeping up with the rest of me.  This recipe is a mixture of something that I thought sounded good on a show I saw on Food Network and a recipe that I had.  When I tasted this it ROCKED!  Really a great Spring/Summer dish, bright, vibrant and spicy without a hint of anything heavy too it.  I love a food pickled slaw with a dish to add that bright POP to a meal this one ended up being a great mixture when it was all put together...

The Slaw
1 cup Rice wine Vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup shredded Diakon
3/4 cup shredded carrot
1 TBS chopped Cilantro
2 cloves garlic chopped
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

Heat the vinegar and sugar until the sugar dissolves.  While that is going put the rest of your ingredients into a bowl, add the vinegar sugar mix and stir together until coated.  Put into the refrigerator until cold.  Quick warning... as a condiment this is really good, spicy and bright, it worked great on these sandwiches but the pepper flakes do make it HOT when I tasted this out of the bowl I thought I had gone too far,  if you are unsure cut back some.

The burger patties
1/2 pound ground pork
1/2 pound shrimp peeled and deveined
1 small onion chopped
1 egg
1/4 cup of breadcrumbs

I will be honest I may have used a little less than the 1/2 pound shrimp because I was getting sick of deveining them (note to self buy them deveined already, doing it yourself is a pain in the butt).  Put your raw trimmed shrimp into a food processor until they are well chopped but not too much, when you cook them you want some larger bits for texture.  Put all of the ingredients into a bowl and mix together, then form patties (I made three but I wanted them a little large because well I was hungry and the kiddos weren't going near this one).  Place the patties on parchment paper and refrigerate for about half an hour until firm.

When it is time to cook put the patties on the grill and cook for maybe 5-6 minutes on each side until done.  I buttered a couple of buns and toasted those on the grill too.  To assemble put a little Sriracha mayo on the bottom but then the burger patty then the slaw.  Serve with a little Sriracha mayo on the side.

Pork Tenderloin Marsala

So it started like this...

After we got past the holidays, you know the insane time at work, my middle daughter visited for a week (snow painting adventures of my previous post)  things just started to settle just a bit.  Then my boss calls this meeting and announces that, "all of you are going to work harder over the next couple of months than you have ever worked in your lives."

My first thought was something along the lines of. "well color me inspired."  We had just come off of feeding around 2200 guests Prime Rib, Crispy Tilapia, Butternut Squash and buckets full of Lemon Basil Orzo.  That was on top of all of the parties and what not that the holiday season brings us.  Well it has been a couple of weeks since that meeting and things are settling down a bit.

Ok enough about my job, I have some new toys...

My beautiful wife Kris bought me a new camera for Christmas, the old one was just a little beat up, note the lens pointed in an odd direction and yes that is duct tape holding it together.

Oh, here is Kris' work with the new camera... Mr. Man and I were going to watch just one episode of Batman and what do you know... and who falls asleep in a chef's coat? I am such a dork!

I finally bought an ice cream maker, it is the cutest little thing, I have only used it once but have a good list of recipes to start with... Say didn't they made lobster ice cream on Iron Chef a couple of weeks ago?  I guess I am saying that I have some stuff in the works so be sure to stick around I'll get to it soon!  I had to use the catalog photo because I left my table so messy this weekend.

Anyway this post isn't about my new stuff it it really about an old favorite...

Pork Tenderloin Medallions with Marsala.

1 pork tenderloin (about a pound)
4 TBS butter (I use unsalted) divided
1 medium onion diced
about half a pound of Portabella  mushrooms, cleaned
1/2 cup Marsala wine
1 cup chicken broth
fresh parsley to garnish

Melt half your butter in a heavy skillet, I pulled out my favorite, the iron skillet, when hot but just short of smoking, brown the pork on all sides, set that aside while you do the rest.

Add the onions and mushrooms to the same skillet and saute together until the liquid that the mushrooms give is evaporated (maybe 10 minutes).  Then add the Marsala and cook until it is almost evaporated (about another 10 minutes.  Add the chicken broth then put the Pork Tenderloin in the same pan and cook until it is to your liking, medium rareish to me, (another 10 minutes at a low simmer) then pull the pork out and put it on your serving platter to rest.  Turn up the heat on the sauce add the rest of your butter and reduce to about 3/4 cup.

Slice the pork tenderloin into medallions and serve.  We picked pasta, but I really love this with potatoes too.  For as simple as it is to make this is wicked good... good enough to get Miss Lu up for seconds.

BBQ Pork Tacos

I think that even if you are an occasional follower of this blog you will notice that I am a big fan of the pig... from pork tenderloins or chops to bacon I use it often especially this summer, it has been hot, so the grill has been getting a greater than normal work out.  A few days ago I had some leftover pork tenderloin in the fridge and wanted something a little different...  BBQ Tacos came to mind.  It turned out to be a really good dish:

The Pork:

I made a few simple changes to my normal BBQ Sauce for this:

1 cup Ketchup

1 TBS Honey

1/4  cup Tequila

1 tsp Dijon Mustard

Juice from one Lime

1 tsp Chipotle Chili Powder

1/2 tsp Garlic Powder

1/2 tsp Onion Powder

After it had lightly simmered for about 20 minutes I put half in the fridge for later to the rest I added about a pound of pork that I had pulled apart then let this cook together for about another half an hour.  While that was going I made a slaw to go on my tacos.

The Slaw:

1/4 cup rice vinegar

1 TBS sugar
1/2 tsp salt

1 minced jalapeno (the only one that my garden has produced)

1 TBS fresh grated ginger

1 TBS sesame oil

1 head of savoy cabbage sliced thin

1 red bell pepper halved then sliced thin

Mix the first three ingredients together and disolve then stir in the next three ingredients.  Add the cabbage and toss together.  Cover and let sit out at room temperature for about 1/2 an hour to temper.  Just before you serve it add the bell peppers.

I know that you are all smart enough to make tacos so I won't go into the step by step here, I used corn tortillas because it is what I had flour would work fine, maybe better.  The finished plate was the perfect weekend lunch, enough for 2 grown ups along with an icy cold Margarita.

my garden

I had a different picture in my head when I planted my garden.  I imagined me stepping out of the kitchen door and snipping a little bit of fresh oregano off a branch and putting that into a sauce made with my tomatoes grown in an upside down planter.  "Oh yes," I would say to my guests, "I made everything from the freshest vegetables and herbs grown just outside in my garden.  There is just nothing better than peppers plucked fresh from the vine, is there?"

Do peppers grow on a vine?  How would I know, the graceful, sophisticated herb and small vegetable garden that I pictured turned out to be a three foot wide gash of dirt along the back of my house that the dog enjoys laying in.  There are two sad looking jalapeno pepper plants that have so far produced one pepper, a stem of oregano that could easily be mistaken for a frill pick and an undetermined chili pepper plant that keeps falling flat into my grass where I am sure it will be run over with the mower any day now.  What isn't plain black dirt is mostly over run by some series of strangling vines or my incredible, indestructible ever expanding mint.  Oh yes! I was sure I could contain mint... "no problem"  I told my friends "I planted them in buried five gallon buckets, they will add a nice touch to the edge of my herb garden"   these things are worse than dandelions on crack!  I just cut out a bushel of it two days ago an it is back with a vengeance! I think it is going to climb into the bedroom and murder me while I sleep.

The one thing that did take root well and seems to be thriving in all of this chaos is my Rainbow Chard.  I have no clue how or why but the beautiful, colorful stems shine through everything in my (I guess for lack of a better word) garden.  They stand proud against the back wall of my house the only things that even slightly resemble... well... anything.  I cut some a a couple of days ago, it looks like I have enough of this lovely green  to make maybe two portions. 

The first I served with brined pork chops and a balsamic glaze.  When I was a kid my dad always put vinegar on spinach or whatever green we were eating and that has carried over for me.  The tart flavor adds just a bit of comfort for me.

The pork chops:

4 Cups water

1/4 Cup Kosher salt

1/4 Cup brown sugar

2 green onions chopped

1 clove garlic minced

1 TBS parsley minced

Mix the ingredients together in a saucepan and simmer until salt and sugar dissolve then cool.  Once cool add the pork chops and let them sit refrigerated for at least 6 hours or overnight.  Some chemical stuff takes place during the brining process that makes the meat more moist when cooked.  I have read it and it makes no sense whatsoever to me but it works.  When it is time to cook, take it out of the brine and grill for about 3-4 minutes on each side, I like mine about medium.

The balsamic glaze:

3/4 Cup balsamic vinegar

1/2 tsp fresh rosemary minced

1 TBS brown sugar

Simmer until reduced by half when reduced pour though a strainer and hold hot

The rainbow chard:

1 TBS butter

about 8 leaves of chard

1/2 small onion diced

1 clove garlic minced

salt and pepper to taste

Wash chard then cut the stems out, chop the stems and put in the pan with the butter, garlic and onion and cook until softened.  While that is cooking roll all of the chard up like a cigar and cut into one inch strips add those to the pan and saute until done (maybe another 7-8 minutes).  

I served with mashed potatoes so the plate was potatoes next to the chard with the pork chop on top, sprinkle it all with the balsamic glaze.  This is another time that I am going to say that my picture doesn't do this meal justice.  Really it was wonderful all the flavors and textures played well together.  The tart syrupy vinegar was ever present and the chard did taste a wonderful as it looked.

Smoky Orange Glazed Pork Tenderloin

Ok, I know I have done the pork tenderloin to death lately but this is one of the best that I have come across in a long time and I think I owe it to all you before grilling season is over (or before it starts for my friends in the Southern hemisphere).

First you need a quick update from a past post; my cookbook dealer still stops by every week or so, he is keeping me supplied with books, (my latest are an old copy of Chinese Cooking Made Easy and Classic Soups and Stews) plus he has branched out a little bit, not only do I get a couple of books each visit, he is supplying me with periodicals as well. I suspect that he may be using them as gateway literature for people that aren't already hooked (you know the kid on a playground complaining that his mom made his sandwich with Cheddar instead of the Cave Aged Gruyere that he asked for).

Anyway on top of a few books each week I often pick up a grocery bag of Bon Appétit, Saveur or Food and Wine. Some are current some a few years old, which is fine; I mean if I haven't read one it is new to me. Like anyone who is hooked I find myself hiding them from my loved ones, not because there is anything wrong with an occasional culinary magazine but because our house has a bit of a clutter issue, mostly because I live in it and hundreds of magazines don’t help. So when I have a few minutes at home alone I will sneak in a bag of Gourmet magazines and hide them in the back of the closet or under the bed until I can get to them.

A couple of weeks ago I pulled out a 1997 issue of Bon Appétit (Summer Grilling Issue) and found a recipe for Rosemary Orange Chicken which, because of the food I had in the fridge, I changed from chicken to the delicious, if not a bit overused, Pork Tenderloin. So here it is Smoked Orange Rosemary Pork Tenderloin, a very loose interpretation from the above mentioned magazine.

Ingredients

6 oz frozen concentrated Orange Juice (1/2 a can)

1/4 cup white wine

1 TBS stone ground mustard

1 TBS chopped rosemary

2 tsp soy sauce

1 clove garlic minced

A dash of hot sauce if you like


1 Pork Tenderloin, trimmed
Big handful of wood chips soaked in water (I used cherry)


Mix the first 7 ingredients together in a food processor or blender then set glaze aside.


Once your grill is hot put your wood chips in a smoker box or a foil packet with top torn open, let it go for 5 minutes or so to start smoking. Sprinkle a little salt and pepper on your pork then put on the grill near the smoke but in a coolish spot, I like the smoky flavor but do not like over cooked pork. Cover and let cook for 2-3 minutes then turn and brush with glaze, cover and repeat until it is cooked the way you like, mine was about medium so it cooked for about 15 minutes in total. When you take it off brush just a bit more glaze on it and let rest covered with a foil tent. The sweet, salty and smoky flavors work so well together and each of them is subtle enough that you can still taste the light pork. I served with arugula... well because it has that beautiful gentle peppery flavor that I just love...  Yeah that’s it.

Pork Tenderloin with Roasted Corn Salsa

It was a good weekend, the unofficial opening of grilling season in the Midwest came and I took full advantage... Sunday I made a pork tenderloin on the grill, it is one of my "go to" dishes.  Pork Tenderloin has the ability to pick up flavors from a light marinade or hold up to
bolder flavors.   When prepared like I did for this one it is bright and summery but still tastes like meat.  Did that make sense? Anyway today's post isn't really about the Pork Tenderloin, I will pass that recipe along but this post is really about the side dish... Roasted Corn and Black Bean Salsa!

Let's get the Pork out of the way... on Sunday I woke up early and put together a quick marinade, really easy:

2 Cloves of Garlic

2 TBLS Rice Vinegar

Juice from one lime

1/2 Cup Olive Oil

1 Cup Orange Juice

2 TBLS Cilantro 

1 TBLS Honey

Salt and Pepper

Mix it all together in a glass bowl and put in a trimmed pork tenderloin pop it in the fridge and let it sit all day.  When it is time to cook toss it on the grill for about 5 minutes on each side until medium rare (for me) or a little more.

The Salsa is what I had more fun with!  Melt a TBLS of butter in a skillet on the grill then add about a cup of whole kernel corn, I used frozen, the store I go to had some fresh on the cob but I don't trust it yet.  Let this cook on the grill while you get everything else ready (maybe 15 minutes).  

I just want to take a moment to express my adoration of my iron skillet... I have had this thing since I was in college, Julie, a regular reader of this blog convinced me to buy it (I remember her looking at me and saying, "you will appreciate this it 20 years, just buy it!")   I use it often and it is always been in my cupboard ready to go, since it is well taken care of it is virtually non-stick and since it is cast iron... well indestructible.

While the corn is cooking on the grill In a bowl mix:

2 Cloves of garlic minced

1 Cup of grape tomatoes cut in half 

1 Cup of black beans

2 TBLS Chopped Cilantro

1 TBLS Olive Oil

Juice from one Lime

Salt and pepper to taste

Mix together and leave on the counter while the corn cooks, I like to let mine caramelize in the pan until the sugars come out, the corn will be a little chewy but not at all crunchy.  When the corn is done add to the rest of your ingredients and start the pork.  Once you have finished with the pork, well you see the first picture you have the perfect picnic meal ready.

Pork Tenderloin Day 2

The Pork Tenderloin that Mr Man and I bought for our Anniversary dinner in my last post must have been from a Monstrous Pig.  Usually Kris and I split one and have very little if any left however this time we had a little more than half left when we finished.  I didn't check the weight on it this time, I am usually pretty good about that but I was shopping with Mr. Man so I was a bit distracted.

Kris and I are sometimes bad about using leftovers, I finish the meal, pack it all up and it sits in the back of the fridge until I grows enough "personality"  to file a formal protest then ultimately gets fed to the garbage disposal..  I couldn't let that happen to more than half a pork tenderloin.

The answer BBQ Pork Sandwiches!  The ingredients round 2:

Ginger Pickled Vegetables

2 Medium Carrots Shredded on a Mandolin (or by hand)

1 inch cube of Fresh Ginger shredded (same way)

1/2 medium White Onion sliced thin

1/2 Cup Rice Wine Vinegar

1/4 Cup Apple Cider Vinegar

2 TBS Balsamic Vinegar

2 TBS Honey

Ok, you ask the obvious question, "Why three types of vinegar?"

Simple, I was going to use rice vinegar but ran out and thought I would finish with cider vinegar but ran out so finished with balsamic...  Like I have said before this is a very forgiving recipe.  Cut the first three ingredients and put into a bowl then heat up the Vinegar(s) and Honey on the stove.  When it comes to a soft boil pour the mixture into the bowl with the shredded vegetables, add a little salt and set aside for about 40 minutes I put it in the fridge.

I am not showing off here, but we were out of every drop of BBQ Sauce in the house so... The Sauce:

1 cup Ketchup

1 Heavy TBS of Molasses

1/4  cup Bourbon

2 tsp Dijon Mustard

2 tsp Worcestershire Sauce

1 tsp Chili Powder

1/2 tsp Garlic Powder

1/2 tsp Onion Powder

Heat over medium stirring occasionally until sauce starts to thicken, maybe 20 minutes or so.

While the sauce is going it is time for the good part, the meat.  I didn't really measure but I have to say that I had about 2/3 of a pound of cooked pork tenderloin.  I started this part the best way ever... I diced a couple of slices of bacon into a small saucepan and cooked until it was almost done then sliced the pork into 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch strips and sauteed that with the bacon for a minute or two then added the BBQ Sauce. 

I made sure the pork was covered but not "over sauced" then cooked them together for 10 or 15 minutes.  The sandwich is what you see... open a bun put the pork on then top with the pickled vegetables.  The question comes up, "so how was it?" 

Really good! but quite a bit of work for just the two of us, this one will be on for a summer barbecue with with friends but I don't see it for the quiet weekend meal.

Pork Tenderloin Day 1

Kris and I celebrated out 4th anniversary on February 18th, the celebration was pretty short I woke up at my typical 4:15 am and found Kris at the computer, "Happy Anniversary."

"You too Sweetie, I love you."

This Saturday we had our anniversary dinner among all shopping, car repairs and child birthday parties that occupy our lives these days.  While Kris took Miss Lu to a glow in the dark miniature golf party Mr. Man and I went to the store for dinner supplies.  The Menu, Apple Marinated Pork Tenderloin with Mashed Potatoes and Sauteed Vegetables followed by Molten Chocolate Cake.  Nothing really fancy but nice enough and easy to do so Kris and I could actually talk while I made dinner.  I have talked about Pork Tenderloin in the past, it is an extremely versatile meat, just waiting to take on the flavor that you give it.  This one worked well twice!  The ingredients round 1:

1 Granny Smith Apple cut to a 1/4 inch dice

1 Cup Apple Cider

1/2 Cup of Bourbon

1/2 Cup Olive Oil

1/2 Cup Brown Sugar

2 Cloves minced Garlic

1 tsp dried Rosemary

Salt, Pepper

Mix ingredients together and heat up until the sugar dissolves then add a Pork Tenderloin I put this into the refrigerator for about an hour while the marinated cooled down then back out when I got everything ready.  

Take the Pork out and sprinkle with a bit more salt and pepper then strain about a cup of the marinate into a saucepan,  and add about 1/2 cup heavy cream.  Then start to heat the Marinate about to become Apple Cider, Bourbon Cream Sauce add about 2 tsps of roux to thicken and bring to a low boil.  Put your pork Tenderloin on the grill and cook the way you like it.  For me that is medium take it off the grill and let rest under foil for a few minutes.  Then well you see how it looks, it does taste that good too.  The Sauce is a bit on the sweet side, very nice on the meat.

The Pork Tenderloin

While my in laws were here I made the Risotto that I talked about recently, here is the Pork Tenderloin that I made to go with it. Pork Tenderloin is one of my "go to" dishes for company it is quick, easy and inexpensive and like chicken it takes on the flavors that I decide to give it. I never cook it past medium then it is juicy and pink inside so the texture is great. This time I marinated the Pork Tenderloin in a Balsamic Vinegar Glaze then cooked it on the grill.

This is exactly the reason that Kris and I went on the hunt for a gas grill in the fall. So that I could step outside on a day when the high was lower than 20 degrees and still make a good dinner for all.

Marinade:
2 Cloves of Garlic Minced
1/2 cup of Balsamic Vinegar
1 cup of Olive Oil
splash of dry Red Wine
some Fresh Thyme
1 TBL Honey

I marinated for about 1 hour in the refrigerator then another half hour on the counter while I made the Risotto. When it was time to cook I did the two Tenderloins on the grill for about a total of 10 minutes turning twice. I took them off and let them rest (tented under foil) for about 5 minutes while I got out the serving dishes. I sliced them about 3/4 of an inch thick and served.

I have been trying to take a good picture of this dish during the cooking process for a while, I would take the pictures... Look at them, edit them but I couldn't quite figure out why they were unusable they just were. Like I said this is one of my "go to" dishes so I have made some variation of it 8-10 times since I started this blog and haven't talked about it because I didn't like the photos. A couple of weeks ago a blog that I read regularly said the reason clear as a bell (I have changed it a little to fit my situation) they look like grilled poop. I decided on this picture instead of the others it is a little more dramatic anyway.