Tuesday, November 29, 2005

Nope. No turkey today.

I believe Andy has decided that it is time to tuck the rest of the turkey into the freezer. It will make great pot pies and soups, we've just ahd enough of it for now. I also put 17 cups of turkey stock into the freezer today- so that should last a long time!

Tonight's dinner was so simple, but sooo good. I found it on the CLBB on a recent discussion about pork tenderloin. I love pork tenderloin. It is one of the best cuts of pork, and it is fairly inexpensive. One tenderloin will adequately feed my family of four, so I buy it when it is on sale and tuck some into the freezer. Tonight's meal doesn't even have a name, but here is the recipe:

1 pork tenderloin
1/2 cup apple cider
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 Tablespoon dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 clove garlic, finely minced
3/4 cup finely chopped pecans

Combine the tenderloin and the cider in a Ziploc bag. Refrigerate at least 8 hours or overnight. Combine the brown sugar, mustard, salt, and garlic. Smear all over the tenderloin and roll the whole thing in pecans. Bake at 400 for 30 minutes. Remove from oven, tent with foil, and let rest for an additional 10 minutes.


See? Super easy, and it was so good. Yum. It is an instant hit, and I know that I will make it over and over again. I am thinking it would be great for people who work, marinate the pork while working. I also think it would work well as a freezer meal. You could take the pork tenderloin, add the cider, seal it up, and toss it in the freezer. When you are ready to use it, you take it out of the freezer and put it in the fridge the night before. The pork marinates while it defrosts. I might add the garlic to the cider then, I'm not sure on that step. I served it with fluffy sweet potatoes (yes, more leftovers) and some roasted baby zucchini. Zander and Abigail both gobbled it up, so right there it is an instant make again dish. Oh, and when you do make this, add a layer of foil to your pan. The brown sugar kind of carmalized to my pan, and took a little elbow grease to clean up. Foil sprayed with cooking spray would be the way to go next time.

Enjoy!

1 comment:

Dawna said...

That tenderloin sounds delicious! It's one of my favourite cuts of pork to cook for guests or special occasions - you can roast it, braise it, slice & fry it, and it takes marinades so well... it always comes out terrific.