Search This Blog

Saturday, July 21, 2012

I'm back from vacation and what do I make my first night home? Stuffed pork tenderloin, of course!


So..... Provincetown was the bomb!  Whether it was a view from the roof deck or sunset at a cookout at Herring Cove beach, this town never ceases to deliver!  This is old-time Cape Cod.... the way it was 40+ years ago!  Great restaurants, beautiful scenery, unbelievable beaches... I could go on!

So coming home is always wonderful, just a lot of work to get back to where I feel comfortable!  But you all know the best place for me is in my kitchen!  Once I unpacked, the leftover food that was brought home included a pork tenderloin that longed to be cooked..... so here goes!  My favorite thing to do is to butterfly and stuff it, and tonight, I took a risk!  I really hope you try this!


I start with two tenderloins, I slice through them and open them up.  I then pound them until they are about 1/4" thin, and season them with sea salt and Montreal Steak seasoning.  Meanwhile, in a pot on the stove,  I make 2 cups of Pepperidge Farm Stuffing.  I added dried chopped onion, parsley,  and salt and pepper to the water before adding the stuffing.  Then I add thyme, 2-3 cloves of fresh garlic, and parsley. I also added about a cup of Italian bread crumbs, along with about 1/4 cup of some home made Italian salad dressing I made up.  You can use whatever dressing you would like!   Next up are Bella mushrooms..... chopped, never cooked!


After the mushrooms comes about 1/2 cup of Romano cheese.  I never actually measure it!  I just dump a good amount in!  I tossed about a cup or so of pine nuts, and about a cup of raisins (after I soaked them in hot water for a couple of minutes.)  I also added a thawed package of chopped spinach (normally I would use fresh spinach, but after just coming home from being away for a week, I had to improvise!)  


Just to cheer you on?  All of this took about 10 minutes.  It sounds like alot of work, but honestly?  Once the stuffing is cooked, you can just add everything else in and mix together.  The last ingredients are about a cup of pine nuts and raisins (I soaked the raisins in hot water for a minute, just to soften them up).  How did I know raisins would taste good?  I took a little bit of the stuffing and added a few raisins and tasted it!  Delish!!!  

Now to stuff and roll....


I put the stuffing down the middle of the tenderloin, sprinkled some French's fried onions over the top, and rolled them up.  Once rolled, I tied them up and brown them in a fry pan.  Last step is something I decided to try.... I mixed a couple of tablespoons of mayonnaise with a tablespoon of Country Dijon mustard and coated both tenderloins ( I thought this would keep them from drying out) and bake them in a 375 degree oven for about 20 minutes.  Don't cook them too long....15 minutes might be enough.


Oh, and while I am creating this master piece, my glass of Cabernet keeps me company!




I probably should have taken a picture of the finished product before I sliced it up, but everyone was too eager to try it....



 And the verdict was.... absolutely incredible!

So there you go....Yet another recipe for pork tenderloin.  I'm telling you, there are so many different things you can do with this incredible piece of pork!!!! When I was in Provincetown, one night I sliced up each tenderloin, pounded the slices thin, seasoned them with a mixture of flour and some spices, and quickly fried them in some canola oil.... I can't tell you how delicious they were the next day in a sandwich with a little mayo!

I hope I didn't lose too many of you while I was gone!  Stay tuned.....I have alot of great ideas up my sleeve!






No comments:

Post a Comment