Now this is good stuff! This time i followed directions! The sauce and the pork was really nice today. The sauce had a nice tartish taste from the cranberry and a nice sweet taste from the vinegar. Though i did have a booboo where i burnt my hand. My oven towel slipped off the bottom of the pan when i took it out of the oven and the middle of my hand got burnt. I’m pretty much used to getting burnt though so it wasn’t a big deal.
Here are the pics!
So the ingredients are
- 1 1/2 tablespoons butter
- 1 pork tenderloin
- 1/2 cup chopped onion
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary (i used a spice grinder with a few pulses)
- 1/2 cup canned low-salt chicken broth
- 1/3 cup canned whole berry cranberry sauce
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
So cooking the pork we do a sear bake thing. Preheat the oven to 450F. So the first thing to do is salt and pepper the pork. Then melt 1/2 tablespoon of the butter in a medium-high oven safe skillet. It needs to be oven safe because we have to put the skillet in the oven. After the butter melts sear the pork in the pan. It’s about 1-2 minutes on each side. After all the sides are seared and the oven is ready throw the pan in the oven. This should sit around 10 minutes. Now you can make the sauce while that is cooking in the oven. Take another skillet and put it on medium-high heat. Melt the rest of the butter in there. After the butter melts put the onion and rosemary in there. Cook till the onions are soft which should take a few minutes. Add the broth, cranberry sauce, and vinegar to the pan and whisk it together for a while. When the pork is done in the oven take it out and place it to the side to sit. (BE CAREFUL NOT TO BURN YOURSELF ON THE PAN) Then scrap all the juices and stuff from the pan to the sauce. Boil the sauce for a while so it reduces to a nice thick sauce. Then you’re done! Slice the pork, plate and pour the sauce over. Once again i did the green beans and potatoes…. 
Bon App
Ok i’m a nerd. Now that i got that out of the way this week may be crazy!!!!! I didn’t really know what to make next and was looking for ideas. So i asked the Cool Kiwi what i should make and the kiwi said to make pork tenderloin. I went to do my research and finalized on 4 recipes…. FUN FUN FUN!!! That means i’ll buy the pork tenderloin bulk from Sam’s Club and do a pork-a-thon.
Here are the list of what i’m gonna cook
- Pork tenderloin with roasted apples and onions
- Pork tenderloin with balsamic-cranberry sauce
- Pork tenderloin with pomegranate sauce
- Pork tenderloin with sauteed onion and fennel and fennel cream
- Pork chops with cranberry, port, and rosemary sauce
O wait… that’s 5!!! Soooo YEA!!!!!! GAME ON!!!!
As you can tell there isn’t much to pork tenderloin other than the sauce. I was telling another Kiwi that pork tenderloin = sauce or spice rub. How you cook the tenderloin is pretty much standardized.
To complement the dishes and for color+plating i’m gonna eat each with either, green beans, red potatoes, or sweet potatoes. Sooo yea.. Maybe i’ll throw in some broccoli. Haven’t decided yet.
Though it may look like i’m making a lot of different dishes, they are all pretty simple. I only have to buy 5 ingredients total (not including the pork and the side dishes) . Most of the other stuff are spices and herbs and random stuff which everyone should have. Soo…. everyone look forward to that. I didn’t forget the lava cake. I’m gonna make that as soon as i become unlazy.
I’ve been somewhat busy recently so i didn’t update yesterday. But here is what i made yesterday.
So i found this recipe from Epicurious.com. I picked this mainly because the picture looked so good. (Also people that reviewed it liked it) So i did it. It seemed quick and easy and it was. There were only 4 main ingredients: Lamb Chops, Quince, Balsamic Vinegar and Apple Cider. One thing i learned while cooking this is, taste your Apple Cider first! I added sugar as the recipe said but the Apple Cider I bought was really nice and sweet. I’m sure the sweetness of the Cider could of carried the flavor all the way. So i had to water down the final sauce. (But it still worked out great). Also I would have to say maybe wait for the pan to cool down before you reduce the Apple Cider poach juice. I think i was rushing a little and poured the Juice right after i took out the lamb chops and the juice reduced a little too quick. (So it was a good thing i added water). O yea i’d assume people don’t use Quince a lot. Quince is basically what you’d get if a pear and apple had a child. It smells really nice and also tastes really good when cooked.
Here are the pics of this little adventure.
The ingredients were
- 1 Quince sliced into small wedges
- 1 Cup of Apple Cider
- 3 Sprigs of Thyme + a good amount of thyme leaves
- 4-5 Lamb Chops
- 1 Tablespoon Aged Balsamic Vinegar
- 1 Tablespoon Butter
- Bunch of chopped Oregano and Rosemary Leaves and Basil (I used dried but of course fresh would be better)
That’s basically it. First cut up the Quince. You’ll feel the texture of it but it’ll be nice and soft and smooth after you poach it. Then put the apple cider in a medium-high heat pan and bring to a boil. When it’s boiling throw in the thyme sprigs and and the quince and reduce heat and bring to a simmer. Leave it simmering for around 15-20 minutes until tender and soft. At around 15 minutes start the Lamb Chops. Take some of the Oregano, Basil, Thyme, Salt and Pepper and rub it all over the lamb chops. This will give the Lamb Chops a very very nice taste. Then heat up a medium-high skillet and throw the chops in. It takes around 2-2.5 minutes on each side to get a nice medium-rare. But cook it however you like it. Take out the Chops then let the pan cool down a little. The Quince should be done so take out the Quince and strain the juice into a bowl. Put the pan on medium heat and throw in the poached juice and start mixing up the browned bits on the pan with the juice. After a minute or so take it off the heat and throw in the Butter, Balsamic Vinegar and a good amount of the Rosemary, Oregano and Thyme. Stir it around and the sauce should be formed. Season with salt and pepper to your liking. Add some water if the sauce is too thick. Also strain it too. I didn’t strain it but i think you should now that i think about it. Then Plate! Bon App!
