Bread and Wine: Maple Balsamic Pork Tenderloin

Basic.

I feel as though everything about this recipe is basic, and yet, for me, I'm doing it for the first time. I never had a clue how many simple, basic things in cooking I've never done and I'm not that good at, and this is one of those things.

Meat and I really don't have the greatest relationship when it comes to #extrajuicy and #extratender sorts of things. I mean, I can fire up a pretty mean 80/20 burger and roast a nice chicken, but other than that I still struggle with dry steaks and undercooked anything else, so this is a good one for my repertoire. 

I made it tonight for a pretty boring, routine, Tuesday night supper at our house, which, if you read my last blog, "boring" and "routine" are kind of welcome right now. I had thought we were having some company, but that didn't pan out so I stuck with my original plan. Plus, after a rough last week and an extra busy week ahead at work for the husband, something a little elevated (even if basic!) sounded welcome on our table.


You hungry yet? Sit down and let's dig in.

The Recipe: Maple Balsamic Pork Tenderloin
Ingredients: Pork tenderloins, maple syrup, balsamic vinegar, Dijon, beer or white wine

I've had tenderloin before but having never purchased the stuff I wasn't sure how to buy it--one package? Two? The recipe calls for two and I couldn't make out if I needed two separate packages or just two tenderloins as they come generally packaged from the meat counter. Turns out it's the latter, but it's so inexpensive, go ahead and grab another and then you're set for another time.

I was nervous about putting this together with my past nonsuccesses with meat, but just as with most recipes WHEN I FOLLOW THEM, this one put me at ease and made me feel actually competent. I was glad I peered a little more closely at the instructions when I began my work this morning and was reminded that the tenderloin needs to marinade a FEW HOURS before cooking. Not the end of the world but, note to self, if you're wanting to do it right.

I'd also forgotten the cardinal rule of meat--let it relax. Mine were not fully defrosted when I set the in the marinade, so I'm convinced they didn't get as juicy as I would have liked. #nexttime.

We still don't have a grill right now, and with the kids prancing around me while I made dinner I really didn't want a skillet of hot pork on the oven. Instead I heated my cast iron skillet in the oven to 400 and threw the tenderloin on. It worked well, though I think 425 would have been perfect, like for most steaks. I turned it every five minutes or so and regretted not having a meat thermometer. I cut the center after 30 minutes to still find bright pink. Another 15 completed the deed.

Despite creating a tenderloin more on the dry side, the instructions to let it rest in aluminum foil, covered, did a great job capturing the juices left. I loved that little technique.

While I mashed potatoes and poked meat in the oven, I set the balsamic and maple syrup mixture to boil in a saucepan. When it became syrup it tasted delicious--something like candy and chocolate syrup and a favorite salad dressing all in one. We loved it--even the kids, who dipped their vegetables in it and my daughter dipped her apples. My husband poured large splatters on his plate. The only thing seemed to be that I let it cook too long and it was not far from becoming candy! It was firming quickly, not quite the dreamy, pourable stuff you want. Never mind, it tasted delicious, my family loved it and they ate vegetables because of it. I'll keep a better eye on it next time.

And there will certainly be a next time. This is one for the menu rotation.

The Chapter: Last-Minute Lunch Party

This is one of those "stop and breathe" chapters in the book. Like, "hey, you've been making a bunch of new-to-you foods, maybe some you love and some you didn't, and maybe it all is a little too fancy or weird for your everyday eating..." and then it comes to this: A recipe about the flavors you throw together when you're out of time and groceries and you gotta go basic. This is it, this it what you make.

Shauna tells the story about a dear friend stopping at their home for the weekend and, knowing that more than just those who RSVP-ed will show up for Sunday lunch to see him, Shauna takes on the task of hosting a dinner party for an unknown number of people  with whatever she has on hand. Maple Balsamic [Chicken] is what she came up with, because that's what she had. It is basic and good.

She talks about how she let the balsamic kind of do the talking for the rest of the lunch--a vinegary salad, Mediterranean hummus, ice cream and sorbet for dessert.

Simple. Basic. And just enough.

I like this kind of vibe, because honestly out of all the meals we host in our home throughout the year only a very few are a set menu involving carefully-crafted items. Oftentimes we're working with an ebb and flow of family members who show up, plus a varied array of dietary needs and food preferences, so being too much of a stickler when it comes to involved recipes doesn't seem to suit our table. But generous, flexible flavors like vinegar, Italian spices, garlic, good oil and salt and pepper, these always seems to go over so well. They are simple and basis, unfussy. They go on bread and pasta and salad, the essential stuff.

I can't think of a better descriptor for a table or flavor of hosting than that. It seems most of us struggle enough to get to the table without being int.imidated and confused by what we find when we get there. Simple, basic, unfussy things are what we're looking for, hungry for, anyway, I think