Pork Medallions with Garlic Ginger Pomegranate Sauce October 5, 2009

Pigging out.

Not much to say here except that this dish was really tasty and easy to make. As you might expect, the pomegranate juice (that and packaged pom seeds have become so much easier to find nowadays) is a bit tart, so I added about a tablespoon of sugar at the end, which made it perfect. The fresh cilantro adds just the right amount of freshness. Serve it with rice. The recipe comes from Cooking Light.

SERVES 4

• 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 cup pomegranate juice
• 1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon minced ginger
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper, divided
• 1 pound pork tenderloin, trimmed
• 2 teaspoons flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• 2 tablespoons fresh chop cilantro

1. Combine first 6 ingredients in a large zip-top plastic bag; add 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Add pork, seal and marinate in refrigerator 2 hours, turning bag occasionally. Remove pork from bag, reserving marinade. Sprinkle pork with 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/8 teaspoon pepper and flour.

2. Preheat oven to 350°.

3. Heat oil in a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Add pork; cook 5 minutes, browning on all sides. Pour reserved marinade over pork. Wrap handle of pan with foil, and bake at 350° for 10 minutes or until a thermometer registers 160° (slightly pink). Remove pork from pan; let stand 10 minutes. Cut crosswise into 8 pieces.

4. Combine 1 tablespoon water and cornstarch, stirring well with a whisk. Bring marinade to a boil over medium-high heat. Add cornstarch mixture to marinade, cook 1 minute or until sauce thickens, stirring constantly. Serve over pork; sprinkle with cilantro.

GRADE: A-

♥Lady Butterbuns

Caribbean Pork with Pineapple Avocado Salsa September 17, 2009

Hooray pork!

I love a good pork tenderloin. It really is the other white meat. Tonight I broiled it with Caribbean spices and served it with a fresh pineapple avocado salsa. I let Lord B pick the avocado. It’s not his fault; he’s not skilled in such things. The avocado was under-ripe, so the salsa wasn’t as flavorful as possible. The recipe, as you’ll see, calls for two tenderloins. I only cooked one, so I halved all of the spices. This left the pork a little under-seasoned. My recommendation is that even if you’re only cooking on tenderloin, go ahead and use the full amount of spices. And for goodness sake, pick out the avocados yourself!

Recipe from Everyday Food.

Makes 4 servings (I find it hard to believe one sane person could eat half of a loin.)

INGREDIENTS:

2 pork tenderloins
1 tablespoon olive oil

SPICE RUB:
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper

PREP TIME: 20 MINUTES/TOTAL TIME: 45 MINUTES

1. Heat broiler, with rack 4 inches from heat source. Line a broilerproof rimmed baking sheet with foil. Place pork on pan; rub all over with oil, and coat evenly with spice rub.

2.  Broil, turning occasionally, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into pork registers 150°, 15 to 20 minutes.

3.  Wrap loosely with foil in pan; let rest 5 to 10 minutes before slicing thinly. Serve with the salsa.

GRADE: B

♥Lady Butterbuns