I am notorious for buying meat / chicken / whatever on sale and “filling” my freezer but then not using it .. at least some of it. Now, I can pack a freezer like no one’s business (My best friend once said that there should be a puzzle game called “Maumi’s Freezer” because she could not figure out how I got so much into a small Top of the fridge type freezer). I am working on this because 1. it is wasteful and, more importantly, 2. I gave my Heart an ice cream maker for Father’s Day but he hasn’t been able to use it because you have to FREEZE the main part of the machine. So??? working on cleaning out the freezer – a piece of pork tenderloin (I will buy one whole tenderloin and then cut it into 3rds because a whole one is too much for just the two of us). This recipe caught my eye for something different: Italian Pork Tenderloin
I almost followed the recipe.. well, for me! Sometimes I don’t “follow” the recipe because I forget to pick up an ingredient but frequently it is just to mess with it and use what I have. So – sauteed the onion and garlic but used chopped bacon instead of the proscuitto – I thought I had fresh sage in the freezer but didn’t so dried sage – I have lots of fresh basil to use so did that instead of the flat leaf parsley (Yes, I know they taste different but the basil was actually part of the “plan”) – and the Sun-Dried tomatoes in oil, chopped. Next the tenderloin pieces were browned but instead of 1/2c of chicken broth (which can be very salty) did 1/4c chicken broth and about a 1c of white wine (My Heart’s suggestion). Brought to a boil and simmered for 20 minutes.
We saw this the last time we were at Wegmans and thought we would try it out. I really like some brands of rice pasta but they don’t hold up great for leftovers.
Then AFTER Simmering for 20 minutes, added approx. 1/4c of heavy cream and fresh ground black pepper – I definitely wanted the dish saucy and I like the richness of cream but didn’t want to Cook it with the wine (sometimes it can separate or curdle), instead let the pork simmer in the white wine. Let it bubble another 5 minutes with the cream to thicken slightly.
Plated with a little more fresh ground black pepper and a sprinkling of fresh basil (see??? part of the Plan!) – The fusilli was a little softer than I like but I had never made this before so I followed the directions, timing it to the lowest recommended time, next time I will cook it less??? but it was good – the flavor was very nice and didn’t taste like corn at all. The pork was absolutely delicious – my Heart’s only suggestion? Next time serve on rice so it is even easier to soak up the lovely sauce. – YUM!