December 9, 2012 Dinner Roasted pork tenderloin with apples and quince and Squash casserole and sugar snap peas and dessert of cheese strudel

December 9, 2012  Dinner  Roasted pork tenderloin with apples and quince and Squash casserole and sugar snap peas  and dessert of cheese strudel

We had a leisurely day at home, but at around 5:30 p.m. Suzette wanted to make dinner, so when she went to the garage fridge to fetch the squash casserole, she saw that we had two pork tenderloins in plastic a cryovac wrapper (Costco $2.99/lb. and grabbed them.  This was the first storm of the Winter, so we were in the mood for a hearty dinner.
We decided we would make our favorite pork tenderloin recipe which is the Spanish tapa recipe for “Roasted pork tenderloin with apples” on page 236 of José Andrés’ Tapas: A taste of Spain in America Cookbook.  

1 pork Tenderloin (1/2 lb.)

1 Tbsp. unsalted butter

2 Tbsp. Spanish olive oil

1 golden delicious apple, peeled, cored and sliced into 8 or more slices

1 white onion peeled and thinly sliced

5 sprigs of fresh oregano

¼ tsp. salt

¼ tsp. black pepper

2 Tbsp. Spanish brandy

½ cup of chicken stock

Our tenderloin weighed 1 lb. so we decided to double the recipe.  Our neighbors, the Lamms, had given us quinces from their trees that we wanted to use, so I sliced peeled, cored and sliced two quinces into slices while Suzette sliced the onion and small apples from her trees at the Center for Ageless Living in Los Lunas.

Then following the recipe she preheated the oven to 250˚F and then heated the butter and olive oil in a large ovenproof sauté pan over a medium flame on the top of the stove and added the apples and quince and onion and when they softened and took on color, she added 7 or 8 sprigs of fresh oregano from our indoor plant.

She seasoned the pork tenderloin with the salt and a reduced amount of pepper because of my sensitivity to black pepper and cut it into large chunks each about three inches long and placed the meat on top of the apples, quince and onions in the pan and scooped the cooking liquid from the fruit and onions on top of the meat and placed the pan in the preheated oven and placed the squash casserole in the oven also.

She cooked the pork until the internal temperature reached 140˚F, about 25 minutes, turning the tenderloin every 10 minutes.  I then removed the tough threads from the outside of a cup of sugar snap peas and wen the pork was removed from the oven I started steaming the peas until they were tender, about 6 or 7 minutes and let them sit on the stove.    Then she removed the tenderloin from the pan and wrapped it in aluminum foil to keep warm.

Then she placed the pan over a burner with medium heat, added the brandy and cooked the fruits and sauce until reduced by half, about 1 or 2 minutes, then added ½ cup of chicken stock and reduced the sauce until it thickened slightly, about 2 to 3 minutes.  Then I sliced a piece of tenderloin for each of us and plated it.  We then scooped peas and the squash and celeriac casserole onto the plate and garnished the pork with the fruits and sauce from the pan.  I opened a bottle of La Granja 360 (Trader Joe’s $5.99) a Spanish red wine made with 50% Tempranillo and 50% Garnacha (Grenache) from the Cariñena denominación de origen near and bottled in Zaragoza, Spain by www.axialvineos.com.  It has a silky smooth fruity flavor.   

After dinner we drank the rest of the La Granja 360 and then I wanted to eat some of the cheese strudel given by Ed last night, so I opened a ½ bottle of Londer 2007 Pinot Noir and enjoyed a glass of it with the cheese strudel.  

What a great meal.

Bon Appètit