Stuffed Pork Tenderloin:
I bought an entire pork tenderloin at CostCo (NOT ENHANCED! NEVER buy tenderloin at a grocery store unless you want to pay for salt water!) The piece of loin I used was probably about 3 pounds...
I sliced it lengthwise into 3rds...so it opened up similar to a folded letter, into one large rectangular piece of pork that was probably about an inch to inch and half thick.
For the stuffing:
8-10 slices of stale bread (use food processor to turn into breadcrumbs)
1 sweet onion (diced)
6-7 cloves of garlic (minced)
6 tbsp butter
1/4 cup grated parmigiano reggiano
celery seed, dried sage, dried thyme, salt, and pepper to taste
In a skillet I started off with about 2 Tbsp butter, and sweated off the onions, then the garlic. I seasoned with the celery seed, sage, thyme, salt, and pepper. When the onions & garlic where soft and fully cooked I added the remaining butter and allowed that to melt. I then stirred in the bread crumbs to soak up all the buttery goodness. Added the grated cheese, and allowed the mixture to cool. I made this early in the day then baked later...if you were putting it right in the oven, you could just put the stuffing in the meat without allowing it to cool.
When the stuffing was cooled completely I spread it evenly over the meat and rolled it up like a jelly roll. I didn't have any twine, but it probably should have been tied. I baked it in a 375* oven until it hit 140* in the center. If you like your pork more done, cook longer, but loin has a tendency to dry out, so I don't cook it anywhere near the FDA recommended 160*. Trichinosis is virtually non-existent in commercial pork, and it dies at 137* anyhow. But cook to your desired doneness.
After pulling the meat out of the oven let it rest for 10-15 minutes before slicing. Then just slice it into your desired serving size...should have a nice pinwheel of stuffing through the meat.
Garlic Mushroom Risotto:
1/2# Crimini (baby portabella) mushrooms (sliced)
5 cloves garlic (minced)
5 Tbsp Butter
1 cup arborio rice
3 1/2-4 cups chicken stock
1/4 grated parmigiano reggiano cheese
salt & pepper to taste
First, I sauteed the mushrooms in 1 tbsp butter in one saucepan. In another saucepan heat the chicken stock over medium/low heat to keep it close to boiling. When the mushrooms were fully cooked I put them in a bowl. Then I added the rest of the butter and sauteed the garlic for a minute or so. Then, I stirred in the rice and sauteed it in the butter for a few minutes until it started to turn translucent on the edges. Next I ladled about a cup of the stock into the rice and brought to a boil, stirring occasionally.
Here just follow the steps you would for any risotto. Let the stock be absorbed by the rice, stirring occasionally, when the liquid is gone stir in another ladle full of the hot stock and bring it back to a boil. Keep doing this until the rice is cooked al dente. I think I used about 3 3/4 cups of stock and the rice probably cooked for 20-25 minutes? When the rice was done I returned the mushrooms and their juices back to the pot and let it cook for another minute or two.
Once the mushrooms were mixed in and heated back up I removed the pan from the heat, stirred in the grated cheese, and seasoned with a little salt and pepper. I used low sodium chicken stock, so it needed a touch of salt...if you're using salty stock you're probably not going to want any salt.
Well that was my dinner this evening. With the later Browns game I ate a little later than normal, so I didn't take the time to snap any pics, but the food was good. Definitely recommend these recipes!
