My recipe for Cajun Pork Tenderloin with Vegetables, has evolved from numerous pork tenderloin recipes I have prepared. I like this version, as it is for the most part a one pan meal. While this recipe may be a little more involved than prior ones, it is easy. And, the resulting meal will be a hit with family or dinner friends.
EASY RECIPE
2 – 1lb pork tenderloins
Dry Ingredients: Mix together in a bowl ¼ tsp crushed cumin, 1 Tbsp Cajun seasoning (store bought), 1/8 tsp crushed red pepper, and dash of salt and pepper.
Vegetables:
1 red onion chopped in large pieces
1 red pepper sliced in large pieces
1 cup snow peas with ends trimmed
2 cloves garlic diced
1 cup mushrooms cleaned and sliced
Saute’ vegetables in 1 tsp of olive oil, and set aside for later use.
Brace yourself and just get through the following:
In a small sauce pan bring 1 and 1/2 cups of good red wine to a low simmer, and stir frequently while it reduces to about 1/2 cup of wine
When red wine is reduced liberally brush the wine onto all sides and ends of the tenderloins, and then sprinkle the dry ingredients all over the tenderloins (reserve any left over reduced wine for later).
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Place 1 Tbs of olive oil onto a large oven proof fry pan. Heat the olive oil to coat fry pan and then place tenderloins in fry pan and sear for about 5 minutes turning them to brown the tenderloins on all sides.
When the tenderloins are nicely browned, add a 15 oz can of chicken broth, some left over reduced wine, ½ can of water, all the vegetables and stir the liquid and vegetables. Place the oven proof fry pan and contents into the oven preheated to 450 degrees for 15 minutes. Remove fry pan, and confirm internal temperature of the tenderloins are 160 degrees. Cover the fry pan with aluminum foil and let tenderloins stand for 5 minutes.
Slice the tenderloins into nice serving sizes, place two or three slices on each plate, add some of the vegetables, and drizzle fry pan sauce over the slices and vegetables.
Serve with a side dish of rice or mashed potatoes, and that’s it, you just made a fantastic meal for your family or dinner guests.
AND STUFF
For years, whenever the discussion of skiing came up here in So Cal, I would politely listen as folks talked of Mammoth. I thought the stories were interesting and all, but being a little slow on the uptake sometimes, I saw no reason to check the mountain out. As I would tell my wife (a born and raised So Cal gal), yeh we could check Mammoth out someday, but really I am used to Colorado, Montana, and Idaho.
My ignorant bliss came to an end about five years ago when my wife suggested we take a summer trip to Mammoth Lakes to do a little a hiking and fishing, and what the heck check out the mountain. I figured a weekend in the mountains would be fun, and it would be a painless way to finally check out Mammoth.
So, after about a 5 hour drive we started the final ascent from Bishop toward Mammoth Lakes. About the time we drove past the Mammoth Lakes airport I saw some bowls and mountain runs which were pretty impressive. Later that day I realized that the runs and bowls visible as we approached the ski area were only a small percentage of the total ski area. The place was huge, no, make that Mammoth!
And as I was acting like a kid in a candy shop, what with a huge world class mountain only 5 ½ hours from the beach, my ever patient wife held a pleased expression on her face that to me seemed to say “thankfully, he is teachable”. Nowadays, you have to give me a very good reason to ski somewere else.
Well, fast forward to the present. I took my youngest son and his buddy to Mammoth for a little snowboarding. Although its been a little warm, there was plenty of the 16 feet of snow left from the big dump in December. Having not had significant new snow for awhile, the existing base was being groomed to perfection by the cat operators. While first tracks in fresh powder is king; when fresh is not available, first tracks screaming down fresh corduroy is pretty darn fun.
As it turns out my fresh corduroy runs were limited to the runs it took to get the boys to their destination, Art Park. The park was built in part with funds raised from artworks commissioned to honor local snowboarding legend Jeff Anderson who died in a tragic accident in 2003. The park has everything the young boarder could wish for to satisfy the need to jump, stomp, grind, or soar (for more information go to: http://espn.go.com/action/snowboarding/blog/_/post/5931733/jeff-anderson-memorial-art-park ).
But, Art Park is just one run. One run, when there are so many more runs beckoning. While riding the chair up to the point where we could board (ski for me) down to the Park I could see countless corduroy and bump runs. For two days I would suggest every so often that maybe we should check out some other runs. The boys would hear none of such foolish talk.
As previously mentioned, I am teachable. I finally figured out, if you can’t beat ‘em’ might as well join ‘em’, and since I was going to be in the Park for the duration, might as well use what if offers. With no way out, I broke a life long rule of keeping my skis on the surface of the mountain at all times, and took to the air off a large table top jump. Turns out the kids were right, Art Park is awesome.
Good Eating and Table Talk,
Roger
