Sunday, October 18, 2009

Do try this at home


Don't be scared. No family members or eyebrows were injured during this process.


Deglazing is fun and knowing that the flare up is actually a really cool flame should give some sense of relief. I started tonight with a case of culinary block. I had no idea what to make for dinner. Watching an episode of Top Chef can nip that in the bud. The episode about Pig and Pinots gave me something to go with. We ended up with roasted pork tenderloin and broccoli with Bouchant and garlic mashers and a Chardonnay sage reduction. It really bugs me how complicated that all sounds considering how easy it is.

I peeled and cubed up some potatoes and boiled them in salted water with a splash of vinegar. At the same time I steamed some broccoli and the removed to an ice bath when they were starting to get tender. Actually I went a little too far with the broccoli because I was trying to put a pair of toddlers to bed at the same time.

I diced up an onion, shallot, and a few cloves of garlic and sautéed them in olive oil in a skillet large enough to handle my tenderloins. I added a little salt and pepper during this process. Once the onions were translucent I added a good pour of Bouchant and deglazed the pan. Fireworks!

Once the flames died down I scooped out the aromatics and tossed in the pork. Let these babies rest for a while to carmalize on the outside. Flip once they are nice and brown, insert a meat thermometer into thickest one and put the pan into the oven at 350. Let these roast for 8-10 minutes.

Toss the drained broccoli with some salt, pepper, olive oil, and a spoon full or two of the onion/garlic/shallot mix. Spread on to a baking sheet and drop on to a rack below the pork.

Crap! Taters. These should have been strained and put into a mixing bowl. Add 1/2 stick of butter, 2 big spoons of sour cream, 1/2 cup of milk, a couple of table spoons of the sautéed onions, salt and pepper. Mash and set aside.

Once the pork hits 155-165 internal temp pull the pan out. Place to tenderloin on a cutting board under a tent of foil to rest. Put the pan back on the burned cranked up to high. Duct tape a towel around your non-dominate hand because I have grabbed a pan handle that just came out of the oven more than once. This would be fortunate in the event that I needed to be finger printed because I don't think I have any prints left. Add the remaining onion mix to the pan until it is sizzling pretty good. Add 1 cup of white wine to deglaze and scrape the bottom of the pan to ge the fond off.

Let this mess reduce to about 1/2 the original volume and remove from the heat. Add a 1/2 stick of butter cut into small cubes and slowly stir until completely melted and incorporated. I like to puree this with a hand blender until smooth.

Slice the pork into medallions, drop some potatoes and broccoli on the plate and add the sauce. Viola. Tired and buzzed is not the best blogging combo but I am sure I will return to edit this tomorrow. Just trying to keep it regular.


Out of focus Bouchant. My favorite less expensive orange liquor. Save the Grand Mariner and Cointreau for margaritas.


Deglazing while talking on the phone. True multi-tasking.


Pretty pork cleaned and ready to go.

Proper browning. Don't touch it for at least 5 minutes after you put it in.

Finished product.

3 comments:

Me said...

Fan-freaking-tastic.

You're awesome B!!

D

Amy said...

That sounded more complicated than you implied, when it was all spelled out. Just sayin'. :)

Olive Tree said...

hi, it's a very great blog.
I could tell how much efforts you've taken on it.
Keep doing!