Roasted Bone-in Pork Loin Tenderloin w/ Whipped Citrus Sweet Potatoes

Yummmmm....it is that time of year again! Festivities galore and delicacies sure to delight your tummy! This is the time of year that I get excited and afraid at the same time. I'm excited because the holiday season officially kicks off and afraid of what can happen to my waistline if my eyes become bigger than my stomach! Say la vie! Many of you may be traveling to fellowship with family or be experiencing the frenzy of preparing your home for guests. Whichever it may be, I hope and pray each of you have a truly blessed and festive Thanksgiving! If you are in a pinch deciding what to serve those guest and family members here is a delicious Roasted Pork Tenderloin with the bone in. For a great side, try the Whipped Citrus Sweet Potatoes. J'espère que vous apprécierez! (I do hope you enjoy!)



Roasted Pork Tenderloin w/Bone In

4-6 lbs. cut Pork Tenderloin w/bone in (You should have the butcher cut the pork according to the ribs to determine how much you need, so if you are serving 4 people, have him cut four ribs.)

1 sweet onion, diced
1 cup baby portabello mushrooms, diced
1 garlic clove
1 tbsp. olive oil

2 1/2 tbsp. dark brown sugar
1 tbsp. white balsmic vinegar
1 tbsp. white cooking wine
*Both of these can be found in with the vinegar in your grocer.
1 tbsp. Italian Herbs ( I used McCormick Italian Herbs)
1 tbsp. salt
1 tbsp. pepper
goat cheese with herbs
Cooking twine

Directions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

First you want to wash your meat. Then cut off any fat on the top of the pork. You should then have the exposed tenderloin and "chops". Make a slit through the tenderloin part of the pork. My slit should have been deeper and more of a downward angle. Pay attention where you cut, unlike myself who had a cranky 6 yr. old expressing he was STARVING and couldn't possibly wait a second longer for food.




Season the meat with 1/2 tbsp. of the salt and pepper. Sprinkle with some of the Italian herbs. I just used the grinder that the herbs come in and liberally spread it over the pork.

Next, heat the olive oil in a saucepan over med-high heat. Saute the onions, mushrooms and garlic until tender. Remove and drain. Set aside.


In a seperate bowl, mix together 1 1/2 tbsp. brown sugar, Italian herbs and both vinegars. Using the same saucepan for you onion mixture and medium heat, pour the brown sugar mixture into the saucepan. Cook the mixture for about 5 minutes stirring occasionally to keep from burning. It will still be thin.
Add the onion mixture to the brown sugar mixture. Cook for 3 minutes to allow the flavors to mingle.


Remove the onion/brown sugar reduction. Now the fun part! Spread liberally the goat cheese into the pork where you made your slit. Spoon the onion reduction over the goat cheese. Close the pork back up and wrap the twine around it and tie it to keep from opening. Take the remaining brown sugar and any leftover "bits" of the onion reduction and spread generously over the pork, rubbing even the boned areas. Grind some more Italian herbs over it and pop that baby into the oven!



Cook for about 1 hr and 30 minutes. The pork will be juicy and tender. Don't forget to remove the twine before serving! For the side here are the Citrus Sweet Potatoes:

Whipped Citrus Sweet Potatoes:

3 Sweet potatoes, cooked til tender and peeled. (Microwave or oven, your choice)
1 1/2 tbsp. orange juice (pulp or no pulp, your choice)
1/2 tbsp. cinnammon
1/2 tsp. salt

In a mixer, combine the sweet potatoes, orange juice, cinnammon and salt. Blend until "whipped". C'est aussi simple que! ( It's that simple)
Serve along with the pork.



And here is our oldest who begged for a photo op:





* This recipe may not be published or re-printed without my consent.