Sunday, April 29, 2012

Pork Tenderloin with Dijon Marsala Sauce

I can't believe I haven't posted a single thing on this here blog since January. We all know I've been sick the last few years with my Crohns disease but this past year has been the worst yet. Everything finally came to a head two weeks ago though. My illness was getting worse even with all the new medications they had me try. I can't even begin to describe just how worn down my body was both physically and mentally. I finally had my resection surgery on April 18th. If you would like all of the gruesome details stroll on over to our family blog.

Anyway, even though I'm not even two weeks out post surgery, I feel like a whole new woman. It's an amazing feeling and I can't wait until I am fully healed from my surgery. I have so much energy right now I can barely sit still, even though technically, I should still be sitting still for the most part. I cooked an awesome dinner for us tonight with some of my new found energy and Daniel thoroughly enjoyed it. I looked over at him at one point after he made a comment about it being good, the man had a huge grin on his face and told me it really was delicious. For such an elegant looking and sounding meal, it was really simple to make which is right up my alley right now. If you are looking to impress anyone, this is the recipe to try!

Pork Tenderloin with Dijon Marsala Sauce~
Source: allrecipes.com

Ingredients:
2 pork tenderloins (I used a whole pork tenderloin and baked it at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 3 or so hours after browning each side in the skillet.)
4 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon oil
2 tablespoons butter
2 shallots, minced
1 cup Marsala wine
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 cup heavy cream

Directions:
  
1.) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat pork tenderloins generously with mustard. Oil a 9x13 inch baking dish. 
2.) Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Arrange tenderloins in pan, and brown the meat. Turn to brown evenly. Transfer meat to prepared baking dish. 
3.) Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes. Turn, and continue cooking for 20 minutes, or until desired doneness. 
4.) Meanwhile, melt butter over medium heat in the same pan used to cook the pork. Cook shallots in butter until soft. Stir in Marsala, mustard, and cream, and cook until volume of liquid is reduced by half. 
5.) Slice pork, and place on a serving dish. Spoon sauce over meat, and serve.

As I mentioned above, I used a whole pork tenderloin for our meal tonight. It was probably a good five pounds or so. I salt and peppered each side, browned it in the skillet on all sides, and then put it in the oven covered, for about three or four hours. I turned the meat half way through the cooking process. I didn't add the mustard to the meat before browning it, but I generously coated it once I added it to the baking dish. 


This meal was so good, I served ours with asparagus, which I will be sharing with you later in the week, as well as mashed potatoes. Don't tell anyone, but I used Bob Evans already made mashed potatoes. They are really good and so much easier to make then to stand and peel potatoes and try to get the right consistency. I'm not good with making mashed potatoes so I will gladly accept ol' Bob's help.