Pork Tenderloin

I love holidays. Not only because you get to eat more but because it's family time. Even though everyday should be family time, everybody makes that extra effort to come from wherever they are even from a different country just to see you. That alone makes me want to cook something extra special for that special someone who's coming to visit. 

When it comes to Thanksgiving, of course there is always a yummy turkey in my Thanksgiving dinner but I always make pork tenderloin as well. It has become a family favorite. Why pork  tenderloin? It all started with my grandmother. She was never a big fan of turkey so she always made pork tenderloin to compensate.  It was passed on to my mom and now I do it too. Since I remember, it has been part of our Thanksgiving dinner,  and even though my grandma is no longer with us, we still make it to honor her. 

The best part of having two proteins is that they make great leftover dishes for the next day and even the day after which is perfect because nobody feels like spending all day in the kitchen. This is also the fist year my son Lucas will get to eat real Thanksgiving dinner since last year he was only 7 months old and didn't really enjoy solids. I can't wait to find out what he likes and what his favorite dish will be, would it be the garlic mashed potatoes? or perhaps pork tenderloin just like his great-grandmother? who knows but I can't wait to find out.

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Ingredients:

2- 1 pound pork tenderloins loin

4 garlic cloves, minced

2 tablespoons dijon mustard 

olive oil

the juice and zest of 3 lemons 

2 rosemary sprigs

salt and pepper

To make the marinade, combine the lemon juice and zest, garlic, dijon mustard. Slowly add about 1/2 cup olive oil while mixing with a fork (like making a salad dressing) add black pepper. Place the pork and the rosemary sprigs in a large enough resealable plastic bag and add the marinade. Make sure the pork is completely covered with the marinade. Squeeze the air out and seal the bag. Marinate the pork in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours but even better, overnight. 

Preheat the oven to 425 F.

Remove the tenderloins from the marinade. Add salt and pepper to the tenderloins. In a oven-proof saute pan, heat 4 tablespoons of olive oil. Sear all sides of the pork until golden brown. Place the pan in the oven and roast the pork for 20 minutes  or until the meat registers 145 F.  Take it out of the oven, cover the pork with aluminum foil and allow it to rest for 10 minutes before cutting.   

To make the Cranberry-Raspberry Sauce

2 tablespoons butter

1 shallot, finely chopped 

1 cup red wine

1/4 cup orange juice

the zest of 1 orange

2 tablespoons sugar

12oz raspberries, fresh or frozen

1 cup of cranberries, fresh or frozen 

Melt the butter and add the shallot and cook, stirring occasionally for 3 minutes. Add in the rest of the ingredients. Also, add the juice that the meat has released from resting. Cook over medium heat until sauce thickens, about 20 minutes stirring occasionally.