Poor Little Piggy

No, not this lovely family! I'm referring to our amazing weekend of consuming copious amounts of pork product! This past weekend we had our first house guests! The Astor family took on heck of a road trip from California to Kansas with Manhattan (the Little Apple, not the Big Apple) being the Eastern most point of their adventure! We had so much fun spending time with life long friends and practicing parenthood with their 5, 3, and 1 year old! There were tons of hot dogs, cheerios, and mac'n'cheese consumed by the kidlets. For the adults, however, it was all about the poor little piggy. Every night. It was amazing.

Di got us matching Kansas shirts - NICE!

Di and I compared our piggy weekend it to the time my sister and I went to visit Di at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo for Poly Royal (kind of like an open house for incoming students). Di and I called it the "Weekend of Meat" because we were able to eat as much meat as possible from tri-tip sandwiches to chorizo on a stick, it was a weekend to remember. My vegetarian sister stuck with corn on a cob - seriously. Em was super grossed out by our meat frenzy.

Any how, our first meal was Pasta Shells with Corn and Bacon that my cousin Jamie and I made way back when we were both living in San Francisco - I will save that recipe for later. My fave was the Herb Marinated Pork Tenderloins from, you guessed it, Ina! This recipe is in Back to Basics or on her Food Network website. I made the cookbook version and was disappointed - you grill it and it was SO DRY. But the web version directs you to brown it on the cooktop and throw it in the oven - AMAZING.

Ingredients

1 lemon, zest grated

3/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (4 to 6 lemons)

Olive oil

2 tablespoons minced garlic (6 cloves)

1 1/2 tablespoons minced fresh rosemary leaves

1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme leaves

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

Kosher salt

3 pork tenderloins (about 1 pound each - I only used 2 loins)

Freshly ground black pepper

Instructions:

Combine the lemon zest, lemon juice, 1/2 cup olive oil, garlic, rosemary, thyme, mustard, and 2 teaspoons salt in a sturdy 1-gallon resealable plastic bag. Add the pork tenderloins and turn to coat with the marinade. Squeeze out the air and seal the bag. Marinate the pork in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours but preferably overnight. I marinated it for about 6 hours and it was perfect. I also accidentally switched the amounts for rosemary and thyme - no noticeable difference.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Remove the tenderloins from the marinade and discard the marinade but leave the herbs that cling to the meat. Sprinkle the tenderloins generously with salt and pepper. Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in a large oven-proof saute pan over medium-high heat. Sear the pork tenderloins on all sides until golden brown. Place the saute pan in the oven and roast the tenderloins for 10 to 15 minutes or until the meat registers 137 degrees F at the thickest part. I would recommend flipping the meat halfway through - my thermometer did not read 137* on one side, but then I flipped it over and it read 140* on the other side. I used my dutch oven, so that might have had something to do with it.

Transfer the tenderloins to a platter and cover tightly with aluminum foil. Allow to rest for 10 minutes. Carve in 1/2-inch-thick diagonal slices. The thickest part of the tenderloin will be quite pink (it's just fine! - Ina's words, and I couldn't agree more!) and the thinnest part will be well done. Season with salt and pepper and serve warm, or at room temperature with the juices that collect in the platter.

Bon Appetit!

To wrap up the visit, we had EXCELLENT BBQ at Jack Stack in Kansas City (thank you for the recommendation David!). I had the burnt ends - simply divine. Jeremy had Beef and Pork ribs.

And Kevin had prime rib, pork rib and brisket. SO MUCH MEAT. Are you gagging Em? It was fabulousness! And the sides, oh the sides. The cheesy potatoes were A.M.A.Z.I.N.G. And don't forget the cheesy corn. OH MY. My parents are in town this weekend, we are SO going back.