Girlfriends' Weekend, Part 3 and Finale!

Okay, final installment of Girlfriends' Culinary Weekend! To go along with the Grilled Stuffed Peppers, Meg made Crispy Fried Potatoes and Pork Tenderloin.  The pork tenderloin recipe I am very familiar with as it is my mom's recipe (and the yummiest, easiest marinade ever).  But the crispy fried potatoes - what the what??  SO AMAZING.

I shy away from frying.  I am a nervous nelly about: a) all the grease; b) the amount of oil you have to use (for some reason, it seems so wasteful to me); and c) it is just not a healthy option.  HOWEVER, I will be making giant exceptions for these babies!  They were salty and crispy on the outside and tender and delish on the inside.  YOU MUST TRY THESE!!!

Crispy Fried Potatoes  

Serves 4

Ingredients

4 medium baking potatoes (Meg likes Yukon Golds)

3 cups oil (This is Meg's best guess at the amount; enough to cover the potatoes in the pan. She use a combo of canola and extra virgin olive; canola fries better but she loves the olive oil flavor and so did I!)

2 – 3 cloves fresh minced garlic

Salt (Meg prefers kosher or sea salt)

Instructions

Heat the oil over medium high heat in a wide sauce or sauté pan until very hot. Cut the potatoes into 1-inch cubes. Add garlic to oil and cook briefly and then add potatoes.  Cover and cook on medium high/high for approx. 15 minutes.  Then take the cover off and finish frying until dark golden brown, about another 5 – 10 minutes. Remove from pan with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.  Put potatoes in a brown paper bag and add salt to your liking.  Shake potatoes in the bag and then serve immediately.

Meg says that the KEY is to re-use the oil 3 or 4 times, as it retains the flavor and gets better each time!

Meg carving up the piggy for our feast!

Okay, if you don't normally grill pork tenderloin, you need to get on board.  It is the easiest weeknight or dinner party main dish that takes little to no time but has the most amazing flavor.  You need to add this to your repitoire!   

Pork Tenderloin/Chicken Marinade

Ingredients

1 cup oil

1 cup soy sauce (I use low sodium)

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar (substitute red wine vinegar and use on chicken!)

4 cloves garlic

1 Tbsp rosemary

Tons of pepper

2 pork tenderloins

Instructions

Dump all the ingredients, save the pork, in a zip top bag and mix it together.  Add the two tenderloins and marinate overnight.  I have done it the morning of, but it is really better if you can let it soak up all the flava flave overnight.  

When you are ready to grill, pull it out of the marinade and pitch the juices.  I live in the world of pink pork, so this recipe is geared towards medium.  Heat your grill to medium.  Sear for one minute on all sides and then cook for 20 to 25 minutes.  (We check the temperature of the meat at 20 minutes.)  When meat thermometer reaches 137* in the meatiest portion, you are dones-o.  Pull it off and cover it with foil and let it rest for 5-10 minutes.  Cooked to 137* in the meatiest part will make the ends more done with the center more pink.  (Thank you Ina Garten for that little tip!)

**The perfect side (besides the crispy fried potatoes, of course, is Garlic Roasted Cauliflower!