Spanish Paprika Coated Pork Tenderloin

I bought a tenderloin the other day (one of my favorite cuts of pork) so I was looking around for a recipe for it. I found out that tenderloin is the cut of pork with the least amount of fat! Almost as low as a skinless chicken breast! Imagine my delight that I actually like something low in fat. Anyhow, here is the original link of the recipe from Epicurious.com.

Ingredients:

4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
3 garlic cloves, minced
3/4 cup panko (Japanese bread crumbs)
3/4 cup sliced almonds, toasted, cooled, and coarsely ground in a food processor
4 teaspoons finely chopped rosemary
2 1/2 teaspoons (smoked paprika), divided
2 tablespoons Madeira (I did not have this and used dry vermouth in its place)
2 (1-pound) pork tenderloins

Instructions:

1. Toast the almonds at about 350 degrees F for 10 minutes, until browned. Process in the food processor until powdery. Trader Joes has almond meal that you can buy - I might do this next time to make things a little simpler. 

2. Preheat oven to 425F. In the meantime, take out your broiling pan. Line the bottom pan with aluminum foil and spray your top (slotted) pan with non-stick coating. This is optional but it does a really nice job of keeping the panko/almond crust dry and crunchy (and its easier for clean-up). 

3. Heat 2 tablespoon oil in a large heavy skillet over medium-high heat until it shimmers, then sauté garlic until pale golden, about 30 seconds. Stir in panko, almonds, rosemary, 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Transfer to a large plate. 

4.Stir together Madeira, remaining 2 tablespoons oil and 2 teaspoons smoked paprika, and 1/4 teaspoon each of salt and pepper in a shallow dish. Pat pork dry and rub all over with mixture. Pat three fourths of crumbs all over pork, pressing gently to adhere, then sprinkle tops with remaining crumbs. 

5. Roast until an instant-read thermometer inserted diagonally 2 inches into meat registers 145 to 150°F, about 20 minutes. (Check after 15 minutes to see if crumbs are getting too dark; if they are, tent loosely with foil.) Transfer pork to a cutting board. Tent loosely with foil and let stand 10 minutes before slicing.

As you can tell from the photo - I also added some potatoes. I sliced them into round disks, brushed them with olive oil and sprinkled on a garlic powder blend. I placed them next to the tenderloin on the pan and just roasted them alongside. It turned out great. Next time I might try putting them on the lower pan where they can soak up some of those juices from the pork.

Nick's Grilled Cheese

If you know me well, you know that I love grilled cheese sandwiches. It's been a staple in my diet my whole life! So when Nick came up with a fancier version of the standard grilled cheese, I swooned. This is what he did.

Ingredients:
Sourdough bread (I use sourdough wheat bread from Trader Joes)
4-5 slices of cheddar cheese
Julienned sundried tomatoes, to taste
4 or 5 button mushrooms
1 tsp of rosemary
1 small shallot
1 clove of garlic
*optional- add in a couple slices of fresh tomato, but be aware! This makes your sandwich a bit juicy..

1. Spread butter on one side of each piece of bread.
2. In a small frying pan, saute the shallots, rosemary, garlic and mushrooms together until cooked through (I like to brown them).
3. In a cast iron pan, place one of the bread slices in the pan, butter side down. Add on top of the bread your cheese slices and the mushroom/shallot mix and place your sundried tomatoes on the bread. Top with the other slice of bread, butter side up.
4. Cook the sandwich on each side until the cheese melts and the bread has been browned. I use a cover on my pan to help the cheese melt. I get impatient because I want to eat my sandwich right away, but it's best to use a lower heat setting so that the bread doesn't burn.
5. This sandwich can be messy! Messy and delicious...