Friday, November 19, 2010

Tastes Like Fall

I picked up a pork tenderloin at the grocery store the other night because J and I were craving meat. I'm not sure why, but I suspect it has a lot to do with the cold rain that we've had for the past couple of days. Maybe it's some primal urge to put on bulk for the winter. So, anyway, I had this pork loin, some apples, and a craving for potatoes. I went to Epicurious to find an old favorite recipe and stumbled on something new: Roast Pork Tenderloin with Apples & Cider. The dish was amazingly simple and incredibly tasty. Paired with mashed potatoes with a little butter, cream, and smoked sharp cheddar, dinner tonight was top notch.

Side note: I also got to use my All Clad saute pan to its fullest by taking it from stove top to oven to table (well to serving dish). The only disadvantage of the whole oven to table part is when the chef forgets the hot oven's effect on the pan handle. Yes, I burned the ever-loving crap out of my right hand. Don't worry, no blisters, just throbbing hot fingers. I'm currently typing with my left index finger. What? I'm a dedicated blogger.

Thankfully, I had lots of help in the kitchen. J really stepped up to the plate in order to supervise Little doing his chores. (Actually, J is responsible for the stellar mashed potatoes.) Little was a trooper and chipped in by helpfully lubricating the counter top with his drool. Salivating while whisking is pretty hard work and not long after this photo he had a righteous meltdown followed by a 30-minute nap (the longest stretch he's managed lately much to our dismay). At least it allowed me to muddle my way through the rest of dinner prep handicapped by the lack of use of my dominant hand. Despite my injured state, the pork was fabulous. In fact, you could say it was so easy that one could make it with a hand tied behind their back (or dangling in crippling pain). Just a thought -- do you feel sorry for me yet?

As you can see, Little changed into his dress pj's for dinner (code for barfed all over his clean outfit) and chose to skip the pork for something much more delectable. Giraffe butt. Some say it's too gamey, but if Little could talk I'm sure he'd say that they're just weenies. Just look at that face. That's one satisfied baby. In my opinion though, I'd say that the squeaky, chewy giraffe meat doesn't hold a candle to the tender pork and apples.

Now that Little is finally down for the night, I'm off to Walgreens for some burn cream and maybe a little chocolate to soothe the pain.

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