Pork Tenderloin And Wild Rice Moreovers.

Eat me.

You know you want to. More digging in the utility room freezer and I came up with pork tenderloin.

Actually, two tenderloins were in the package. I'm cooking one tonight for the Hawthornes and whomever else happens to drop in, and I'm sure someone will, and saving the other for when I think of something to do with it. Has to be soon, since it's thawed out.

Why, that's just $2.98911304347826086956521739130435 a pound! Sandra's Money Sucking Meals has nothing on me. Where's my damn cooking show? Donna? At My Tasty Treasures. This is for you, Girlfriend!

Extend the meat.

The thin, tapering end.

Double it over.

Thusly. And SKEWER it!

There was a very thin tapered end of this tenderloin which I folded back over and secured with a toothpick. I'm going to cut this into medallions and I want each one the same thickness so they all cook the same time.

Freshly ground salt and pepper is all that's needed for seasoning. I'm also making Wild Rice Moreovers for this dinner. I'm looking at the dregs of dinner two nights ago - a baked chicken carcass and wild rice.

I pull out the carcass, put it in a freezer bag containing other frozen carcasses, and tuck it back in the freezer for future chicken consomme.

Now here's what I have in mind to doctor up my wild rice: almonds craisins balsamic vinegar olive oil scallions celery onion pepper

Wait. Wait! I need lemon. And my artichoke stuffing/dressing. First, I'm making a vinaigrette which was originally intended to go in with the wild rice.

Zest and juice one lemon.

Add some chopped parsley.

Add a little Balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper, and olive oil. A nice fruity olive oil.

Whisk away. Now remember I said I had originally intended for this vinaigrette to go into the wild rice. At the last minute, when I tasted the rice, I stopped right there. I knew it didn't need anything else. My ad hoc idea to add in the artichoke stuffing/dressing took care of the vinaigrette addition, so I deep-sixed that and, making an executive decision, opted to use the vinaigrette in my pork GLAZE. Yes! I'm having a GLAZE for my pig. Back to Moreover Rice:

I heated my skillet, melted some LOLUB* and added in onion, celery, scallion, and pepper. *Land of Lakes Unsalted Butter

Let sweat.

And toss.

Add in whole almonds.

Some craisins.

Add in cooked wild rice.

Add in the artichoke stuffing/dressing. Actually, I should have chopped up some of the artichoke hearts and added them to the mix. Not to worry. One night since, as I write this, I still have Wildrice Moreovers and the hearts in my fridge. Hmmmm. Moreovers Squared. Lunch tomorrow. Sounds like a plan.

Rice into the mix.

Heat through. Gently mix. Cover and set aside. On to the meat. I wanted a glaze.

And I'm thinking Tamari Sauce, coarse mustard, orange marmalade, and tarragon.

Yep. I have an idea coming to mind. And I've written this post as I designed this meal. The hamster on the wheel in what might be a brain spins mightily. I show you how I came up with this meal.

Chopped tarragon.

I heated my skillet and added LOLUB and ELBOO.* *Extra Light Bertolli Olive Oil I have ANNOYING ACRONYMS. I want my own show. STAT!

Sometimes Rosie has the inevitable flare up. My flares have flair.

I cooked the medallions 4 minutes on the first side, turning 90 degrees after 2 minutes to get those grill marks. I cooked the second side about 2 minutes, then added in my lemon juice/lemon zest/ parsley/ Balsamic Vinegar/Fruity Olive Oil Vinaigrette. Turned heat down.

Shake in a tablespoon or two of coarse mustard.

Same with the orange marmalade.

Bunch of Tamari Sauce. Maybe 1/4 - 1/3 cup.

Then my brain kicked in and I added some of Mr. Hawthorne's special Sourwood Honey he gets from the mountains.

I plated the rest of the medallions. Left this fat one to keep cooking. This was the thin flap at the end that I toothpicked back over the end-piece. Stir to incorparate and scrape to pick up all the flavors.

Pour glaze over pork medallions.

Sprinkle chopped tarragon leaves over top.

Pork tenderloin medallions. Slightly pink inside. Perfectly cooked.

Heat up the Wild Rice Moreovers.

And ... plate. Pork tenderloin with glaze. Wild Rice Moreovers. Homemade Applesauce. (From freezer.)

The pork was juicy and tender. The rice was enhanced by the crisp veggies and the green-ness of the artichoke stuffing/dressing. Ahhhh. The crunch of the almond. Everything complimented everything.

The cool, freshness of the applesauce. Perfect with the pork. And with the wildness of the rice. I loved the "pop" of the tarragon on the pork. Just like I loved the "pop" of the fennel seeds on Rosie's Kick Ass Boston Butt.

A lovely meal. Can't wait to put the artichoke hearts in the Moreovers Squared and figure out what to do with the other pork tenderloin. Any suggestions from my readers? Would you like a sweet and sour pork? Would you like the whole roast? Just tell Rosie what you want. She will oblige.