Showing posts with label Balsamic Vinegar. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Balsamic Vinegar. Show all posts

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Pork Tenderloin with Apple-Blueberry Chutney

After a very stressful last couple of months, my wife and I decided to take a mini-vacation to Pensacola, Florida with weekend to see our son and daughter-in-law. Then this uninvited guest announced he was coming as well. His name hurricane Isaac. Ok maybe we will change our plans.
In the mean time we decided Atlanta would be an alternate vacation spot. We can stay with my little sister and there will certainly be things to do. What Isaac has decided to curve east after coming ashore and Atlanta is going to get up to 8 inches of rain.
Friday after work we go to get in the car and hear a loud popping sound. The car will not start. The car was towed to the dealer. They called Saturday to say that the temperature sensor was bad and it thinks the car was overheating and shuts down.
Well before going on vacation I should update the maps on my GPS. Ok the GPS won't install the new maps. Email Garmin support. After three days they have me send them files from my GPS as I have apparently discovered a glitch in their GPS that won't let certain models be updated. Glad I paid for that lifetime of updates. Actually they are working with it and trying to get it to update without me returning the unit.
Maybe we should stay home and work.

Pork Tenderloin with Apple-Blueberry Chutney
Apple-Blueberry Chutney
1apple, seeded and cored and cut into small pieces
1 pint blueberries
1/4 cup orange juice or lemon juice
2 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbs sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg

Put everything in a pan over medium heat. Cook until fruit is soft and liquids have almost evaporated. You will have a very thick fruit with a thick sticky sauce. If you serve over mixed greens like I did you can leave some of the liquid and drizzle over the greens like a salad dressing.

Pork Tenderloin
1 pork tenderloin
olive oil, just enough to cove meat
salt and pepper to taste

Pre-heat a grill to medium.
Drizzle olive oil on tenderloin. Sprinkle salt and pepper on pork tenderloin. These are the pork tenderloins that come 2 to a pack and are long and skinny. I have mentioned these before and someone always confuses them with a pork loin which is much larger like a roast. Place tenderloin on grill and close the lid. Cook for 8 minutes. Flip the tenderloin over close the lid and cook for 6 minutes. Turn grill off and leave tenderloin on the grill for 6 minutes with lid closed. This will give you slightly pink and very juicy tenderloin. You may have to adjust the cook time a little based on your grill.

I served this on a bed of mixed greens with a few pecans thrown on top of the greens. Then I sliced the tenderloin at an angle to give me long skinny slices. Then topped the pork slices with chutney.

Saturday, June 30, 2012

Grilled Vegetable Pasta



Happy Fourth of July! Here is a wonderful pasta salad that you can make on the grill, no sense in heating up the kitchen.

Grilled Vegetable Pasta

1 zucchini, cut in half lengthwise and then cut into 1/4" pieces so you have 1/2 moons
1 yellow squash, cut just like zucchini
1/2 small red onion cut into slices and the rings separated
cherry tomatoes
Mushrooms, cut the hard end off from the stem and then slice mushrooms
1 red pepper, cut into 1" pieces
1 yellow pepper, cut into 1" pieces
olive oil, enough to lightly coat the vegetables
1 tbs mixed dried herbs (basil, oregano, marjoram, thyme, etc) I use dried here because they will be cooked on the grill. If you want to use fresh herbs add them after the veggies are grilled or as you are removing the veggies from the grill.
Balsamic Vinegar
Parmesan curls for garnish.

Put a pot of water on to boil.
Start your grill.
Chop the veggies. Put veggies in a bowl and sprinkle with enough olive oil on them to coat the veggies. Add the herbs to the vegetables.
When the water boils add salt to the water, it should taste like the sea, I use about a table spoon. Add the pasta to the water. Put the veggies on the grill.
When the pasta is al dente remove it from the water and drain. Toss the veggies with the pasta when they are done. Put in the serving dish and drizzle with olive oil and balsamic. Then with a vegetable peeler shave some parmesan cheese curls over the pasta.