Dinner Tonight

During the week, our meals are ususally pretty simple, many times eating leftovers.  After 8+ hours of work, and sometimes school meetings or events, it doesn't leave a lot of time to get too fancy.  The weekend is when I really get to experiment.

Saturday night I made something I remember my mom making occastionally growing up.  Polenta, basically a corn meal mush, considered Italian peasant food.  She always served it along with her homemade beef stew, but many people eat it with sausage and red sauce.  By adding some cheese and milk, this dish can really be a rich and delicious bed for any type of sauce or gravy.  My kids have never been a huge fan of polenta, which is the reason why I've only made it once before.  Since my youngest daughter and I have been cooking together a lot lately, she has been more open to trying new foods.

I didn't really follow the recipe I printed, word for word, as I wanted to reduce the serving size from the original 8-10 servings to 2-3.  I also found two recipes that both sounded good, so I made sort of a combination of these two recipes, find them here and here.

I served the polenta with pork tenderloin with a mushroom sauce, and fresh zucchini.  I like pork tenderloin, because it's nice and lean, and there are so many different ways to flavor it. It is reasonably priced and can be purchased in small pieces.   I love using my cast iron skillet for the pork, it gives it a nice sear on the outside, which really helps to seal in the juices and keep the meat nice and moist.  I have learned that the secret with pork, is to not overcook it, as it can easily dry out if you do.  I never use a recipe for a dish like this, just use what I have on hand and usually make it a little different every time. I like to "ad-lib" when I cook.

This time I had leeks on hand, so instead of the shallots I used last time, I used garlic and leaks, and in place of white wine, I used dry vermouth.  It gave it a nice rich, sweet flavor.  I always add a little tomato, either in paste form or just some chopped fresh tomato...just a little, I am not making a red sauce, but the addition of the tomato gives it another layer of flavor.  For the sauce, I also use chicken broth or chicken paste and water, if you don't have a container of broth already open.  Sometimes I'll add a touch of cornstarch (mixed in water or broth first), to very slightly thicken the sauce.  This is not something you have to do, a thin sauce will taste just as good.  I finish the whole thing off in the oven over the pork, while the meat finishes cooking and the sauce reduces.  I may have thickened the sauce too much this time, or mayble I just didn't have enough liquid to start with,  it reduced down a little more than I wanted, but the flavor was rich and delicious. By baking the whole thing in the oven, you really can't go wrong with the sauce, the flavor really intensifies.

I seasoned the tenderloin with salt, pepper & dried sage and seared it over high heat on all sides.





Sliced leaks and mushrooms (cremini & button), and chopped garlic add lots of flavor.



I sauteed the onions, tomato, garlic in olive oil, and I season with salt.

Then I added the mushrooms and a touch of butter.  I sauteed them in 2 batches, as Julia would say, "don't crowd the mushrooms!"

The final step, I added dry vermouth, chicken stock, (taste for additional salt), & pepper.  I let it a boil for just a couple minutes, then reduced the heat to a low simmer and added a little more butter to finish it off.

While you are making the sauce, the meat can be cooking in the oven on 375, once you add the sauce, lower heat to 350 and continue to cook until desired doneness, I like mine still a little pink inside.



I auteed some fresh zucchini in olive oil and fresh chopped garlic, seasoned with salt and pepper.

And finaly, I served it with creamy, cheesy polenta, yum yum!