(Jamie Ford, on my Kindle). A poignant story about a Chinese-American, growing up in Seattle at the beginning of World War II. Henry falls in love with a young Japanese girl before her family is interned in a relocation camp. It a very secretive relationship because his parents would highly disapprove. The story goes back to the 40’s and forward to the 1980’s when Henry is in his 50’s and his wife (not the Japanese woman) has just died of cancer. The story pulls you in from the first page, especially when some artifacts are found in the basement of an old hotel which contain personal belongings from several Japanese families who were suddenly taken away back in 1942. You can see where it’s going, can’t you? I heard criticism of this book that it was just a little bit contrived. Halfway through I’m enjoying it very much.
(Kathryn Stockett on my Kindle); if you haven’t heard about this book, you should! It’s a novel written from the voice of the black servants and some of the people they work for, all residents of Jackson, Mississippi. In the 1950’s. The maids generally are disrespected, still have to ride in the back of the bus, and some are prevented from using the bathroom in the houses where they work. The story is about a young woman (daughter of one of the society ladies) who decides to write a book about the stories of the maids. Anonymously. But not quite, of course. So it’s not only the stories themselves, but about the society-ladies’ relationships, and about the stealth required to interview the maids and write the book. And the repercussions when it’s published. A fantastic read.
by Jetta Carleton (Kindle edition); 
by Susan Richards (Kindle edition); 
by Sally Gunning (Kindle edition)
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(Mario Batali & Gweneth Paltrow); 
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Leafing through some recipes for pork tenderloin, nothing struck my fancy. Either I didn’t have the ingredients, or it sounded like too much work. Then provenance provided. A friend from my art class brought in some citrus to share. Handing us a bag, we picked through and took what appealed. Paz told us that these little guys (pictured) are sour limes. (No, they’re not kumquats, although they’re similar in size, but not in shape.) But, these were the orangest-looking limes I’ve ever seen, but they were tart. Very tart. What to do with them? Paz said she doesn’t use them for anything, that’s why she was giving them away. She suggested a lemonade-type drink, using lots of sugar.
Why not a marinade, then? I concocted my own mixture of a little bit of olive oil, the sour citrus juice and a clove of garlic, mashed. It marinated with the pork tenderloin for a few hours, and I rolled it around a bit now and then to make sure all the sufaces were in contact with the meat.
Pork is so lean these days, that I never serve a tenderloin, anyway, without something to go with it. It needs a sauce or a salsa, or something to accompany it. Even though the meat is tender and moist (if it’s cooked right), tenderloin in and of itself lacks any robust flavor. So serving it with a strong-flavored sauce is generally a good thing. Paz also gave us oranges, so I created a VERY easy pan sauce to accompany the pork. While the meat was roasting in a 400 oven, I sauteed some yellow onion (slices, halved), then added some fresh orange juice and vermouth and just before serving I added some orange zest.
I removed the roast when it reached 140 on my handy-dandy meat thermometer (I have the probe-type that inserts into the meat and dangles out the oven door to its base, where I set the finished temp). Once I took it out of the oven, I tented it lightly with foil, which keeps the meat warm. It actually rose in temp another 4-5 degrees while it sat. Meanwhile I finished up the rest of the dinner and salad, then the meat was sliced a bit on the diagonal and I spooned some of this pan sauce on top. The onion had taken on the sweetness of the orange juice, tempered by the vermouth, and was altogether lovely. Each bite of pork was consumed with a bit of the orangy-onion. If you wanted even more flavor, add some dried cranberries, or even raisins. Another option would be to add the sections (supremes) of another orange to the sauce just before serving (cook them just long enough to heat them through in the pan sauce).
Baked Pork Tenderloin with Orange
Onion Pan Sauce
Recipe: My own concoction.
Servings: 3
1 pound pork tenderloin
1 whole garlic clove — minced
1/4 cup orange juice
1 1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
SAUCE:
1 tablespoon orange zest
1/2 cup orange juice
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 whole yellow onion — halved, sliced
1/2 cup vermouth
GARNISH:
Italian parsley & orange zest
1. Carefully trim the pork tenderloin of silverskin and most of the fat.
2. In a ziplock plastic bag combine the garlic, orange juice, olive oil plus salt and pepper. Add the pork and seal. Squish it around and refrigerate for several hours, turning several times.
3. Preheat oven to 400. Remove pork from marinade and allow to sit at room temp for about 20 minutes. Discard marinade. Dry off pork with paper towel.
4. Heat a medium skillet (large enough to hold the pork), and add the additional olive oil to the pan. Sear the pork on 3-4 sides to brown, about 1-2 minutes each surface. Remove to a small baking sheet lined with a Silpat (or foil).
5. Bake pork for about 15-20 minutes, until the meat has reached 140 (use meat thermometer). Remove from the oven and lightly tent with foil for about 10 minutes. Meat temperature will continue to rise during this time.
6. SAUCE: While the pork is baking make the sauce. In the same skillet used to brown the meat add olive oil and heat until it begins to shimmer. Add the sliced onion and saute on medium heat until the onion is translucent, and may even lightly brown on cut edges. Do not burn. Add the orange juice and vermouth and cook for another 10 minutes covered, at a simmer, stirring occasionally. If all the liquid evaporates add a bit more vermouth just to keep the onions moist. Season with salt and pepper and just before serving add the orange zest.
7. Slice the pork tenderloin on a slight angle, making slices about 1/3 inch thick and spoon the onion orange sauce on top of each slice. May also garnish the pork with finely minced Italian parsley and additional orange zest.
Per Serving (assumes you eat the marinade too): 465 Calories; 26g Fat (56.0% calories from fat); 33g Protein; 13g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 98mg Cholesterol; 89mg Sodium.
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A year ago: Cilantro Chicken
Toffeeapple
said on March 20th, 2009:
This is making my mouth water! It sounds marvellous.
T-A: It was good. Maybe not off the charts, but healthy, anyway, and I loved the orange flavor with the onions. . . Carolyn T
Marie
said on March 24th, 2009:
I have never heard of sour limes! I have had qumquats, and I loved them. What a lovely sounding sauce to serve with pork. I agree with you. Pork tenderloin on it’s own without a sauce to accompany it is quite lacklustre, no matter how properly cooked. A good sauce is it’s best companion!
I still don’t know for sure WHAT they were. Small. Orange. But she definitely said limes. I used them all up in the marinade and sauce, so don’t have any more of them. . . Carolyn T