Apple Brandy-Glazed Pork Tenderloin

Cooking with booze. I'm sure there's a cookbook by this name. And if there isn't, I might have just discovered my next million dollar idea. A few weeks ago, I decided to make this dish, which was featured in one of my holiday issues of Cooking Light. Anyone who reads my blog knows I'm a big fan of pork. And apples. And alcohol. So why not combine the three?

This was a simple recipe but the hardest thing for me to find was brandy. I eventually had to go to one of the higher-price liquor stores to find it and I only had one option for purchase, so this is what I went with. I apologize for the lack of food photo on this, but I made this around the time I spent the better part of a week trying to get my new iPhone fully functional, so I'm guessing the picture got lost during one of many attempted backups. So you'll just have to settle for a picture of booze. With this crowd, I doubt this is that disappointing.

But to be honest, I wasn't crazy about this recipe. It was a little on the bland side for me (I was more interested in the roasted fingerling potatoes I served with it!) So now I have all this brandy...so this won't be the last of my "cooking with booze" posts.

Apple Brandy-Glazed Pork Tenderloin (serves 6)

Ingredients:

3 cups unfiltered apple cider

1/2 cup brandy

3 thyme sprigs

1 large shallot, sliced

2 TB butter

2 tsp. Dijon mustard

1/2 tsp. kosher salt, divided

1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper, divided

1 1/2 lbs. pork tenderloin, trimmed

Cooking spray

Directions:

Combine first cider, brandy, thyme and shallot in a saucepan; bring to a boil. Cook until reduced to 1/2 cup (about 30 minutes). Remove from heat; discard thyme and shallot. Stir in butter, mustard, 1/8 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.

Preheat oven to 475°.

Sprinkle pork evenly with remaining 3/8 teaspoon salt and remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Lightly coat with cooking spray. Place pork in a roasting pan; bake at 475° for 9 minutes. Turn pork over; brush evenly with 2 tablespoons cider mixture. Bake an additional 8 minutes or until thermometer inserted in the thickest portion of pork registers 140°. Let pork stand for 10 minutes.

Slice pork, and serve with remaining sauce.

Steak Sliders with Applewood Bacon-Cabernet Reduction and Blue Cheese

This is my last bacon-themed blog post for the week. I'll be starting a new job next week working on health issues so I think I owe it to myself, and those of you out there who read my blog, to offer some more healthy options. So I bid farewell to a week of bacon, by combining meat and more meat, with some cheese thrown in for good measure. Enjoy!

Steak Sliders with Applewood Bacon-Cabernet Reduction (8 servings)

Ingredients

• 6 oz applewood smoked bacon slices, cut crosswise into 1/4-inch wide pieces
• 2 large yellow onions, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch dice
• 1 cup Cabernet Sauvignon or other full bodied red wine
• 1 cup low-sodium beef broth
• 1 cup ruby port
• 2 tsp finely chopped fresh thyme leaves
• Vegetable oil, for brushing grill grates
• 3 pounds ground sirloin
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 24 mini Hawaiian sweet rolls or slider buns, split and toasted
• 1 cup crumbled blue cheese

Instructions

To prepare the Cabernet reduction, place bacon pieces in a large saucepan and heat over medium heat. Cook bacon, stirring occasionally, until crispy, about 8-10 minutes. Using a slotted spoon or spider, transfer cooked bacon pieces to a paper towel-lined plate. Set aside.

Return skillet with bacon drippings to medium-low heat. Add onions and cook, stirring often, until deep brown and carmelized, about 40 minutes. Add wine, beef broth, port, and thyme, stirring well to combine. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until mixture is very thick, almost jam-like, and reduced to 1 1/2 cups, about 1 hour. Stir in reserved crisped bacon. Set aside.

To prepare the burgers, assemble a moderately high charcoal fire, preheat a gas gril to medium-high, or heat a large grill pan over medium-high heat. Brush grill grates or grill pan with a thin coating of oil using a silicone pastry brush. Shape ground sirloin into 24 (1-inch thick) patties about 2 oz. each. Sprinkle patties generously on both sides with salt and pepper. Place patties on preheated grill and cook until well browned on bottom and almost halfway cooked through, about 3-4 minutes. Flip burgers and grill on second side until cooked to desired doneness, about 3 minutes longer for medium-rare.

Transfer buns to work surface and place burgers on each bun bottom. Spoon Cabernet reduction and sprinkl blue cheese over each burger. Cut in half and serve immediately.

The Cabernet reduction turned out to be almost like a marmalade and completely made this dish. I think my photographer was dizzy from all the bacon-y goodness when taking this photo. But a good time was had by all!