Pork Tenderloin with Roasted Pears and Red Onion

While pears are still in season, why not buy a few and try combining them with red onions and a pork tenderloin? They complement each other perfectly, and it’s an easy way to serve a luscious dinner. Most of us are cooking for just our immediate families during this Covid-19 pandemic, and this recipe uses only one pork tenderloin, which will serve about three to four people. But it’s easy enough to add another pork tenderloin and more pears and onions to the pan for when you can start entertaining again — or even better — deliver some to an elderly couple who aren’t able to cook or a young couple with children, struggling to work at home and take care of their kids at the same time too. This recipe starts out by roasting the pears and onions first in a butter and white wine mixture.

Sprinkle the pork tenderloin with salt and pepper, and smear with the honey/mustard/herbs mixture.

Add the meat to the pan and roast for about 1/2 hour or until the temperature registers 140 degrees F. You will need to keep a watch on the onions and pears and remove them before the meat is cooked. Keep them covered to seal in the heat while the pork finishes cooking.

 Slice the pork and arrange with the pear and onions, as well as green vegetable, for a colorful and delicious meal.

Click here to connect with me on Instagram and find out what Ciao Chow Linda is up to in the kitchen (and other places too.)

Pork Tenderloin with Roasted Pears and Red Onion

Author: Ciao Chow Linda

printable recipe here

Serves: serves 3-4 people

An easy, elegant restaurant quality meal that’s ready in a little more than a half hour.

Ingredients

• 1 pork tenderloin
• 2 Bosc pears, quartered and cored
• 1 red onion, quartered
• 1 T. butter
• 1/4 cup sweet white wine
• 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
• 2 Tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 1 T. honey
• 1 Tablespoon herbs de Provence
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary
• salt, pepper

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Melt the butter in a roasting pan and add the lemon juice and sweet wine.
3. Add the pears to the pan, tossing them so each side is coated with the mixture.
4. Push the pears to one side, then add the onions, also coating them with the butter/wine mixture.
5. Roast for 10 minutes.
6. While the pears and onions are roasting, prepare the meat.
7. Dry the pork with a paper towel, then season with salt and pepper.
8. Mix the mustard, honey and herbs together.
9. Push the onions and pears in the roasting pan to one side, and place the meat on the remaining portion of the pan,
10. Spread the honey/mustard/herb mixture all over the meat and return the pan to the oven for another 10-15 minutes.
11. The onions and pears might be ready a few minutes before the meat is cooked, so remove them to a warm serving platter while the meat finishes roasting.
12. The meat will be ready when a thermometer reads 140 degrees F.
13. Let it rest on a chopping board for about 5 minutes, then slice.
14. Arrange everything onto a serving platter, then pour any juices from slicing the meat over the top.
15. (There will be little to no juices from the pan, but there should be some when you slice the meat.)

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Sour Cream Donuts

During this trying period of Coronavirus quarantine, is anyone trying to lose weight? I didn’t think so. We’ve all been spending more time cooking, and now is the time to indulge in whatever comfort you can conjure up in the kitchen, from pizza to popcorn to pastries. Add donuts to that list too — in specific, these sour cream donuts that are soft and tender inside, with a crunchy, sugary sweetness on the outside. They’re from a website called Handle The Heat, and they’re much easier to make than most donuts, since the recipe doesn’t involve yeast, which is in short supply right now anyway.

You will need to use cake flour to give them the lightness they need. After you’ve rolled out the dough to about a 1/2 inch thickness, cut out a circular shape for each donut, then cut out another smaller circle within the larger circle for the donut hole. I used biscuit cutters, but you could also use a drinking glass and a shot glass for the donut hole.

The recipe below is for a dozen donuts, but I cut it in half and made only six. (I am one of those crazy people actually trying to lose weight right now.)

The donuts must be fried, not baked, in order to get that fresh-from-the-bakery taste.

They come out of the frying pan with lots of nooks and crannies, which are perfect for holding onto that sweet glaze.

They don’t keep very well, and are best eaten the day you make them. But make the full recipe and share the love. You’re bound to put some smiles on friends and neighbors you already have, and maybe make some new ones in the neighborhood too. Just make sure to keep that safe social distance when you deliver these tempting treats.

Click here to connect with me on Instagram and find out what Ciao Chow Linda is up to in the kitchen (and other places too.)

Sour Cream Donuts

Author: Handletheheat.com via Ciao Chow Linda

printable recipe here

Ingredients

• FOR THE DONUTS:
• 2 1/4 cup (255 grams) cake flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 cup (100 grams) sugar
• 2 tablespoons (29 grams) butter, at room temperature
• 2 large egg yolks
• 1/2 cup (113 grams) sour cream
• Canola oil, for frying
• FOR THE GLAZE:
• 3 1/2 cup (350 grams) powdered sugar, sifted
• 1 1/2 teaspoons corn syrup
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup hot water

Instructions

1. FOR THE DONUTS:
2. In a bowl, sift together the cake flour, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar together until sandy.
4. Add the egg yolks and mix until light and thick. Add the dry ingredients to the mixing bowl in 3 additions, alternating with the sour cream, ending with the flour.
5. The dough will be sticky.
6. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for 1 hour.
7. On a floured surface, roll out the dough to about 1/2 inch thickness.
8. Use a doughnut cutter or two differently sized biscuit cutters to cut out as many donuts as possible, dipping the cutters into flour as necessary to prevent sticking.
9. You should get about 12 doughnuts and holes.
10. Pour 2 inches of canola oil into a heavy bottomed pot with a deep-fry thermometer attached.
11. Heat to 325°F.
12. Fry the doughnuts a few at a time, being careful not to overcrowd the pot. Fry on each side about 2 minutes, being careful not to let them burn. Let drain on a paper bag to soak up the excess grease.
13. FOR THE GLAZE:
14. Mix all ingredients in a bowl with a whisk until smooth. Immerse each doughnut into the glaze.
15. Place on a wire rack above a sheet pan to catch any excess glaze.
16. Let sit for 20 minutes until glaze is set.
17. Doughnuts are best served the day they are made but may be store in an air tight container at room temperature for a few days.

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