Dinner tonight: Tuscan Pork Tenderloin

Weekday dinner this week was Tuscan pork tenderloin with steamed asparagus and crusty baguette. This was SO good. I'm not a huge fan of pig products in general (with the exception of prosciutto, which I'm pretty sure I could eat for every meal of every day), but it was time for a change from fish/shellfish and there was a pork tenderloin in my freezer that was in danger of being lost forever behind some frozen dinners and espresso vodka if I didn't use it soon.

The only change I made to this recipe was using regular balsamic instead of white. As usual, I just didn't see the point of spending a chunk of change on something I had in a different form just because it might make it a little prettier.

In general, I have issues with pork tenderloin. It NEVER cooks in the time it's supposed to. And I don't mean, like, it takes a couple min longer. I mean, it took DOUBLE the amount of time in the oven it should have. And still didn't develop that "crust" they talk about in the recipe introduction. Thankfully, Pat got me a cute little digital meat thermometer for Christmas, so I knew the pork was nowhere near the 155 degrees it was supposed to be after 17 min. Otherwise...we would probably both be in bed with trichinosis right now. About 35ish minutes after I put the pork in the oven, it was finally ready to then sit for *another* 10 minutes before we could eat.

That said, when the pork finally was ready, it was delicious. Incredibly tender, and I think all of the flavors worked really nicely together, and were perfect for this time of year. The only thing I might change is to try to crush the fennel seeds a bit more...maybe pulse them in a spice grinder a couple times. Oh, and cut back on the salt a bit. As you can see from the pic, it was a really beautiful dish. I even think it was company-worthy. And still low enough in calories that you can splurge on a piece of bread or two and a glass of wine!