Pork Tenderloin with Mustard BBQ Sauce

Ben has yet again amazed us with his culinary skills, particularly in the pork tenderloin category. Like I said in my pumpkin carving post, October is a busy month for my family. Not only are there tons of birthdays in October, but some of them even fall on the same day! For example, my uncle and I share a birthday, as well as my mom and my sister (it's just crazy!). Ok, on to the real reason I am typing this post: THE FOOD. This meal was prepared for my mom's and sister's birthdays. We had Brussels sprouts (I literally would not try Brussels sprouts until I was 23...sad I know, but I love them!), rosemary potatoes, and pork tenderloin. yummy!

As always with the glazes and sauces Ben makes, the mustard BBQ sauce was a mixture of various things - honey, mustard, brown sugar, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce (he never really knows how much of each he uses, but it always works out). To make the sauce, put 1/3 cup of brown sugar in a sauce pan on medium heat with a couple of tablespoons of vinegar, little bit of honey, and a few dashes of Worcestershire cause, stir until dissolved (if you need to add more wet ingredients, that's fine). Add a cup of mustard to the mixture and stir. If you're not a big mustard person, I would say it's safe not to use tons of it and it would still taste good.

Ben marinaded the tenderloins in mustard for a couple of hours, but you can marinade it over night if you wish. He grilled the pork for 30 minutes total. After initially cooking the tenderloin all the way around, he started applying the BBQ sauce with a brush at 2-3 minute increments.

I chopped 3/4 a package of bacon, put it in a skillet, and cooked it for a few minutes, then removed the bacon and added the Brussels sprouts to the grease. Add a couple of tablespoons of butter and salt and pepper to taste, then slightly steam the sprouts at the end by placing a lid on the skillet for several minutes (remember to stir occasionally). About half way through cooking the Brussels sprouts, I added the bacon and let it finish cooking.

If you have any questions about this meal or anything else on the blog, e-mail me at jstansbakery@gmail.com.

Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Orange Salad

Oh my goodness, this meal was so good! Ben might be the best griller I know. He always does a great grilled pork tenderloin, whether it's bacon-wrapped or has an orange juice-honey-butter glaze. However, this particular night we had pork with orange salad, steamed broccoli, and homemade cornbread.

Ben got the recipe from Food Network. Well, he actually stumbled upon it when we were trying to figure out what to cook on Labor Day. The original recipe did not call for a glaze, but Ben is a big fan of them and he usually makes them up on his own.

The orange juice-honey-butter glaze is Ben's secret recipe and because I'm a nice person, I'm going to share it with you, but shhhh don't tell him. The glaze is essential to keeping the pork moist and makes the outside taste delish. Combine freshly squeezed orange juice from 2 oranges, 3 tablespoons of butter, and 3-4 tablespoons of honey - but as I'm typing this Ben is telling me that it doesn't matter how much of each, just eyeball it. Abbie, if you're reading this I'm trying to get exact measurements for you because I know how much you like to have them :)

Back to the pork. Ben grilled the pork for 30 minutes total. After initially cooking the tenderloin all the way around, he started applying the glaze with a brush at 2-3 minute increments.

The recipe calls for an orange salad to eat with the pork. This salad complements Ben's glaze quite nicely. The salad is oranges, parsley, red onions, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and salt and pepper. Very fresh.

This was my first time to make homemade cornbread (shocking, I know). But let me tell you, I will never be going back to the box mix (sorry Jiffy). Ben was also kind enough to tell me that Jiffy cornbread is "Northern" cornbread - uses sugar - whereas Southern cornbread does not. Well I can't make Northern cornbread being from the South and living in the South!

I hope everyone is so excited about the brownies that will be in my next post. But until then, I'll leave you with a hint about them: if you're a fan of football (not just Razorback football) then these will be a must-have for your next tailgate!