Friday, October 15, 2010

John's Pork Medallions in Mustard Sauce

This dish is one of John's specialties, one of his go-to recipes, and one of our favorite repeats since I've started blogging (with so many recipes to try and blog about, we seldom do repeats).

I'll never forget the first time we enjoyed this dish, during our first night at a rustic, remote cabin in Silver Gate, MT. We got off the plane in Billings, stocked up at a nearby grocery store for the week, and headed out through a terrible snow storm in a very small rental car. Hours later, safely in the cabin, with a fire roaring in the massive rock fireplace, and wine flowing freely, we made this together. Last night, my wonderful man-chef prepared it for me in the comfort of our home.


Pork Medallions with Mustard Sauce
Slightly adapted from Fine Cooking
Serves 4

2 pork tenderloins (silverskin trimmed)
1 cup flour
Salt and freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoon olive oil, plus an additional 2 tablespoons
1 cup dry white wine
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 can low-sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup stone-ground mustard
3 tablespoons capers
Juice of half a lemon

Cut the pork tenderloins into one-inch thick medallions. Season the medallions with salt and pepper and dredge in flour, shaking off the excess.

Melt the butter and 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a 12-inch skillet, over medium-high heat, and allow the pan to heat up well. Add 6-8 pork medallions, but do not overcrowd the skillet (it will be necessary to sear the medallions in two or three batches). Sear the medallions, turning once, until golden brown on both sides and just cooked through, about 4-6 minutes total. Transfer the medallions to a plate and tent with foil. Repeat with remaining medallions, adding another tablespoon of oil to the pan between batches if necessary.

Add the wine, scraping up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Allow the wine to reduce by half, and then add the whipping cream, chicken broth, and mustard. Continue simmering until reduced to a sauce consistency, about 5-10 minutes. Add the capers and squeeze of lemon, and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Reduce heat to low, return the pork medallions and any juices to the pan, turn to coat with the sauce, and allow to warm up in the sauce for a few minutes. Transfer the medallions to a serving platter and spoon the sauce over the top. As you can see, we enjoyed ours with mashed potatoes and sauteed asparagus.


Simple, comforting, and oh so good...and we didn't have to drive through this again!


7 comments:

bunkycooks said...

I am ready for one of those romantic, cooked by my man dinners! I am afraid any of that will go missing when Mr. B has to cook while I am an invalid in November! Tell John he is a great romantic and we hope to see you guys soon! :)

Lisa said...

Denise, what a fantastic route to your man creating this gorgeous dish! Snow, roaring fire, good food and wine - doesn't get any better than that. The pork looks absolutely tender, mouth watering and 'silky'. I know, weird adjective for pork, but it does! Will have to try this!

Carmen said...

Wow! I guess John needed a comforting meal to pull himself away from his screeching bats, tethered ghouls and motion detectors ... The front of your house could compete with Disney's Haunted Mansion! I'm beginning to wonder if John whipped up this Halloween Jack-The-Ripper weather...

Denise said...

Carmen - No, we have additional inside creatures and sounds for our dining pleasure! Let's hope the weather calms down a little by the time of the party!

Liz said...

Denise, this dish looked so delicious that I made it tonight for dinner. It was outstanding! Tell John this dish will definitely go into my "keepers" file! Hope you're both doing well. :)

Denise said...

Liz,

We're glad you enjoyed it! It really does have nice flavor...

Great hearing from you, and hope all is well in Texas!

Mom said...

John's comfort food looks delightfully delicious and perfect for our rainy weather. Not sure how romantic it was with your inside creatures and sounds, but at least you didn't have to drive through that lovely snow.