Glazed Pork Tenderloin With Cumin-Spiked Corn Puree

My darling father is in town tonight, so I decided to pull out a recipe that I thought looked worthy of company, particularly company that was totally coming to my rescue.  It did not meet those expectations.  That being said, the corn puree totally rocked; it looked bad, dirty almost, but tasted wonderful.  My husband and I loved it, my dad said he thought it was good, and I had to practically force feed it to the boy.  The pork tenderloin's wonderful character was ruined by the "poaching"  It was not juicy.  It lacked most flavor.  It was beyond well done, not slightly pink inside after the 20 minutes, but I have to admit I still have a hard time with slightly pink.  The pan sauce was good, but needed to reduce a lot more to be more 'glaze' like and a glaze would have made this a much better dish.  The salad was the star for me.  My husband asked if he made the salad pretty enough, would it earn a place in the blog:). I said of course and I think he really out did himself.  My husband also said he didn't like the "math" I had been doing in the blog, so in the future I will just do the dinner total.  Not tonight.  Company and a thank you dinner for my dad is priceless.


Glazed Pork Tenderloin With Cumin-Spiked Corn Puree

3    large tomatillos or 1/2 pound cape gooseberries,husked and chopped
3    jalapeños,seeded and chopped
2    scallions,chopped
1/2 t  chopped rosemary
4    garlic cloves,minced
7 T  extra-virgin olive oil
1 T  plus 1 teaspoon honey
2 One-pound pork tenderloins
3 c  fresh corn kernels (from 6 ears of corn)
1/2    yellow bell pepper,chopped
1    medium red onion,cut into 1/3-inch dice
1/4 lb smoked ham,cut into 1/3-inch dice
1/4 c  plus 2 tablespoons pisco or other brandy
2 1/2 c  vegetable stock
2 T  chopped parsley
1/4 t  ground cumin
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1.In a food processor, puree the tomatillos with the jalapeos,
scallions,   rosemary, one-fourth of the garlic, 2 tablespoons of the
olive oil and 1 tablespoon of the honey. Pour the puree into a sturdy
resealable plastic bag. Add the pork tenderloins, coat well and
refrigerate overnight.
2.In a medium saucepan of boiling water, cook the corn until just
tender,   about 3 minutes; drain. In a food processor, puree the corn
with the yellow pepper.
3.In a medium skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Add the
onion, ham and remaining garlic and cook over moderate heat until the
onion is softened, about 7 minutes. Add 2 tablespoons of the pisco and
light carefully with a long match. When the flames die down, add the
corn and pepper puree and 1 cup of the stock and simmer over low heat
for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the parsley and cumin and
season with salt and pepper. Cover and set aside.
4.Remove the pork tenderloins from the marinade; reserve the marinade.
In a large skillet, heat the remaining 3 tablespoons of olive oil.
Season the tenderloins with salt and pepper, add them to the skillet
and cook over moderate heat until browned on every side, about 1 minute
per side. Add the remaining 1/4 cup of pisco and light carefully with a
long match. When the flames die down, add the reserved marinade and the
remaining 1 1/2 cups of stock and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer
over moderately low heat, turning occasionally, until the pork is pink
in the center, about 20 minutes.
5.Transfer the pork to a carving board and cover loosely with foil.
Boil the pan sauce over moderately high heat for 3 minutes. Set a fine
sieve over a small saucepan and strain the sauce, pressing on the
solids. Add the remaining 1 teaspoon of honey and season with salt and
pepper. Gently reheat the corn puree. Thickly slice the pork and
transfer to plates. Pour the sauce over the pork, spoon the corn puree
alongside and serve.