Honey Roasted Pork Tenderloin Stuffed with Pecans and Apricots

PUBLISHED ON: 01.02.2010

Happy New Year to you and your family. We rang in the New Year with friends and raised our glasses to honor the year behind us and to symbolize a new year of tomorrows. Great friends, food and cheer-It just does not get any better.

My husband prepared a wonderful Honey Roasted Pork Tenderloin stuffed with pecans, apricots and drizzled with a Blue Cheese Cream Sauce. The tenderloin was served alongside Creamed Cabbage with bacon and crisp sliced potatoes. For dessert he prepared a fresh homemade coffee ice cream. I know some of you may be thinking, it’s too cold to eat ice cream. My response…It’s never to cold to eat homemade ice cream.

This pork tenderloin recipe is elegant, fun to do, and easy to prepare.

Honey Roasted Pork tenderloin Stuffed Pecans and Apricots
Serves 6
Recipe from: Savannah Seasons
Note: We doubled the recipe to serve 12.

Ingredients:
2 pork tenderloins, each about 1-1/4 lbs, silver skin trimmed away.
1 recipe Honey Hoisin Marinade for Roasted Pork (recipe follows)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 cup minced shitake mushrooms
1/2 cup minced toasted pecans
1 slice whole wheat bread, minced
8 dried apricot halves, minced
2 tablespoons minced blue cheese (1 ounce)
1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme
1 teaspoon hot chili sauce
1 recipe Blue Cheese Cream Sauce (recipe follows)
Directions:
Place the tenderloins side by side in a shallow dish. Spoon the marinade over them, cover, and refrigerate to combine flavors for 6 hours or overnight. Turn the pork once during this period.Β Remove the pork and discard the marinade. Cut 2 inches from the tip of each tenderloin and mince this meat.
In a skillet over high heat, combine the oil and the minced pork tips. Saute until light brown, about 5 minutes, then add the mushrooms and continue to saute for 2 minutes more. Set aside to cool. In a medium bowl, combine the pecans, bread crumbs, apricots, blue cheese, thyme, and chili sauce, then mix in the cooled pork and mushroom mixture, including any accumulated juices.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Oil a baking pan with low sides. With the handle of a wooden spoon, push a hole into the center of each tenderloin lengthwise from end to end. Stuff each tenderloin. The meat will expand to accomodate the stuffing as you gently press it into the center. Set the tenderloins on the baking pan. (A foil or baking parchment lining will protect the pan). Roast the pork 25 minutes, until the juices run clear when the meat is pierced with a knife. Cool for 5 minutes before slicing to serve. Drizzle with Blue Cheese Cream Sauce.

Honey Hoisin Marinade for Roasted Pork
Yields 3/4 cup
Ingredients:
1/4 cup hoisin sauce
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup honey
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon peeled and minced fresh ginger
Directions:
In a cup, combine all the ingredients. Set aside until ready to use.
Blue Cheese Cream Sauce
Yields 1/2 cup
Ingredients:
1/4 cup vermouth or white drinking wine
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese (about 1 ounce)
Directions:
In a small saucepan over medium heat, simmer and reduce the white wine or vermouth to about 2 tablespoons. Whisk in cream and reduce to about 1/3 cup. This will take about 4 minutes. Remove the pan from direct heat and place it in a skillet of hot water. Whisk in blue cheese, whisking until the sauce is smooth, about 1 minute. Keep warm in the skillet of hot water or in a Thermos until ready to serve, up to 2 hours.
Creamed Cabbage with Bacon
Serves 6
Recipe from Savannah Seasons

Ingredients:
2 slices bacon, crisp cooked and minced
2 ounces country ham or prosciutto, minced
1/2 cup minced onion
1 tablespoon peeled and minced fresh ginger
7 cups shredded green cabbage leaves
1/2 cup heavy cream
Directions:
To a large soup pot over medium heat, add first the bacon, then the ham, onion,ginger and finally the cabbage. Pour the cream over all and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally after the first 5 minutes, to soften the cabbage and reduce the liquid to a thick sauce. The volume of cabbage will reduce considerbaly. It is not necessary to add water because the cabbage is full of moisture and cooks beautifully in its own juice with a bit of cream.
Enjoy!

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