Southwestern Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Roasted Sweet Potato Fries and Fried Zucchini

Now that the weather is warming up I find my self using my grill nearly every evening after work to whip up a nice dinner. One of my favorite meats to cook on the grill is pork tenderloin, which is a lean, tender and tasty cut of pork. Since tenderloin is so lean, I do a couple of things to make sure it really stands out and does not become dry and bland. Before heading out the door in the morning I coat two pork tenderloins in a wet spice rub marinade (dry spices and oil and lime juice) and leave them in the refrigerator to get to know one another for the day. I get home from work, turn them around and let them sit out on the counter to come up to room temperature for about an hour while I go exercise. After a workout I light the grill, prep some veggies for a couple of side dishes and I have a hot, healthy, and delicious dinner on the table in no time. Since I cooked two tenderloins I also have a whole one left over for a second unique meal the next night (pork carnitas). More on that next time. For now, let me show you how I make the rub, cook the meat, as well as make spiced sweet potato fries and some crispy fried zucchini.

Grilled Pork Tenderloin

Ingredients:

• 2 pork tenderloins
• 2 Tbsp cooking oil
• juice and zest of one lime
• chili powder, ancho chili powder, smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, oregano, black pepper

Directions:

Place tenderloins in a glass dish or zip-lock bag and add a few good shakes of each of the spices, substituting others if you wish. Add the oil, lime juice and zest and rub all over the tenderloins so they are well coated. Marinade for at least a couple of hours in the refrigerator.

Preheat your grill over a high flame and brush the grill with a little oil or cooking spray. Lay the tenderloins on the grill and cover. I aim to turn the tenderloins every 4 minutes or so, rotating on 4 sides to get nice grill marks. Because the tenderloins are usually tapered (thicker on one end) and because grills often have uneven heat, you'll have to strategically arrange the meat every few minutes to attempt even cooking. After I get a good sear on all surfaces I reduce the heat to low and cook until I get an internal temperature of 150 degrees. I then remove the tenderloin from the grill to a plate and cover with foil for 5-10 minutes to let rest before slicing. I'm looking for a slightly pink center so that it's safe to eat and still very tender and juicy. With a little practice you can achieve this without a meat thermometer, but you are unsure I'd recommend using one. Slice the meat thick slices on the bias and serve. After slicing season the meat with some kosher salt.


Sweet Potato Fries

Rinse and scrub 2 sweet potatoes (peel off any dark spots) and cut into french fry size. Lay onto a baking sheet and toss with a 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil and a few shakes of chili powder. Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for about 20-25 minutes, turning after 15 minutes. Watch carefully at the end as the high sugar content means these can burn easily.Remove from the oven and season with freshly cracked pepper and kosher salt.


 Fried Zucchini


Here is a super simple way to give plain green zucchini some extra appeal by giving your dish some texture and contrast. Simply slice the zucchini into round slices or into long spears. Season with a little seasoning salt and dredge in plain old corn starch. This makes for a very light, tempura-like batter. Heat 1-2 tablespoons of vegetable oil in a nonstick skillet and get it nice and hot. Remove the zucchini from the corn starch and saute in the hot oil. Cook on one side until golden brown, 3-4 minutes and cook on the other side for a couple f minutes. Drain on a paper towel and season lightly with a little seasoned salt.

Chicken Breast Roll-Ups

Last night I cooked what used to be a go-to meal for me, but also one I had not made as long as I could remember. In fact my wife said I'd never made it for her and we've been living together for four years now. The meal I'm referring to are chicken breast roll-ups. They're a pretty simple recipe, one I got some years ago out of the original volume of the Downhomer (now Downhome) Household Almanac and Cookbook ( http://www.shopdownhome.com/item.php?id=205). Basically that recipe called for chicken breasts pounded flat, dipped in a mixture of melted butter and Worcestershire Sauce, breaded in traditional Newfoundland savory dressing, tucked into a roll, and baked. These are quite tasty, and I especially loved them served with scalloped potatoes.

For some reason yesterday afternoon, this recipe popped into my head, and when I got home from work I was anxious to give it a try...but this time with a little twist. One thing I wanted to do was make use of things I already had on hand, for both the chicken roll-ups and for the side dishes. For the chicken, I knew I wanted to use savory, and I also knew I wanted to spice up the marinade. I had some fresh broccoli, as well as a large sweet potato and some Yukon gold spuds in the pantry. I also wanted to play along with the traditional savory dressing. I love using panko, but I felt that all Panko wasn't what I wanted, so I made fresh bread crumbs as well, out of some country potato bread I had left from this past weekend (I now refer to potato bread as the "where have you been all my life" bread..well I say the same thing about sourdough too). Lastly, I had some artisan cheeses leftover from a party this weekend and I snuck (to sneak) a piece of Gruyere into each roll-up. Anyways...here's what I came up with.

Chicken Roll-Ups

4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, pounded to about a 1/2 or 3/4 inch thick

In a bowl or Pyrex dish combine the following
- 3 Tbsp Olive Oil
- 1 Tbsp Italian Salad Dressing
- 1 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
- 1 Tbsp White Wine
- 1 clove of garlic, minced
- 1/2 tsp chili flakes
- a dash of salt and pepper

Add the chicken breasts in the marinade and leave for about an hour.

For the breadcrumb dressing/coating, combine
-1 cup Panko breadcrumbs
- 1 cup fresh breadcrumbs
- 1 Tbsp dried summer savory, rubbed in the palm of your hand
- 1 Tbsp fresh parsley, minced
- 1/2 tsp of fresh black pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and lightly grease and Pyrex dish large enough to hold 4 roll-ups.

One at a time, dredge the chicken breasts in the breadcrumb mixture. Try and get an even coast but some bare batches are fine. Lay a slice of cheese in the middle and roll up the breast. Lay seam side down in the dish and press some more of the breadcrumbs onto the top so that it has a complete crust. Repeat for the other three chicken breasts. Bake for approximately 25-30 minutes, or until internal temperature is 160 degrees and inner juices run clear.

Sweet Potato and Gold Potato Dollar Chips

For the spuds, I pealed 1 large sweet potato and 3 large Yukon Gold's, which gave me about an even number of chips. I sliced the spuds into thick round chips (think thick potato chips) that were about a 1/4 to a 1/3 of an inch thick. I call these dollar chips, and I've heard that around Newfoundland. I'm not sure what they're called elsewhere (these are also some good pan fried in shortening in a cast iron pan...that's the way Mom used to cook them for me for a nice treat when I'd come home for lunch from school some days). After soaking in water for a bit, I drained them and added a few "glugs" of vegetable oil, and seasoned them with 1 Tbsp of savory (I wanted to bring the savory into a couple of elements of the dish), 1 tsp of garlic powder, and salt and pepper.

To cook the potatoes I separated them onto their own baking sheet since the sweet potatoes cook quicker. I set them into the oven while I was prepping the chicken breast, and I hauled the sweet potatoes out after about 10-12 minutes, gave them a flip, and let them rest on the stove top. Once the chicken was done I popped them in for another few minutes to brown the other side. The Yukon Golds took almost as long as the chicken.


This was a super easy, and delicious meal! I got back to my roots and held true to my philosophy of keeping it simple, using what you have, seasoning it well and making it tasty!