Mom, Try This

We have reached the stage of life where I now get recipes from my daughters as often as they use one of mine.  Jessica made this last week and said we needed to try it. She found the recipe in the current Southern Living magazine.

Since Daddy-O was available to do the grilling, it sounded like a perfect recipe for a Sunday night. (Or any other night.) It was. 

PORK TENDERLOIN with BALSAMIC STRAWBERRIES

     serves 4

1 (3-lb.) package pork tenderloins

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 teaspoons salt, divided

10 slices bacon

2 (8-oz) packages thin green beans

2 tablespoon olive oil, divided

4 garlic cloves, divided

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

1/3 cup strawberry preserves

1/2 cup quartered strawberries

1. Preheat grill to 400-500 degrees (high heat.) Sprinkle pork with pepper and 1 tsp. salt; wrap 5 bacon slices around each tenderloin, and secure with wooden toothpicks.

2. Place green beans, 1 tbsp. olive oil, 2 garlic cloves and remaining 1 tsp. salt in center of a 24x18-inch pice of heavy-duty aluminum foil. Toss to coat. Bring up side of foil over beans; double told top and side edges to seal,  making a packet.

3. Turn off one side of grill. Arrange pork and foil packet over unlit side, and grill, covered with grill lid, 25 to 30 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, mince remaining 2 garlic cloves; saute in remaining 1 tbsp. olive oil over medium-high heat 2 to 3 minutes or until golden. Add vinegar; bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Boil 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in preserves. Reserve half of mixture for basting. Stir fresh strawberries into remaining mixture.

5. Remove foil packet from grill; transfer pork to lit side. Baste pork with reserved strawberry mixture. Grill 5 minutes. Slice one tenderloin and serve with strawberry mixture. Save the other tenderloin for another meal. (I put ours in the freezer for later.)

The ingredient list and recipe directions look long. That's only because you have three "recipes" all at once—the pork, the beans, and the strawberry glaze. Trust me, it's easy. One note to keep in mind...all grills behave differently, so adjust as you need to. Our green beans were not done when the pork was ready. I just popped them into the microwave for a couple of minutes. Problem solved.