Artists talk about their fear of the blank canvas. Writers dread the blank page. Food bloggers’ stomaches churn at the sight of a blank grocery list. You see, a hefty list means there are more than likely a few good, what I call “Blog-Worthy” (Ala a spin on Elaine’s love life in an old Seinfeld episode :) recipes hidden amongst the bread, milk, eggs, and fruit.
Like all “artists” I prefer to offer original recipes – and if they’re not original, they’re usually seriously tweaked. If I’m planning on posting it, I rarely prepare another blogger’s recipe straight from the computer screen.
It was a different story a few days ago. You see, I’m behind on my bloggy cooking. Generally, I try to stay at least three recipes ahead of my blog posts so I have a bit of a cushion should life get crazy. A few weeks ago – life did just that and I blew through my safety net…and haven’t yet caught up.
As I sat woefully in front of that blank grocery list, my Foodbuzz email highlighting their top 9 recipes of the day popped up. “What the H-E-Double Hockey Sticks!” I thought. ”That Indonesian pork tenderloin from Kitchen Confidante looks fantastic.” I scribbled down the ingredients, hopped in my Bug and bopped off to store.
Now – what modifications to make? As I stood in front of my laptop perched on the kitchen counter, I debated the inclusion of the peanut butter. I’ve had some nasty sesame noodles with peanut sauce in my day and I’m always hesitant to toss peanut butter into anything savory. Nevertheless, in the spirit of adventure (and blogger brain freeze) I tossed it into the bowl. The only change I made in the entire recipe was substituting Sambal Oelek for the crushed red pepper flakes. The crushed red pepper would work just fine; but since I had a more authentic ingredient, I chose to use that instead.
The verdict? Utterly Fantastic! – savory, slightly sweet – with a mild kick. The peanut butter was a wayyyy back in the background flavor that complimented nicely – plus, since even reduced fat peanut butter contains at least some fat, I suspect it acts as a bit of an insurance policy against over cooking / drying pork tenderloin for those of us who grew up terrified of the dreaded trichonosis.
I doubled the recipe, which meant a trip to the gym for me rather than cooking dinner another night – and if there are any leftovers remaining after THAT, I’m pondering Indonesian salad options. Yum!
Sadly, today I find myself right back in the same blogger boat - desperately trying to get ahead cooking fun, healthy, and delicious recipes ”blog-worthy” recipes. Off I toddle to my stack of cookbooks and magazines :)
Ingredients
- 1 1-lb pork tenderloin
- 2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons reduced-fat creamy peanut butter
- 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- Vegetable cooking spray
- 1/4 cup mango chutney
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
- Trim fat from tenderloin.
- Combine soy sauce, peanut butter, red pepper flakes and garlic, stirring well.
- Spread mixture over tenderloin.
- Place on a rack in a roasting pan coated with cooking spray.
- Insert meat thermometer into thickest part of tenderloin, if desired.
- Bake, uncovered, for 25 minutes.
- Brush tenderloin with mango chutney and bake for an additional 10 minutes, or until meat thermometer registers 160°F, basting often with chutney.
- Remove from oven and let stand 10 minutes before slicing.
