A to Z Reflections

Earlier in the year I was so unwell I asked Alex J. Cavenaugh to remove me from the sign up list. He persuaded me to stay where I was saying he could always remove me at the last minute. Of course I got better and ended up being glad I had stayed. For me, writing 26 posts is no problem whatever. Doing some research on my chosen theme was not very difficult either. However, this year I did find all the visiting and returning comments to be exhausting. Especially at the beginning. I seemed to be on my computer all the time. Considering how few people I have to get in touch with compared to Alex, I feel I am whining about nothing. I know at least one person who couldn`t last because she had too many other things on her plate this month. She was stressing out and I advised her to quit. It is, after all, supposed to be fun. I gather, in fact that of our 1800 odd signatories we ended up with around 1500. That is still one heck of an achievement for an idea thought up be Arlee Bird some years ago. Also, I have every admiration for the hosts and their minions. I have been a minion twice and it is hard work but it`s what keeps the Challenge on the right track. Congratulations everyone and more congratulations to those who finished the challenge. There is a linky list for us to connect to for our Reflections Posts at the A to Z blog.

A thought that occurred to me towards the end of the Challenge, people should always name the person to whom they are responding. Especially those who have dozens of commenters. A simple yes, or haha, or isn’t it? Or even a longer reply isn’t much good unless you know it was in response to your comment.  Most people do use names, but there are many who do not and I tend to get lists of responses from one blogger or another and I have no way of telling if any were replying to me or not and quite honestly I don’t want to read through dozens of replies to other people.

Many will now start off on the A to Z road trip. I have never done this as I find I have enough to do with all the blogs I follow now. Sorry.

It so happens I have some pork tenderloins in the freezer and this recipe appealed to me.

Pork Tenderloin Smothered in Onion and Mustard

Contributed to Food and Wine by Grace Parisi

• SERVINGS: 4

Grace Parisi was thinking about the typical ingredients in a German beer-hall kitchen—onions, mustard, dill—when she created this luscious dish of pounded pork tenderloins.

Ingredients

1. Two 12-ounce pork tenderloins, cut into 2-inch lengths and pounded 1 inch thick
2. Salt
3. Freshly ground pepper
4. 1 teaspoon all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
5. 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
6. 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
7. 1 large onion, very thinly sliced
8. 1 tablespoon grainy mustard
9. 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
10. 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill
11. Buttered noodles, for serving

1. Season the pork with salt and pepper and dust with flour. In a medium, deep skillet, melt the butter in the olive oil. Add the pork and cook over high heat, turning once, until lightly browned, about 3 minutes. Transfer the pork to a plate.
2. Add the onion to the skillet, cover and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 10 minutes. Stir in the mustard and the 1 teaspoon of flour and cook for 1 minute. Add the chicken broth and bring to a boil. Nestle the pork in the onion sauce. Cover and simmer over moderate heat until the pork is cooked through, about 8 minutes. Transfer the pork to plates. Stir the chopped dill into the sauce and spoon over the pork. Serve with buttered noodles.

Have a great day