By: Ryan Johnson (Contributing Writer)
Jimmy’s Note: This is the first time this site has featured a “guest blogger”. Ryan (next door neighbor and friend) sent this to me for consideration. I decided that because this site is all about how others have inspired me to do this, it would only be right for me to post his write-up. However, I bear no responsibility for the content in general, or particularly Ryan’s (poor) attempt at humor.
This past Thursday night, I decided on my ride home from work that I wanted to cook dinner for whoever was going to be at the house, potentially two roommates and a girlfriend. I soon realized that everyone was home and hungry. Good news! Then I thought, as I normally do, “What would Jimmy do in this situation?” In my continuing efforts to impress the foodie next door, I thought maybe I could take a couple of pictures and make a submission to eatitatlanta.com. I went at it with great enthusiasm at this point, making exaggerated claims to my roommates who were just lounging in the living room. “I am going to rock y’alls world tonight!” “Screw you!” one of them yelled at me. Make your haters your motivators, right? Haha
Anyway, I was getting to work. Oh yeah, on my way home I also stopped at a liquor store to see if they had the new Southern sensation in which I had only heard rumors. I walked in and asked for some “Firefly.” The Indian lady working there rolled her eyes at me and pointed to a big display of bottles right in front. Oops. I picked up a bottle of Firefly Sweet Tea infused vodka. Firefly Vodka is infused with the only tea grown in the United States. The tea plantation is less than 5 miles from the distillery on Wadamalaw Island outside Charleston, South Carolina. I found out from the Indian lady that the Firefly literally just arrived in Atlanta last week. I made everyone a cocktail. Three-fourths vodka, one-fourth Minute Maid Lemonade. I garnished with a slice of lime. It was dangerous it was so delicious. Rave reviews followed first sips.
Now on to the tenderloin. I purchased a 2-pound Teriyaki-flavored pork tenderloin from Kroger about a week ago. It is very easy to cook. Just open the package and pop the log on a pan for 30 minutes at 400 degrees. Very tasty. This night I was inspired by a Men’s Health recipe for a stuffed loin. I thought it was a good variation on my usual loin dinner.
The first step is the butchering. The picture below is my attempt at butterflying the loin, the hardest part of the whole meal. Take a paring knife and split the meat down the center, cutting almost but not all the way through, and then open the halves so they lie flat. The shape should resemble a butterfly.
Next came the stuffing. The recipe calls for 1 cup reduced fat ricotta cheese, 2 cups chopped fresh baby spinach leaves, 1 jar (5 oz.) of artichoke hearts, drained and diced and a half teaspoon of dried basil. Leigh had arrived and offered to help. She started taking the stems off the spinach, in which she said she had much experience.
We decided to put the cheese, basil, spinach, and artichokes in the blender to chop it down even further to form a thick spread. I think a food processor would have worked better though.
I proceeded to stuff my meat. That’s what she said. The directions said to roll the meat around the stuffing. I quickly realized that that wasn’t going to work. I stuck bamboo spears through the sides of the meat to support it, but I ended up smearing the spread on top of the meat which worked just as well I think.
I drizzled some olive oil on top and sprinkled some salt and pepper over the whole thing. I roasted it for 30 minutes at 400 just like usual. The awesome tenderloin aroma filled the house almost immediately.
I cut the loin into about 10 pieces. The meat was moist and flavorful. That was to be expected though. I am a loin leader, and I’m not just talking about food here. The stuffing was soft and but had a richness to it. It was like a healthy cheesecake. Delicious. We plated it up with broccoli, mac and cheese and creamed brussel sprouts.
The dinner was topped off with some big chocolate chip cookies. Comfort food at its best. It was a great meal overall. Most people were complimentary. I think they were just happy that they had a no-effort-required meal. Hopefully this makes the cut, Jimmy. *crossing fingers*
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