Pork Wellington...This Too Shall Pass

I am still on my week of packing, prayers and patience...they are all a process.  Whenever I am feeling weighed down (and I don't mean from the constant ice cream sandwiches), I just tell myself, "this too shall pass".

The towers of boxes are getting bigger and the available walking floor space throughout the house is getting smaller.  In my ever quest of being a neat freak, you can imagine that moving a house and office and packing is starting to wear thin on my ever bubbly personality.

Not to worry though, in 12 hours I will be sitting on a plane with a Mimosa in one hand and a Mai Tai in the other...for the next 10 days!!

Before the kitchen was packed up I tried out this creation with a sheet of puff pastry that needed used in the freezer.

Pork Wellington

1 pkg. pork tenderloin (2-3 pounds)

For the marinade:
4 garlic cloves, crushed or minced
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 T. country dijon mustard (whole grain mustard)
4 T. honey
2 T. fresh orange juice
1 T. finely chopped fresh rosemary OR herbs de provence
freshly ground pepper to taste
3 T. olive oil

1 sheet of frozen puff pastry (thaw 30 minutes before ready to use)

Preheat oven to 350 F. Take tenderloin out of package. Rinse and pat dry.

Place in a 9×13-inch Pyrex sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.

In a measuring cup or in a medium bowl, whisk together all the ingredients except for the olive oil. Then slowly drizzle the olive oil while still whisking.

Pour the mixture over the tenderloins and put into preheated oven. Bake, uncovered, for 30 minutes, basting after 15 minutes.

After the first 30 minutes have passed, remove the pork from oven (continue to keep oven at 350 degrees.)

Place puff pastry on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet.  Transfer the pork from the Pyrex dish to the puff pastry and wrap completely. Reserve the marinade for sauce.

Return pastry covered pork to oven and bake another 30 minutes, until pastry is cooked through.

While pork continues to bake, pour the marinade from the Pyrex to a sauce pan and simmer until reduced by half.

Once pork is  removed from the oven, allow to rest on a cutting board for about 10 minutes before slicing.

Spoon the pan sauce over the tenderloin medallions and enjoy!

** I served this with Parmesan Risotto.

Loaded Hasselback Potatoes...Hassle of Packing

There is a wonderful saying that I have been reiterating to myself over and over and over again lately...   "God does not put anything in front of you that He thinks you cannot handle."

This has been a very interesting past week, to say the least.....

We learned two weeks ago that the owner of our house wants to take advantage of the strong housing market here and sell the house we have been living in for the past 18 months when we arrived in Colorado.

Oh, and we have 30 days to find another house and move (did I mention the insane real estate market right now - houses are selling and renting in about one hour after they hit the market)...and all of this is going down as we are trying to take our first family vacation in ten years together, this week...oh, and did I also mention that my company has decided to move our offices and accomplish a complete tenant improvement remodel in 30 days and I have to move both my house and office the same weekend.

That being said we are juggling packing for a trip, packing a house and I get to add in packing up an office as well, just to add to the fun.  Breathe in....Breathe out.

Can I just say one thing...there will be many adult beverages consumed for 9 days while I am laying (or passed out) on the beach in Hawaii.  I will also be on a zipline for the first time in my life and since I am terrified of heights, I can scream out all my tension and packing stress throughout the rain forrest.

These potatoes practically cook themselves if you find yourself trying to squeeze in preparing dinner while packing.

Loaded Hasselback Potatoes

4 russet potatoes
1/4 cup unsalted butter, thinly sliced
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
4 slices bacon, diced
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1/4 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons chopped chives

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Using a sharp knife, make crosswise cuts in each potato, about 1/8-inch apart, stopping about 1/4 inch from the bottom. Add butter slices to between the cuts; season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Transfer potatoes to a baking sheet. Place into oven and bake until the outsides are browned and crisp, about 1 hour. Top with cheese and bake until melted, an additional 5 minutes.

Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add bacon and cook until brown and crispy, about 6-8 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate.

Serve potatoes immediately, topped with sour cream, bacon and chives.

**  I served these with beef fillet medallions, sauteed mushrooms and a portabella demi-glace sauce.