This yummy dinner kind of came together by accident. I was doing a grocery shop for all those little things we like to have on the boat but were out of...provisioning. But since I was in the store, I might as well pick out something for dinner. I eyed up a Hormel Parmesan Crust Porkloin and decided that would be easy enough to throw on the grill.
Now for a side item. Since we've gotten the new Cobb grill, Jeff has done a lot of the cooking which I greatly appreciate...but it means we've had a lot of corn on the cob and baked potatoes - those being the obvious choices for throwing on the grill. Not tonight, though, I was picking out something different. The Parmesan crust suggested Italian so I picked out a roasted garlic and cheese tortellini and went back to the produce section for a bag of baby spinach...that should make a nice side dish.
By the time I got home from work a little after 7, Jeff had the pork started. Time to relax, have a cocktail, and enjoy the breeze and the sunset. The great thing about this new grill is that you can cook very slowly with it if you chose and as neither of us were hungry, we took our time cooking the tenderloin. I'm sure you could just follow the directions on the label and cook it in the oven as suggested.
Jeff got out his newest guitar, and spent a very pleasant evening checking on the pork occasionally. But, now it's gotten late, and I'm still not hungry. We took the tenderloin off the grill and let it rest. I thin sliced it and made Jeff a sandwich...the rest could wait.
The next day, to make dinner quicker and easier, I went ahead a boiled the tortellini for a minute less than the lowest cooking time, drained them, gave them a pat of butter and a dash of salt, pepper, and garlic...then [after sneaking a few] threw them in the fridge for later.
Dinner was a cinch. I heated my large skillet with a bit of oil, ran a knife through the pork slices to make them bite size, and threw them in the hot oil. Next, the tortellini went right in on top. Shake, shake...sizzle, sizzle. After just a minute or 2, I reduced the heat, threw in a large scoop of minced garlic [the kind in oil], tossed in a couple handfuls of spinach and a pat of butter and put the lid on.
One minute later [just enough to be put a wilt on the spinach but not really cook it.] and I was putting dinner on a plate. A quick sprinkle of Parmesan cheese, and in Jeff's case, a bit of tomato sauce, and VIOLA!
Jeff told someone today that it was the best thing that he's eaten in months...since he's been doing most of the cooking, I'll take that as a compliment.
It was certainly good enough to fix again...whether or not we do it in the same manner will remain to be seen. I think all kinds of left-overs...steak, chicken, chops...could be used in the same manner with yummy results.
