Pork Tenderloin @ MindSay 
What better way to spend an evening than laptopping by the glow of the Christmas tree lights while watching trashy celebrity news, eating jujubes, kittycat cuddling and warming one's feet by the fire? It's that kind of nasty rain-soaked night that leaves your bones cold long after you've come inside. I woke up with a headache that Tylenol hasn't quite slain -- though it's taken the edge off, I can still feel the pain lurking on the sidelines, plotting its return. It occurred to me that it's probably the lingering effects of the wine I drank last night -- which is pretty sad, since I only had a couple small glasses.
On Wednesday nights my roommate and I have our "date night," which consists of having dinner and watching America's Next Top Model. We take turns cooking and buying wine with the rules that we have to try a new recipe every week and must give the non-cook the opportunity to veto the choice in case it's something they really hate (so far not a problem, since neither of us have met many foods we don't like). cricker81 outdid herself last night with Pork Tenderloin With Onion-Balsamic Sauce and light scalloped potatoes. Yum!
Working a split shift tomorrow with YMCA volunteering in between -- which means 14 hours divvied up between 3 gyms. Huzzah! With all that gym-time on my hands I better damn well get a good workout in -- I tried this afternoon, but my aching head and general wine-related weakness made it a write-off. Between a half-hearted half hour on the elliptical, a few lazy crunches and the feeling that one more push-up might result in total organ failure, I've had better days on the fitness front. C'est la vie!
1 whole pork tenderloin, about 24 ounces
6 ounces fresh baby spinach (1 bag)
6 ounces fontina cheese
5 ounces sun dried tomatoes in olive oil
Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
Red Wine Reduction Sauce
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons shallots, finely chopped
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 cup red wine (can be made with any hearty red, or use something sweeter and richer if you prefer. Port or marsala wine will complement pork very nicely.)
1 tablespoon veal demiglace (available in a jar from specialty stores), diluted in 1 cup hot water
Stuffed Pork Tenderloin:
Sautee spinach in a covered saucepan with 2 tablespoons water until it is wilted. Drain and cool. Butterfly the pork tenderloin: Slice the length of the tenderloin, so that it unrolls with an even 1/2-inch to 1/4-inch thickness — like unrolling a Ho-Ho or a Yodel pastry. Pound the tenderloin even thinner between two sheets of cellophane wrap. If you don’t have a pounder, use the flat bottom of a small, heavy cooking pan. Remove cellophane and spread the spinach, fontina and tomatoes along the whole length of the piece of meat. Roll the tenderloin up, and hold it together with kitchen string (in a pinch, use toothpicks). Rub the entire outside of the roast with salt and pepper. Wrap it in cellophane if you will be cooking it later. [You can prepare the roast up to 1 day ahead, as far as this step]
Preheat oven to 400F. If roast was prepared in advance, take it out of the refrigerator and cellophane while oven is heating. Place olive oil in an oven-proof skillet over medium-high heat. Add pork loin and brown on all sides. Place in oven and roast for 10-15 minutes — until meat reaches an internal temperature of 150F. Remove meat from pan and let stand, loosely covered with foil, 5-15 minutes. Slice the roast diagonally, and pour the sauce over the pieces.
Red Wine Reduction Sauce:
Melt butter in small saucepan over medium heat. Add shallots and cook until golden, about 3 minutes. Increase heat to moderate-high, and add vinegar. Cook another 2 minutes, and add wine. When sauce is reduced by about half, add the diluted demiglace. Cook until the liquid volume is again reduced by half.
Note: This sauce takes 20-25 minutes to prepare. It can be prepared a day ahead if you prefer, and reheated over moderate-low heat.
