Balsamic Glased Pork Loin and Parmesan Risotto

As you might be aware from my last post, my computer is on it's way out.  I'm pretty sad about it but we really had a good run.  We made it through the end of undergrad and all the way through graduate school and applying for tons of jobs.  Apple and I are buddies but I'm getting pumped for my new computer which I have been told is my birthday present.  I'm totally cool with it since I thought I was getting a sweet necklace from Stella and Dot which is already in my closet. Nice how things worked out this year for my birthday....

Anywho, since my computer has been so unpredictable so I didn't think I would be able to post anything until the new one arrived.  Then, it decided to throw me a bone and let me upload these last few pictures.  You can be happy it cooperated because this pork loin is out of this world.  So simple yet quite perfect for entertaining--or stuffing your face the Saturday after Thanksgiving with your husband.  To each their own.  

I can't forget about the risotto though.  It is the perfect match with the sweet and spice rubbed pork tenderloin.  It also re-heats beautifully which is good considering this makes enough for a small army.  

Enjoy these two recipes because I'm not 100% sure when I will be up and running.  Ciao for now! 

Musical Selection:   Your Love by: Nicki Minaj.  Mr. Schwartz and I were watching Ms. Minaj's countdown last night and it.was.awesome. 

Sart by making the rub.  Mix together black pepper, poltry seasoning, salt and a few cloves of chopped garlic.

Appetizing huh?

Rub it all over your pork tenderloin.

Spray the liner of your crock pot with cooking spray and place the tenderloin in the middle.  Add about a 1/4 of a cup of water.  You could totally make two tenderloins at once if you have a big enough crock pot.

Cook it on low for several hours.  As you can see I put mine in at 11:55 am.  I believe I let it cook until 4:00 or so and then I began working on the glaze.

The recipe calls for 1/4 of a cup of balsamic vinegar.  This is all I had left in my bottle so I dumped it in...

And topped if off with a little Worcestershire sauce.

I poured the vinegar and Worcestershire sauce into a small sauce pan along with brown sugar and corn starch.  Mr. Schwartz did say that he thought the glaze was a bit sweet and I would have to agree with him.  I would reduce the brown sugar in half next time (see the recipe for exact amounts).

I also added a few shakes of soy sauce.

And brought it to a bubble on the stove while stirring constantly.  You do not want this to bubble over, believe me, balsamic vinegar + corn starch + brown sugar= stove top disaster.

Okay, here is the tenderloin after about 4 hours of cooking.  By this time my house smelled absolutely fantastic.  But then....

Came the glaze.  Oh my goodnes, this sticky glaze is fantastic.  Sorry for the blurry picture but you will want to glaze the tenderloin about every 20 minutes for the last hour of cooking.  So 4 hours + an additional hour with three glazes within that hour.  Got it?

Then you will have this beauty.  Wow.

During the last 1/2 hour of the pork cooking you will want to get started on your risotto.  Chop up one medium onion.

Add it to a large frying pan with a good amount of butter.

Chop up a few cloves of garlic...

Add that to the party in the pan.

Sautee until the onions are translucent.  Don't skimp on this, you don't want crunchy onions in your risotto.  If you are running short on time, mince your onions even smaller and it will shorten the cooking time.

Next add the Arbario rice.  Yes, I do believe this type of rice is required.  You should be able to find it in your local grocery store by all the other rices.  I have found it at both Cub Foods and Trader Joe's.

Toss the rice, onions and garlic around and let toast for about a minute.  Then add 1/2 cup of wine.

Let the wine bubble away.  If you can recall from the previous risottos I have made (Sausage and Red Pepper Risotto and Spring Risotto    ) you need to wait until all of the liquid is gone to add more.

When you pull your spoon across the bottom of the pan like this....the two sides shouldn't come together.  Then you know its time to add more liquid.

Ladle in one cup or so of chicken broth at a time.  You will need to have a pot of chicken broth simmering on the stove next to your frying pan.

This is what it will look like right after you pour in a ladle.  I keep the burner on medium and stir pretty constantly while making risotto.  I promise it is worth all of the babysitting.

Slowly the rice will absorb the liquid. As you can see, it is not ready for another ladle yet because the two sides are coming together.

Here you can see it is time for another ladle.

When you have about 10 minutes left or about 3 ladles left of broth, take the  tenderloin out of the crock pot and place it on a cutting board to rest.  Resting will allow the juices to stay in the meat and not end up on your cutting board.  This keeps your tenderloin nice and moist--no one likes a dry piece of meat.

Then, get the most adorable, freckled-handed stud of a man (not required but definitely preferred) to carve up your meat.

Pour in the last ladle of broth and give the rice a taste.  You want to make sure that it still has some texture but is not hard in the middle.

Let it bubble away for a few more minutes and add the parmesan cheese.  Stir it up.

Oh my heavens.  There it is in all of its porky glory.  I drizzled a bit of the glaze over the top.  Be sure to not over drizzle as this stuff is strong....but oooh so tasty.

There is the risotto, creamy and perfect.  

There it is, the whole plated meal.  As you can see I served green beans as well.  Super difficult to make--Steam Fresh microwaved baby.  Come on, give me a break I made tenderloin and risotto.  

Enjoy kids! 

Balsamic Glazed Pork Tenderloin 

Ingredients:

1 (2 pound) boneless pork tenderloin 

1 teaspoon poultry seasoning 

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1/2 cup water

Glaze

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1/8 cup balsamic vinegar

1/8 cup Worcestershire sauce 

1/4 cup water

2 tablespoons soy sauce

Directions:

Combine poultry seasoning, salt, pepper and garlic. Rub over roast. Place in slow cooker with 1/2 cup water. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. About 1 hour before roast is done, combine ingredients for glaze in small sauce pan. Heat and stir until mixture thickens. Brush roast with glaze 2 or 3 times during the last hour of cooking. Serve with remaining glaze sparingly drizzled over the pork. 

Recipe adapted from: here 

Parmesan Risotto

Ingredients

• 4-5 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 1/2 cups Arborio rice
• 1 cup dry white wine, such as Pinot Blanc or Sauvignon Blanc
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan, plus more for serving

Direction

In a medium saucepan, bring the broth to a simmer and keep warm over low heat.

In a separate frying pan, melt  the butter over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring with a wooden spoon, until the onion is transparent, about 5 minutes. Add the rice and cook, stirring, until it is well coated with the butter and starts to turn translucent, about 2 minutes. Add the wine and simmer gently until all the liquid is absorbed, 3 to 5 minutes.

Ladle 1/2 cup of the warm broth into the rice mixture and simmer, stirring frequently, until the broth is absorbed. Repeat, adding 1/2 cup of broth at a time, until the rice is cooked through but still firm, 20 to 25 minutes total.

Add  the salt, pepper, and 1/2 cup of Parmesan. Stir to incorporate. Adjust seasoning with more salt to taste. Serve immediately, topping with additional Parmesan.

Recipe from: here