Just another Sunday Dinner With the Fam

Not really…these BBQ’d pork tenderloins were SMOKIN’!!!!!!

I don’t review cookbooks, so much as act them out—so when I fell in love with Adam Perry Lang’s best seller Charred & Scruffed, I asked my cousins, who were visiting me for one last vacation this summer, to come on out to the Blue Ridge Mountains to taste some truly inspired PREMIUM barbecue. You could say we were the GRILLS next door; these ladies and cherished friends traveled far to be with me, so of course we had to make the most of it. When we get together it’s not about site seeing or shopping, it's about gabbing, gossiping and goofing around. What made our conversation flow better than anything? I’d say a few good sips of wine and a couple of over-the top meals helped.

Necessity is the mother of invention, and I needed—as a meat lover—to read something by a fellow carnivorous foodie.  While I used many of Adam Perry Lang’s techniques to create this most memorable dish, it did of course feature my own twists and tweaks. Sunday Best Grilled Tenderloins were born. It’s an entrée that’s going to star in an upcoming cookbook I’m writing about meals that are best reserved for those lazy Sundays after church. You know…those uber-laid back weekends where friends who identify with your love of fire, salt and meat gather round the grill. I love those Sundays. Before long you’ve got the whole neighborhood jealous of those heavenly wood smoke smells coming from your backyard.

My grilled tenderloins, pictured above, are EXTREME in flavor, tenderly brined and skillfully basted; these are simply the best pork tenderloins you will ever slice; served with creamed spinach and au gratin potatoes; in these you have a pig that tastes like a Kobe steer!

For side-dishes (what my muse Adam Perry Lang calles “co-stars”), I served creamy cheesy au gratin potatoes and velvety creamed spinach. My niece, present for this Extreme BBQ gave me this compliment: “No one does au gratin like J-Mo.” Aw, thanks Megan. Of the pork tenderloin, my sweet girl also enthused:

“It was juicy and tender with loads of flavor. She tried this new brine and board-dressing technique where you baste the brined meat on the grill with butter and garlic using a brush made of tied together sage, rosemary, thyme (and other herbs) then finely chop herb, garlic and the juice of a lemon on the board you leave the meat to rest on. Once you take the meat off the grill you roll the tenderloin(s) in the herbs and then let it rest and soak up the flavoring.”

Megan isn’t the only one I wanna thank. The whole crew deserves a round of applause for their tirelessness at clean-up. The dishes were sky-high after our over-the-top feast, but all of us cousins rose to the occasion like an enactment from The Big Chill, blasting “I’ve Had the Time of my Life” from my husband’s iPod . I didn’t know it was possible to dance and dry dishes at the same time—at least without breaking any. Thanks again for making everything sparkle after such a stupendously messy and delicious meal; it certainly wasn’t the only chargrilled indulgence that weekend: we also had (pictured above left) Grilled Rib Eye & asparagus, sautéed mushrooms, and spicy onion rings. For dessert there was ice box cake, and you’ll have to private message me to get my sister’s family recipe.

That’s all for now. Enjoy the food porn, and have a great rest of the week!