Pork Tenderloin with Dumplings and Sauerkraut.
Nothing too earth shattering, right? Apparently, when my Grandma Mary makes it, it is. I know this not from experience but from stories and raves from my Mom. Grandma Mary, in true Grandma form, has no recipe. "A little bit of this, a little bit of that...", my Mom would say she said. (Maybe that's where I get it from!) So, finally, not too long ago, Mom found a recipe for dumplings she thought would work and made her meal. If I remember correctly, she said it was great, almost as good as Grandma's.
So, I guess my goal was for mine to be almost as good as Mom's? That's tricky. I'm sure everyone knows how it is when you try to cook a family recipe. Delicious as it may be, it rarely comes out as good as it does when made by the person who made it before you. My Mom's meatballs come to mind immediately. Dad's chocolate chip pancakes fit the same bill.
For the pork and dumplings (let's be honest, the sauerkraut came from a can), I didn't have a measuring stick. I had never eaten my Mom or Grandma's recipe for this particular meal. I just had to go by the awesome reviews it was given while I was growing up.
In the end, it was very, very tasty. Really though, what's not to love? Pork tenderloin? Good. Sauerkraut? Good. Potato dumplings? Not sure if they were what a dumpling is supposed to be, but good. I don't think you can really go wrong with any of the ingredients.
For my pork tenderloin I season it with salt, pepper, and Lawry's on each side. I melt butter into a little olive oil and get it smokin' hot in a skillet on the stove. Then, the pork is seared until brown on each side. I put it into a 375 degree oven. You'll all be shocked to know that I think I cooked it for 25 minutes.
For the dumplings I googled multiple techniques and went with the simplest, tastiest-sounding one I could find. For my recipe, I made mashed potatoes, erring on the side of them being softer/creamier than usual. I then mixed in an egg and some flour. Maybe 1/2 to 3/4 of a cup to 1 1/4 - 1 1/2 cups of mashed potatoes. Basically, I wanted it to start resembling a dough consistency without losing all of its fluffy goodness. I brought water to boil in a pot while rolling out the potato "dough". I ended up just molding little, well, dumplings I guess. They were nothing too neat or fancy. I then dropped them in the boiling water. Once they floated to the top, I scooped them out and drained them on a paper towel.
For the sauerkraut and gravy...just follow the directions on the packet. Hah! Really though. That's all I've got on that front. I like the sauerkraut with salt, pepper, and a little butter. You do what you think is right.
Technically, I think I was supposed to mix the dumplings into the sauerkraut, but, in this case, I didn't want my food mixed before I mixed it. Confused yet? I ate bites of it all together, I just didn't want it mixed all together on the plate. Normally, I'm all for that kind of thing, but I wanted gravy on the dumplings...not the sauerkraut.
Yum.
The turkey melts were great too, and they were so easy. Heat up some smoked deli turkey. Melt butter onto a griddle. Lay a slice of sourdough down on the preheated griddle/skillet/etc and pile on the turkey, a tomato slice or two, and a slice of Monterey Jack cheese. Top it off with another slice of sourdough and cook until the bread is toasty and the cheese is melted. Serve with ranch dressing for dipping.
(Insert Turkey Melt photo here.)
Folks, you can't go wrong with either of these.
