Prosciutto Wrapped Pork Tenderloin with Roasted Root Veggies, Poached Pears, and a Red Wine Sauce

This is a great holiday meal! It is also a favorite of the band Jars of Clay. Enjoy! :)

Serves 4

1.5 lb Pork Tenderloin

8 Thinly sliced pieces of prosciutto

2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped

2 medium baking potatoes, peeled and chopped

2 large parsnips, peeled and chopped

2 T olive oil

4 green pears, peeled, quarter, and cored

1 bottle red wine

4 cloves

2 sticks of cinnamon

1 tangerine, zest and juice

2 dollops butter

Salt and Pepper

Preheat oven to 350.

Season the pork tenderloin all over with salt and pepper. (Be careful not to use too much salt because the prosciutto has salt in it as well.) Wrap the tenderloin in the prosciutto all the way, over lapping to make sure that as it bakes and the prosciutto shrikes it does to expose the tenderloin.

Pour the bottle of wine in a medium sauce pan add clove, cinnamon, zest and juice from the tangerine. Place pan over medium-high heat and bring to a simmer then add a pinch of salt and pepper.

Place the root veggies in a large roasting pan and the olive oil a t salt and pepper. Toss to combine well. Put the roasting pan in the oven and cook for 15 mins. Then take the pan out of the oven and place the tenderloin on top of the veggies and return to the oven.

Add the pears to the wine mixture and lower the heat if needed (you do not want the wine to boil. Poach the pears for 15 mins then pull the pears out of the pan with a slotted spoon and set aside.

Bring the wine to a boil and reduce by half then lower the heat to a simmer. Blast the tenderloin every 5 mins. Roast the veggies and the tenderloin for 25 mins. Take out of the oven and place the pork on a cutting board to rest. Place the pears back in the wines for 2 mins then remove the pears and keep them warm. Add the butter to the wine sauce and make sure it combines by whisking it. Slice the pork and serve with veggies, pears, and wine sauce. Enjoy!

Baked Pasta

This is my take on baked pasta. The freshness of this baked pasta makes it a favorite of my friends and me. The flavor is amazing and it is so easy to make. You can also add proteins if you like. Shrimp is great or your leftover turkey. ;) Have fun cooking and Enjoy!

1 box of good quality penne pasta

Pint of grape tomatoes, halved

1 red onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

8 oz. fresh feta, crumbled

Juice and zest of 1 lemon

1 1/2 t dried oregano

1 T Olive oil

1/2 t Salt; 1 t for pasta water

Pepper, freshly ground

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

You want to start boiling your water for the pasta. Once the water is boiling put in the salt and then the pasta. Put a large frying pan over medium-high heat and when the pan gets hot add the olive oil, tomatoes, onion, and a pinch of salt and two grinds of pepper. Sauté for 5 mins then add the garlic and cook for another mins. Check your pasta you want it to be al dente because it will cook more in the over. When pasta is ready drain and pour it into a deep baking dish. (Glass or ceramic and better then metal) Ad your tomato mixture and toss. Then add half of the feta and toss again. Then to the top add the rest of the feta, lemon juice and zest, dried oregano and bake in the over for until the feta is melting and turning brown and juices are bubbling in the middle. The serve and ENJOY!