Christmas Dinner for Two in Less Than an Hour #Christmas #Dinner

With Christmas only a brief four-day anymore, we're sure you'll be ready for some quiet time after the new year rolls around. If you're not into the large crowd during the busy this holiday, may we suggest creating restaurant style dinner at home instead? We draw our list of 5 items to keep on hand to cheer of the week for doing that.

The star of the menu? Juicy pork tenderloin stuffed with sautéed red onions, white wine poached pear and blue cheese for the main course. To simplify the rest of the food, we store the appetizers and desserts are simple. Breadsticks wrapped in prosciutto couldn't be easier, and also look great displayed on a table. And, crowd favorite ice cream affogato Polishes off the meal on a sweet note.

Simple details such as simple white wreaths expressed with sprigs rosemary and glass bottled mineral water will help create a romantic atmosphere without being too fancy. For Christmas or new years, your significant other will appreciate the time you've put into this dinner, but we will not tell that it takes less than an hour! 

Pork Tenderloin Stuffed with Shallots, Poached Pears, and Blue Cheese

Total time: 45 minutes | Difficulty: Medium

Ingredients:

• 1.5 pounds pork tenderloin
• 2 Bosc pears (2 cups once diced)
• 2 medium shallots (1 cup once sliced)
• 1 tbsp Salted Butter
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 cups white wine 
• 1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese
• 3 sprigs of rosemary
• 2 1/2 feet of butcher’s twine
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1/2 c. chicken broth

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 425 degrees. Dice pears into small 1/4 inch squares. Thinly slice the shallot. 

2. Melt butter in a Dutch oven or an oven-safe pan over medium heat. Add the shallots and 1/4 teaspoon Salt and 1/8 teaspoon black pepper. Sauté for 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the pear and the white wine. Let steadily simmer until the liquid has absorbed and the pears are translucent for about 12 minutes.

3. While the pears simmer, slice the pork tenderloin horizontally down the center. Slice almost all the way through the tenderloin, and then lay it flat.

4. Once the pears and shallots are done simmering, generously pile the mixture into the center of the tenderloin.

5. Pile the crumbled blue cheese on top of the shallots and poached pears. Cut the butcher’s twine into 6 inch pieces. Then, press the shallots, pears, and blue cheese down and pull the tenderloin together, top with the rosemary, and tie with the butcher’s twine. The easiest technique is to slide the butcher’s twine underneath the pork and then pull the pork together and tie it closed. Cut the excess twine after tying it. Top the pork with the remaining salt and pepper.

6. Heat olive oil in the same Dutch oven or pan (no need to wash it) over medium high heat. Once the pan is hot, add the pork tenderloin and sear for 2-3 minutes until it has browned. Rotate the tenderloin in the pan 2-3 times letting all sides brown.

7. Place a lid on the pot, and put the tenderloin in the oven to bake. Let the tenderloin bake for 12 minutes, or until it reaches 145 degrees with a meat thermometer.

8. Remove the tenderloin from the pot and place it on a cutting board to rest. The tenderloin needs to rest for 5 minutes before slicing it. This keeps the juices in the meat making it tender.

9. Pour the chicken broth into the pot used to cook the tenderloin. Simmer over medium heat, scrapping up the browned bits with a wooden spoon. Let reduce and thicken for 5 minutes creating a sauce.
10. Slice the tenderloin, removing the butcher’s twine as you go. Serve with the sauce poured over the meat.