The best thing I ever ate

While Chris and I were in Savannah for Thanksgiving, his mom took me and Daeon to a cooking demonstration at Kitchens on the Square downtown, which I mentioned in my post, Giving Thanks.  I also mentioned that our instructor made an amazing bacon-wrapped pork center loin with a brown sugar glaze.  I finally made it this week, with much success (I swear! ask Chris!), so I wanted to share the recipe here.  Try it! I promise you will love it!

Bacon-Wrapped Pork Center Loin

Ingredients
1 (1-lb.) pork center loin (I used a pork tenderloin because that's all the store had)
2 tablespoons course stone ground mustard
3-4 bacon slices, cut in half crosswise

For the brown sugar glaze:
1 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons flour
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard (I didn't have any dry mustard, so I substituted with a little more than 1 tsp. of the course ground mustard)
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves (this is really important--it gives the glaze its distinctive flavor, so don't omit it)


Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F
2. Using a silicone basting brush, evenly coat the loin with the mustard (you can do this ahead of time to marinate)
3. Place bacon strips on top of pork. Place pork on a silpat-lined baking sheet (I don't have a silpat, so I just covered my pan in aluminum foil)
4. Bake at 425 degrees F for 25-30 minutes or until a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest portion registers 155 degrees F (OR, bake at 400 degrees F for 10-15 minutes longer) (note: 165 degrees F is USDA recommended)
5. While pork is cooking, prepare the glaze: Combine brown sugar, flour, vinegar, mustard and cloves in a small sauce pan.  Cook on medium until sauce is thick and bubbly.  Set aside (if it gets cold and thick, just heat it back up)
6. Once the pork reaches 155 degrees F (or about 10 minutes before cooking is finished), remove it from the oven and evenly pour glaze along the top of the loin. 
7. Return to oven for 5-7 minutes longer.  Remove from oven, making sure thermometer registers 160 degrees F and let stand 10 minutes.
8. Thinly slice pork into 1/2" slices. Enjoy!

Bacon Wrapped Pork Center Loin with Brown Sugar glaze, served with steamed red potatoes and purple-hull peas

Side note: I bought all my ingredients ahead of time, and while Chris's parents were here for Christmas, I wanted to use the ground cloves to make the house smell nice, but I couldn't find that little bottle anywhere, so when I got ready to make this recipe, I had to go back to the store and buy another bottle of cloves (at $4.48!), and then when I started making the glaze I realized I didn't have the ground mustard either!  I think when I bought my ingredients, I must've left a bag of groceries (the most expensive ones, apparently) or accidentally threw them out in a bag I thought was empty!

Love,

Jillerina :*

Come see The Nutcracker!

Since September, I have been a rehearsal coach for the clowns in Tuscaloosa Community Dancers' (TCD) production of The Nutcracker.  I am also a member of the Board of Directors for TCD, a nonprofit organization.  This is the second year I have rehearsed the clowns, though last year Melissa Verzino, who choreographed the dance, actually taught them the dance and I just ran their practices after they finished learning.  This year, I taught them the dance and even had to make a few creative decisions because there is one more clown than usual; because there are so many partner sections, we had to make a few changes to accommodate the extra person.  I really have a lot of fun rehearsing them; I love The Nutcracker and the girls are always so sweet and eager to please.

On Saturday, we moved into the Bama Theatre, and the girls are finally getting to practice coming out from under Mother Ginger's skirt.  It's a little bit scary, because the contraption weighs several hundred pounds and has wheels that can easily crush little toes and fingers that get in the way.  It is basically a rolling platform with giant hoops that are covered with a massive skirt.  Someone stands on the platform and wears a big head and a blouse with built-in, basketball-sized boobs! The little clowns get underneath the skirt and push Mother Ginger onto the stage, one tiny step at a time, and then they pop out of the skirt in twos and begin a high-energy dance that is always a crowd pleaser.

The show is this week, with performances at 7 p.m. on Thursday, December 8 and Friday, December 9, 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Saturday, December 10, and 2 p.m. on Sunday, December 11.  I encourage you to come see the show, even if you have seen it before.  It is especially enjoyable if you bring a little girl with you, because they are absolutely enthralled by the magic of it.  This year, TCD partnered with the University of Alabama dance department, so you will see a lot of changes in the choreography and a few changes in the telling of the story.  For tickets, call the TCD box office at 205-752-4220.

p.s.  I will be playing the maid in the party scene!  I agreed to do it because I'm not particularly busy at the moment (ahem), and I thought it would be fun.  It's a tiny part, but you will get to see me dance a little bit!