At the church I attend, we have a Senior appreciation dinner every year. I am honored to have been a part of it for 6 years, (time to pass the baton). My staff consisted of my three children, mom and dad (who are seniors), my niece & nephew, five high school students and me. What I love best about kids is they have no point of reference in the kitchen and simply follow directions. We fed an average of about 150 people. Every year it was a challenge, but honoring our seniors with a gourmet dish was my goal. This is a spin of one of the meals I made for them. Instead of the whole pork loin (or 14), I am using a pork tenderloin. This recipe requires some simple steps, but please don’t be intimidated.

How to Filet a Tenderloin
1 Pork Tenderloin
salt & pepper

Preheat oven to 425 °F. Using a sharp knife, make an incision about 1/2 an inch from the long edge of the loin, but do not cut all the way through. Open incision and lay knife flat on small opening on pork, facing loin. In the direction of the loin and along its bottom side cut across being careful not to cut through. (Try to visualize you ‘re unrolling the loin like one of those Pillsbury crescent tubes, only you’re cutting it). When you are done, it will look like this:

Sweet Onions, Gruyere Cheese & Garlic Stuffing
1 large sweet onion diced
1 clove of garlic minced
¼ cup chives, tarragon and parsley mix chopped (use your favorite herbs).
¼ cup mayonnaise
salt and pepper
1 cup Gruyere cheese shredded (you can also use Swiss cheese)

Chop the herbs together and mix all the ingredients together in a bowl. Spread mixture over pork, (you may not use all the stuffing, it will depend on the size loin you have). Starting at one end of the loin, re-roll loin working to keep mixture inside. Bake at 425 °F for 30 minutes then reduce heat to 350 °F and bake an additional 30 minutes. Rest for 10 minutes then slice and serve.

Enjoy!

Heidi