Tuesday, February 14, 2006

A Sweetheart of a Recipe

Good morning OWFL! And happy v-day to all of you hallmark holiday lovers! This is a super special day for me...Jo sent me a special valentine that was S.W.A.K ....AND most importantly POSTING PRIVILEGES!!

So in recognition of this silly holiday I'm going to share with you all a great recipe that my sweetheart adores...hopefully some of you will share it with the ones that you love!!

Blueberry-Onion Sauced Pork Tenderloin

3/4 to 1 pound pork tenderloin
2 tablespoons butter
divided 2 medium onions, sliced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup port wine or sweet sherry
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
1 cup chopped cherry tomatoes

Preheat broiler. Broil pork, turning occasionally until cooked through, about 20 minutes. Remove to a platter; cover to keep warm. Meanwhile, in a large skillet over medium-high heat, melt 2 tablespoons of the butter. Add onions, salt and pepper; cook until onions are golden, about 10 minutes. Add sugar; cook until onions are caramelized, 3 minutes longer. Add port, balsamic, blueberries and tomatoes and bring to a boil. Remove from heat. Thinly slice pork and serve with sauce.

This recipe is GREAT and EASY! I usually use grape tomatoes instead of cherry, I find them a bit sweeter, and I've also used this sauce on grilled pork chops and chicken breasts....still divine.

Oh yeah...WFL????

85 comments:

Josephus said...

Happy Valentine's Day to all!! But especially to unicorn, lizturtle and dizkonekid. I look forward to them regaling us with great lunch posts for decades to come.

Congrats on your first post uni!
The recipe looks great, which reminds me of our need for a recipe cache somewhere on the blog.

I'm feeling especially full of lunch love today and I'm not quite sure what to do. What's an appropriate V-Day lunch?

Unknown said...

welcome unicorn!!! and your culinary talents do amaze me...blueberries and pork? sounds absolutely magically delicious.

v-day sucks. i think we should take the time to tell people we love them everyday, and not just once a year.

so, to all you OWFL-ers, i want to ask you an important question:

will you all be my valentine?

Jada said...

I will be your Valentine, La Choi. I wasn't feeling the V-day mood until I took Ace to school and now I am positively filled with it. I don't know what I'll be eating for lunch, but candy will be consummed en masse today.

Congratulations new posters!

The Doctor said...

Uni, that sounds REALLY effin good. I am definitely going to try that sometime. And congratulations to you, LT and Diz!

Valentine’s Day. Right. On a brighter note, I think I might be coming down with something. I will seek chicken soup for lunch. Perhaps Ada’s for some matzo ball.

Josephus said...

dippideedoo, what place had the gazpacho with lots of "come in"?

The Doctor said...

If you like cumin', you'll love Ada's gazpacho.

Lady A said...

E-que and HT - I ventured over to Capitol Lounge last night...and that place is great! Had the white pizza and a Bass ale...perfect way to end a work day and start the evening! You guys are starting to open my eyes to all that Cap Hill night life has to offer!

LizTurtle said...

Yay! Thanks guys! I feel so popular! Rah! What a great way to spend VD! Today will forever more be known as Contributor's Day. For me, at least.

Unicorn - that recipe sounds awesome. I will have to try it as soon as I have a kitchen again.

I am going out to lunch now. New guy - not sure what was decided. Either thai or irish pub. I voted for sushi, but I think there were maybe 2 of us voting for that. :-(

dizkonekdid said...

Thank you all. Its great to be a contributor and member. What to say, ahh.

Saturday wasn't enough for the TexEsq so now I will now be aprising the role of Mr. Moneybags and taking her to the "Twisted Fork". This little place is nice and is one of the few places in reach of the Houston Tunnels that actually has reasonable faire. I will describe later the cornbread they put on the table and the salads available once I visit this place again in about 40 min.

Thank you again, I would post more, but today is a full day and I've been on my knees all morning :).

Cheers

Jada said...

I love this blog. I really do. But, I also know a lot of the posters here personally and hope to meet the rest soon. I have to ask you, would you be interested in reading this blog, day after day, refreshing it constantly, if you knew no one and you never posted yourself?

dizkonekdid said...

hrrmmm ... interesting question Jade. I think I was drawn in by the people's comments on this. As a recent "outsider" I believe that I was drawn in. But given the fact that we are more diverse we can be more On Topic and get a very wide range of restaurant\recipe information into here as well as personal jibber-jabbering (do I get points for including phrases that an 80-year-old should only employ?).

dizkonekdid said...

oh BTW, Uni, that sounds like an awesome receipe .. and good post.

Josephus said...

Good question Jade. I would absolutely stop by a blog where people use lunch as a strating off point for sill shit to discuss.

But the bulk of the blogs I visit are either by people I know, or about politics.

What are you thinking?

The Doctor said...

I'm thinking there are a number of pure observers. Come out, little ones. No need to be afraid.

Pretty tasty MB soup from Ada's. I think I might have to check out a few other items there.

Lady A said...

If I found an interesting and/or entertaining blog that tickled my brain or at least my fancy...I would definitely jump in on it, or at least observe it.

Although that may be either the voyeurist in me...or the fact that I took too many psychology/sociology classes in my brief college stint.

Jada said...

As many of you know, a couple months ago I was plagued with hostile and anonymous comments on my blog after an especially controversial post. There was one person in particular who left really nasty comments about my looks and son. Soon after, they discovered OWFL and they have been reading it as well as JIC ever since. When I say reading it, they spend hours and hours, every day, M-F, on this blog. More than even Jo or I, and that's saying a lot. But, they never comment, and from what I can deduce, he/she doesn't know any of us. It is very intriguing to me. Maybe I am filled with love on this Valentine's Day or in a particularily forgiving mood, but I would like to let bygones be bygones and welcome this person to our group. They seem to enjoy it enough considering the time they spend here, dwarfing the likes of James Vernor or Rico, and I think it's time they stop the anonymous lurking. Any one else support me on this?

Jada said...

We have two site meters on the blog, so we can tell who visits and for how long. I know the corresponding ip address of most of the people who post on here, but there is one that I don't know who it belongs toand they spend a lot of time on here.

Josephus said...

If Jade is feeling forgiving I will follow her lead. However if the lurker isn't capable of playing nice, please move on.

LizTurtle said...

Hm, interesting. And weird. I don't tend to comment on a blog where I didn't know the person. However, this isn't just some 'here's what I did today' kind of blog, so it seems a bit different than others . . . I don't know, I'm still relatively new to these 'web logs' or 'blogs' as you crazy kids call them.

Diz - I fully support your use of 'jibber-jabber'. But only because I always get a picture of Mr. T in my head.

So I had such a disappointing lunch! Doubly so, b/c it was on the company dime! I decided to be 'healthy' & got a salad, but I'm positive the ranch dressing I ordered was fat free. It had that gross taste. Ugh. And we got a 5 layer dip for appetizer (at an irish pub??), and the guac was either canned or a little past its due date. I'm thinking it was canned. It also had that gross taste. Of course, it is and irish pub.

The best part of lunch was the choco-mints we got at the end - they're like the red & white hard candies, but the white part is brown & the red white is green. Kind of gross looking, but yummy! And also reminded me that I ordered girl scout cookies like 3 weeks ago. I wonder when they get in.

Unknown said...

i support it. the more the merrier i say. but if this person at all becomes inappropriate and rude, it's time to give the boot.

i'm concerned. i haven't been hungry for lunch today. i ate a breakfast burrito this morning, so that could be the cause. i also had an abnormal amount of coffee...beyond what i normally drink so i'm all jittery and out of it.

plus, i had a doozy of a time finding a parking space after hanging out with HT to satiate her maggie moo's craving. jo came out last night too, which was fun. i didn't go to bed until almost 2:00am! ay de mi...

Unknown said...

and i didn't start blogging until i met HT and discovered OWFL. now, i'm a blogging fiend. but i never really comment on blogs of people i don't know.

Josephus said...

chicken salad on wheat toast with swiss and bacon.
side of potato slad.
Vitamin water to drink, Power C/Dragonfruit flavor.

LizTurtle said...

Oooh, I've seen that footage before. They were actually on Oprah a couple of weeks ago talking about it. Really freaky stuff! I'm so annoyed. I was at my house watching 24 & then the rest of last week's Bachelor (don't tell me who got booted last night! I have it taped!) & then I flipped over to the Olympics & watched that couple do their skate & then said "Eh, it's after 11, I better drive over to {friend's house where I'm staying while my f'ing mold remediation gets finished}," so I totally missed the crazy throw-kneecapping. Argh! I can't believe they got silver after that! Wow!

Josephus said...

Lachoi, HT and I did indeed share some drinks last night. We also discussed some very important issues and questions facing the world. We failed to solve any of them but we managed to ignore the annoying drunk sitting near us without a single audible comment.

Kudos ladies!

Jada said...

Update: they posted on my blog. Maybe because this blog does not allow anonymous comments? Not sure. But they seemed nice enough and even drank rather heavily at lunch, so you know he/she is one of us! Woohoo! I want them to get a blogger profile and join us regularly. We could use more NYers.

Jada said...

I forgot to say earlier, that I love Ada's, Dipso. They have a great open face rueben sandwich. The only thing I don't like about the place is that they keep the pickles on the table at all times from one group to another. I can't bring myself to eat food that some other diners may have tainted, and I LOVE pickles, so that's hard. I am still fantisizing about the rumours of a pickle bar at some DC deli I heard a while ago.

dizkonekdid said...

Jade, I think you should out the person at least. I need an IP address. :)

Regardless, we just came back from the Twisted Fork. I had the meatloaf Sandwich and TexEsq had the blackened tuna sandwich.

I can't really speak for hers because I don't think her sandwich was supposed to be a premier dish on their menu. Mine however was on the top of the menu. So clearly, I couldn't resist. It arrived and was nicely open-faced. It had a mound of mashed potatoes with string onion rings (beer battered) on the top and a healthly slathering of really sweet BBQ sauce. Underneath the mashed potatoes was a relatively disappointingly thin piece of meatloaf. Well, suffice it to say someone likes basil there because the meatloaf reaked of it. This was alleviated a little by the sweet BBQ sauce and mashed but I'll say this. Someone, somewhere, needs to stop using greasy shoe string onion rings over the top of everything. Who gave them that idea.

The one highlight? Well, we watched some people at the bar get the bread (which wasn't delivered to us at the bar) get the black skillet of fresh baked corn bread. Having had this cornbreda before, I'll say that and the friendly bar staff are the only two reasons to go back.

Cheers

The Doctor said...

That's a great first impression, I'm. Nice to see ya.

dizkonekdid said...

Scratch what I said. Except for the disappointing lunch.

Jada said...

Welcome, notwitty! We love lunch, we love love people who talk about lunch, we looooooove being drunk! Can you feel the love? It's good to have you!

Jada said...

I had potbelly for lunch - turkey with everything, extra peppers, an orangina and chips. A coworker went to pick it up abd instead of getting me the plain chips I ordered accidentally got me BBQ chips. I haven't had them in ages and I must say it was a nice little change of pace.

My boss also brought me a big soft teddy bear and a huge heart shaped box of chocolate. Awwwwwww, so sweet. I'm glad someone loves me.

Oh! another thing I forgot to comment on earlier, the dragonfruit is BY FAR the best flavor of vitamin water.

Josephus said...

Did everyone have a few drinks with lunch today?

dizkonekdid said...

Welcome then INWE,

Drunk is a good place to start but a bad one to end up. Take it from a pro :)

Josephus said...

I'm a big fan of Orangina.

LizTurtle said...

Man, I wish I had had a few drinks at lunch. That Guinness at the Irish Pub was just calling to me . . . I was so tempted, but I didn't want to give the new guy a bad impression. Or a really good impression that I couldn't keep up.

Time to go get a sugar rush (followed shortly by sugar crash) with co-workers. VD cookies & hot bevs in the commons area. Yawn.

Josephus said...

I think we should make Witty the new VP!

Jada said...

Josephus is a legend. notwitty is obviously very wise.

How can James Vernor be president of the NYC contingency? He hardly ever posts.

I should definitely be president of Chicago.

Is HaterTot on a vampire schedule? She will love this notwitty development.

Unknown said...

INWE -- bienvenidos! drinking at lunch is good.

finally got hungry and ate my sack lunch. i even had a granny smith apple for dessert. go me!

jade and josephus...power C all the way! hence my comments from a previous post where i said f*ck gatorade and drink the VM. it's the only thing after a long day/night of drinking.

well, that and another drink.

yeah, i am so surprised we didn't go off on that drunk dude at the bar last night...what language was he speaking anyways?

Unknown said...

wow, now this is good.

happy v-day one and all.

Jada said...

Welcome, Peep! HaterTot will love your name.

I love the name change, the bride. And very appropriate and timely for you. Uma kicks ass in those movies.

The Doctor said...

Is that in order of consumption, peep? Very European. Welcome.

(I have a favorite OWFLer, but I'm not telling. Heee.)

Josephus said...

The drunk guy was speaking reallydrunkandconfusedese. And frankly if I had been as drunk as him and trying to follow our conversation, I may have gotten a wee bit confused and annoyed as well.

Josephus said...

relax notwitty. we just need to come up with some sophisticated hazing ritual.

HaterTot said...

Is this the first I've graced you all with my presence today? I think it might be, though I've been watching today's developments closely.

I think my new role around these parts is more that of a Charlie or a Robin Masters.

Welcome new posters. First up, notwitty. Good to see you show your anonymous e-face. I'll use this forum to also formally welcome you to my blog (this Is Not A Blog ) since I know you've lurked over there a bit as well. Moving on though... Choose your friends carefully around here. Jo's a wiley one. A great poster - but watch your back. Let's just say my pet name for him is "Cheney". Though, these days, I guess he's Prez. Still, I wouldn't go quail hunting with him, if you know what I mean.

Peep - if that is an allusion to the tasty bliss made by JustBorn in Bethlehem, PA - then I am indeed tickled by your name. If not, well, you might still be alright. I hope you and your imaginary g/f have a good VD.

The Bride - I thought I couldn't love you more until you changed your name to this. A thing of fuckin' beauty. Perfect. I love it. However, I need to weigh in on the Uma point - Uma is just, well, odd looking. But, more importantly in KBII, where she's trying to get out of the coffin - it clearly highlights her hands. Or, more accurately, her Umanhands. Yuck.

Many thanks to LaChoi for enabling my Maggie Moos craving. Thank God. And, my apologies for the shitty parking karma.

Congrats on our new posters as well. Diz, HT and Unicorn - you're a worthy bunch. Uni - do you suppose your recipe could be modified to use currants instead of blueberries? I'm not a huge blueberry fan, unless they're in the form of bluebucks at Eastern Market on Saturday morning.

No lunch today. I dipped a piece of swiss in spicy beer and brat mustard if that counts.

Jo - can you and abs be in charge of organizing LaChoi's send off, bon voyage HH on Thursday? (LC - in your honor, I will be watching my favorite Charlie Brown movie - Bon Voyage Charlie Brown (and don't come back!))

Anyway, that's all from my lair here on the Hill. I don't really have anything to say about VD as it's simply not my thing. But, if it's yours, I hope yinz have a good one.

Josephus said...

Welcome PEEP!

I don't think I've ever heard of an office V-Day lunch.
Do you work in a whore house?

dizkonekdid said...

HT - that is because Uma is actually a post-op transexual and its more of Quentin T screwing with the American Gung-Ho Populace. I think he even coaxed Ang-Lee into making Broke Back.

Discussion?

Jada said...

HaterTot, was and always will be Madame Presidente. Jo is fooling himself if he thinks his ill gained presidency will hold around here.

Notwitty, youcan't talk about having fake boobies without being willing to show pictures. I will be the first to start the battle cry for boobie pics! Boobie pics! [I think Rico will join in soon] Boobie Pics!

I don't get any kind of personal message, HT? Boooooo

BOOBIE PICS!

HaterTot said...

Wait - notwitty, you're a she?????

And, no offense, I was just welcoming you to both at one go. I'm lazy like that.

Jo wins for best comment of the day. I may not take him hunting with me, but the kid makes me laugh.

HaterTot said...

See your blog, my dear. You got a personal message and a mini rant, AND an "xoxo".

But, yes, I am on a vampire sched. I went to bed at 5am... I'm going to be so fucked when I have to go back to the office next week.

Josephus said...

Jade no one will ever know about our secret plan to overthrow HT's presidency. Brilliantly played my friend.

Josephus said...

Did I blog that out loud?

HaterTot said...

Jo - you're my hero. It even says so on my myspace. Are you blogging from an undisclosed location today?

Josephus said...

Jade are we sure we want pics of the augmented boobies that had "problems (she) didn't bargain for"?

And no offense notwitty, but that's an awful big (how big?)story to just leave us hanging on.

Lady A said...

Hi HT! I haven't cooked much with currants, but why not??? Give it a try and let me know! I do think blackberries would work well though...I once had venison in some sort of blackberry glaze and it was heavenly!!

Btw...how can you not like blueberries???

Jada said...

Jo, you are going to have to be a little more careful from here on out. And YES, I want BOOBIE PICS! I want to see the problems and then see that after shots, cause I am assuming she got them fixed. But you are right, notwitty has left us hanging and that's not nice.

I think it was Jack that pointed out SJP's man hands. That was a great day on the blog.

Peep, you mentioned Jewel, does this mean you are in Chicago? Can I count on your vote for my bid for the Chicago presidency?

LizTurtle said...

Dude, La Choi, I was at my office VD thang (sexual harrassment be damned!) & when I clicked on that craigslist thing you linked to, it had been removed by craigslist. Please tell me the gist of it! I'm furious I missed it!

HaterTot said...

I forget who didn't like SJP's hands. Which, I don't think are manly, but rather look like old lady hands to me. I have freakishly small hands. Seriously. Even for a generally short girl, they're extra small.

LT - what are you doing for dinner - did you decide? I'm starving and I don't know what I want. Is there a place we can go that won't be all booked up for VD?

Uni - love the blackberry idea. And, I don't know why I don't like blueberries. There's just something about 'em. I think it's a texture thing. And, that seed/stem thing. I don't know - I'm just not a big fan. After strawberries though, mulberries and olallieberries are my favorites, then raspberries, I guess. Anyone know if I can get mulberries and/or olallieberries here?

HaterTot said...

Notwitty, we're still waiting for more info on this augmentation...

Josephus said...

When you get to heaven there will be razzleberry waterfalls.

And all your dead pets will be there.

Jada said...

Dude, I told you all it was JACK who made the comment on SJP's hands. Does no one listen to me?

I didn't get flowers. I have no Valentine. But seriously, this shouldn't be surprising that I also did not get a call back the last time I had sex with someone. Why am I the only one to admit to how pathetic their sex life is?

But I will admit to loving that notwitty is a smoker. I think the smokers might have the majority here. If she is a MI native we are so golden.

My platform, Peep? I am freakin' awesome and I am the most devoted poster/commenter of the Chicago contingent. I was also the most outspoken supporter of keeping the conference in Chicago.

Which reminds me ...

Josephus said...

100

HaterTot said...

There's only one squeamish one around here... where is Mr. Tubbs today?

BUT, more than periods, digestive issues and scar tissue, he LOVES if you talk about eating burritos, with extra sour cream. Seriously. A woman eating a burrito oozing with sour cream is his kryptonite.

Were farkleberry cookies/muffins a Pittsburgh thing, or did all the rest of yinz have those at xmas, too?

But, back to boobs. I am obsessed with NOT having scar tissue. LC is even going to hook me up with her mom's secret syrum. Today is the first day that I thought, "I would like to work out" but I know it's way too soon.

I AM HUNGRY PEOPLE. DOES ANYONE IN DC WANT TO GET DINNER SOMEWHERE???

The Doctor said...

We are the music makers, and we are the dreamers of the dreams.

You got me on the Doritos, peep. I had to go down to the Osco special for some. I ended up with a bag of “Munchies.” The combination of pretzels, doritos, sun chips and cheetos that were seemingly swept up off the Frito factory floor. Also a diet dr. pepper.

The last 2,800 days didn’t really just happen, did they?

dizkonekdid said...

Who cares about SJP? She's a frigid anyway. Anyone who would marry that simp Ferris Bueler is scratched out of my "cool people book". The dude actually bitched about having a computer and couldn't figure it out well enough to steal enough money for a car. Loooser!!!

I still think Uma is a post-op.

Periods are out! Jo can I hear a hooo rah? If they are in this blog will be about me losing my lunch.

Scar tissue and all, I think I'd like to see them as well.

HaterTot said...

Olallieberry blackberries are shiny black fruit that were first developed in 1949 by the U. S. Department of Agriculture at Oregon State University by crossing a Loganberry with a Youngberry.
The result was called the Olallie, a Native American word meaning blackberry. Physically the Olallieberry looks like a classic blackberry. Genetically, however, the Olallieberry is approximately two-thirds blackberry and one-third European Red Raspberry.
Eaten fresh, Olallieberries are excellent, however most are made into preserves and wine. Like Blackberries, Olallieberries are super healthy for you. Anthocyanins - Olallieberries are characterized by
one major pigment: cyanidin-3-glucoside and in some cases cyanidin 3-rutinoside. The total anthocyani concentration is reported as 148
mg/100 g fruit. Phenolics - Similar to raspberries, Olallieberries
are relatively high in the phenolics, hydroxybenzoic acid and chlorogenic acid. Fiber - Olallieberries are high in fiber (5.3 g/100 g,)which has been shown to help reduce the risk of certain cancers.

Here is a site that specializes in Olallieberries
http://www.linnsfruitbin.com/faq.html

Josephus said...

Sounds like Nutella. That shit is made from dead Europeans. Soylent tasty.

The Doctor said...

Peep's an El Az kinda guy, ain'tcha, peep?

dizkonekdid said...

And no, I haven't read "Shoots and leaves."

Josephus said...

I think we should put up a six degrees of Lunch chart at some point...

I miss cuddles.

Rico?

csr/james/vernor/whoever?

Josephus said...

Wait a minute...That's where Watchdog worked!

Jada said...

AH HA! I have determined Peep's true identity! We have never met, but I have heard a lot about you. Your friends seem to take a fancy to me. Do you, too?

Soylent tasty? I love Jo.

Jada said...

Jo, you just want a 6 degrees of lunch chart because you know you would be at the center of it.

Jada said...

No one has challenged me as of yet, but that Dipso character is a sly dog. I can imagine him throwing his hat into the ring just to give me trouble.

Josephus said...

Six Degrees of Jo!

HaterTot said...

You don't have the balls to be President, Rico. Horse Cock, or no.

You can't be the President if you can't even watch a woman eat a burrito.

Jada said...

Yes, but I do believe you were the route of other peoples fancies, Peep. It's OK, as long as I get your vote.

Rico, I never got a text message. "Attempted text message" is not good enough. He seemed like a smart enough guy to be able to operate his phone, he put my number in it, after all. And there is NO WAY you are the Chicago president!

Josephus said...

Six degrees of Jo!

LizTurtle said...

My 'the Onion' page-a-day calendar has the headline: Kevin Bacon Linked to Al-Qaeda
With 2 pictures: Kevin Bacon, some late-20s white guy, some 30-something black guy, some emaciated looking middle eastern guy, Molly Ringwald, then some Al-Qaeda guy.

Hee hee! Molly Ringwald!

6 degrees of Jo: easy. Me-Jo. That's one degree, bitch! Although I still don't have his email. So maybe I should say Me-HaterTot-Jo.

HaterTot said...

E-que, I was a food science and engineering major when I started school. Nevermind that I ended with a double major in government & politics and business.

But, I can't really take credit for the latter part of the explanation, as I sought out that info via google.

Jack, never let Jo discourage you from coming around OWFL.

Josephus said...

jack I support you, but I don't support the choice you have made.

the bride I will never apologize for spreading love & good cheer.

Chicago wflers my support is for sale.

Did we scare notwitty off already?

LizTurtle said...

Six pictures on my calendar, dammit. I can't type worth a damn. Argh.

Jada said...

Jo, you better show support for a fellow ELHS Trojan.

And Rico, *I* contacted *YOU* about lunch on Thursday! How dare you try and steal that and make it sound like it was your idea!

Josephus said...

night all.

Jada said...

I am so freaking slap happy right now and I really should be getting to bed. But I really just want to throw water balloons and screech and squwak and make a ruccus. WOW!!!! I am HYPER!!!!

Can I get a witness? come on, come on, come on, come on!

Josephus said...

witness...