This is actually a dinner I made last month, but it’s something we’ll be repeating this month since it fits October Unprocessed well.

And by I made, I mean it was a group effort. Our friend, Chris, just took a job in Saudi Arabia (!) so we had him over for dinner as sort of a last hurrah. I started cooking and then Mark took over when I had to feed the baby. Chris pitched in by making the gravy as Mark got the pork cut and plated. You know you have good friends when they have no qualms about jumping in to help in the kitchen! We’re really going to miss having him around.

This is a nice dinner because it’s a one-dish meal. I’m always a fan of fewer dishes! The marinade made for a really flavorful pork tenderloin and we used the last of the green beans out of the garden. I served this with a nice, warm loaf of bread to round out the meal.

Balsamic and Herb Pork Tenderloin with Roasted Vegetables
(from The Other Side of Fifty)
Serves 6

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tsp. Dijon mustard
1 Tbsp. minced garlic
1 Tbsp. fresh rosemary, chopped
1 Tbsp. fresh thyme, chopped
1 tsp. fresh sage, chopped
1 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
2 1/2 lb. pork tenderloin
2 lbs. medium red skinned potatoes, scrubbed, diced into 1/2″ cubes
3/4 lb. green beans, ends trimmed
1/4 cup canola oil
1 heaping TBSP whole wheat flour
1 cup chicken broth

In a large bowl or ziplock bag, combine the balsamic vinegar, olive oil, mustard, garlic, rosemary, thyme, sage, salt and pepper. Add the pork, turn to coat and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.

Preheat the oven to 400F degrees. Heat the canola oil to shimmering in an oven-safe pan.

Remove pork and discard marinade. Sear on all sides then transfer to oven and cook until the pork reaches 140F degrees on a meat thermometer. Remove pork from pan and tent on a plate. While the meat cooks, microwave the potatoes on high for 8 minutes, stirring halfway.

Increase the oven temp to 450F degrees. Add potatoes and green beans to the pan and toss to coat in the oil. Roast for an additional 15-20 minutes. Remove from the oven and transfer the vegetables to a serving platter.

Whisk the flour into the juices remaining in the skillet and cook for 2 minutes over medium heat. Whisk in the chicken broth and continue whisking until smooth and reduced to the desired thickness.

Slice the meat and serve with vegetables and pan gravy.

We made up this gorgeous ham for Sunday dinner a few weeks ago when we had company. I sort of love making ham – it’s so hard to screw up and there’s so many fun recipes out there. I ran across this one last month when I was browsing for ideas for my What’s Baking submission and couldn’t get it out of my head.

The glaze isn’t an in-your-face rum and coke, but the flavors are there if you’re looking from them and it adds a really nice sweet and spiced-ness to the ham. It’s the perfect ham for a special summer dinner.

Rum and Coke Glazed Ham
(from Noble Pig)

1 large ham
60 oz. coke, divided
3/4 c. dark brown sugar
1/4 c. prepared yellow mustard
1/4 c. fresh lime juice
2 T. dark rum
1 T. dry mustard
Pinch of salt

Preheat the oven to 325F degrees.

Pour 36 oz. of the Coke into the bottom of a roasting pan and add the ham on a rack. Bake, tented, for one hour.

Meanwhile, prepare the glaze. Reduce the remaining 24 oz. of Coke over medium-low heat for about 40 minutes, until there is a 1/2 cup left. Mix in the remaining ingredients and simmer to dissolve.

After the ham has been cooking for an hour, uncover and glaze every 15 minutes during the last hour. Allow it to rest for 15 minutes before carving.