Sheetpan Pork Tenderloin with Krista Davis

  Happy Mother’s Day to every one of our MLK-ers! We celebrate today by hosting one of our founders and all-around great friend, Krista Davis! Welcome back! Read all the way to the bottom for her generous giveaway…

KRISTA DAVIS: Hi everyone! It’s always fun to be back at Mystery Lovers Kitchen. I love seeing all the newcomers and I’m glad it lives on!

THE WAGTAIL MURDER CLUB is out now, and THE DIVA POACHES A BAD EGG is coming on May 27th. I’m delighted to give away a copy to two lucky winners today. Leave a comment stating which book you would prefer to win.

There are twelve recipes in THE DIVA POACHES A BAD EGG. I’m trying to keep them easy because, honestly, when we’re juggling life and company, we don’t always have time for elaborate meals. There are a couple of desert recipes in the book that are so easy and elegant. Your guests will never realize that the oven did all the hard work.

I am in love with sheet pan dinners. They’re so easy! No big muss or fuss. You can modify this recipe with the vegetables your family loves. But try not to omit the shallots because they add delicious flavor. This was a big hit with my “meat and potatoes” eaters. But the rest of us liked it, too.

I recommend using two pans to fit all the vegetables. Be sure to peel the carrots. Unpeeled carrots aren’t pretty after they cook. This will serve four, but if there are only two of you, make it all anyway because the leftovers are also tasty!

I tested this on company and on family to rave reviews. I was thrilled to have leftovers for the next day because it’s that good.

Sheet Pan Pork Tenderloin

2 sheet pans

Aluminum foil

1/3 cup balsamic vinegar

1/3 cup + ¼ cup olive oil, plus more

2 tablespoons minced garlic

1 + 1 tablespoons oregano

1 + 1 teaspoons thyme

1 + 1 teaspoons salt

¼ teaspoon black pepper

2 pork tenderloins around 1 pound each

1 medium sweet potato

1 ½ pounds mixed small white and red potatoes

1 ½ cups shallots, peeled

Whisk together the balsamic vinegar, 1/3 cup olive oil, garlic, oregano, thyme, and salt. Place pork tenderloins in a shallow flat dish and pour the balsamic mixture over them. Cover and refrigerate for 1-2 hours.

Preheat oven to 450. Line the sheet pan with aluminum foil. Cut the sweet potato in bite-sized pieces. Cut the potatoes in half. Mix together the sweet potato, potatoes, carrots, and peeled shallots in a large bowl. Mix together the ¼ cup olive oil, 1 tablespoon oregano, 1 teaspoon thyme, 1 teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon black pepper. Pour over the potato mixture. Place the pork on the sheet pans and surround with the potato mixtures. Pour remaining seasoned oil from the vegetables over them on the pan.

Roast about 20 minutes and check the internal temperature of the pork. Cook until a thermometer registers 140 to 145 degrees.

Slice the meat and serve with the vegetables.

Don’t forget to enter the giveaway! Do you want THE WAGTAIL MURDER CLUB or THE DIVA POACHES A BAD EGG?

New York Times bestselling mystery author Krista Davis writes three mystery series: the Domestic Diva Mysteries; the Paws & Claws Mysteries; and the Pen & Ink Mysteries.

Breaded Pork Tenderloin Cutlets #Recipe Peg Cochran/Margaret Loudon

 

These pork tenderloin cutlets were very good--extremely tender and flavorful.  I put mine directly on my baking sheet and not on a rack because I didn't read the directions carefully enough! They still turned out great.  The recipe called for plain panko but I added a good dose of Italian seasoning to mine.  I can see substituting different seasonings for different tastes.  I also sprayed the top of the cutlets with a bit of olive oil spray.  I can imagine these would be great done in an air fryer, probably for less time.  The recipe comes from The English Kitchen

 

1 large egg

1 cup panko bread crumbs & seasoning of choice

1 TBS olive oil

1 Pork tenderloin—approximately 8 - 12 ounces   

salt and pepper to taste

 

Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees.

Place the egg in a dish and whisk until combined.  Place panko combined with seasoning and/or salt and pepper in another dish.

Cut pork tenderloin into four equal pieces

 

Cover tenderloin pieces with plastic wrap and pound with a mallet into cutlets approximately 1/8 inch thick.

Dip cutlets into egg then dip into panko

 

Place cutlets on a rack set on a baking sheet and bake for 20 to 25 minutes.  

The Open Book Series

When murder taints writer-in-residence Penelope Parish’s charming British bookshop, she must follow the clues to catch a killer before tempers boil over.

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Family fireworks lead to murder in the new Cranberry Cove Mystery from USA Today bestselling author Peg Cochran!

The Fourth of July always means endless celebrations in Cranberry Cove, and this year Monica and Greg have the added pleasure of spending it with Monica’s college roommate, Kelly Cargill. When they join Kelly and her family to watch the fireworks, it’s all very exciting—until the elderly matriarch of the family dies on the spot. Then evidence comes to light that she was poisoned, and Monica promises to do what she can to catch the culprit.

Just about everyone in Kelly’s family wanted to get their hands on what was sure to be a sizable inheritance. But Monica also discovers that one of them was trying to hide a messy love affair the older woman had discovered, and that the victim’s caretaker may have wanted revenge for enduring years of mistreatment. And just as more secrets surface and the clues begin to fall into place, Monica realizes that as she’s closing in on the killer, the killer is closing in on her . . .

Includes a mouthwatering cookie recipe!

 

Cranberry Cove #10 coming Summer 2024!

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My article on the Enduring Appeal of Cozy Mysteries  

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Pork Twice Cooked by Maya Corrigan #recipe

Pork tenderloin makes a quick and easy main course. Cooking it in the oven can be tricky because it can go from the perfect temperature to overcooked in a minute or two. This recipe, which I adapted from one by Mark Bittman in the New York Times, solves that problem. You brown the pork in a pan on the stove, give it a rest while you make the sauce, and then finish it in the pan. You then serve it with a sauce made from the pan drippings, cream, and other flavors or your choice. The result is a moist and flavorful dish.  

Ingredients

1 pork tenderloin, approximately a pound

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons olive oil

¼ cup cream

Optional: 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard, lemon juice, or apple brandy

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. When your hand held over the pan feels hot, add the oil. Keeping the heat medium high, add the pork to the pan when the oil starts to shimmer. Curve the tenderloin to fit the skillet. Brown it well on all sides, for 4 to 6 minutes total. Turn off the heat, remove the meat from pan, and set it aside. 

Letting the pan cool down, cut the meat into inch-thick slices. Then turn the heat up to medium-high again and add the butter. When the butter no longer foams, add the pork medallions to the pan. Brown each slice on both sides, about 2 or 3 minutes each. Turn the heat to low and remove the meat to a warm platter.

Add ½ cup water to pan, turn the heat to high, and cook, stirring and scraping, for a minute. Lower the to medium, add the cream and cook until slightly thickened. Stir in mustard, lemon juice, or brandy, if you're adding it. Sample the sauce and add salt and pepper to your taste. Either serve the meat with the sauce spooned on top or return the meat to the pan with the sauce briefly before serving.

I chose to add mustard to the cream when I made this recipe. I was a little worried that the sauce would be too mustardy, but it was the opposite--insufficiently flavorful. I'd add more mustard the next time or, better yet, use lemon or brandy for a different flavor. This recipe would pass muster with my sleuth's grandfather, who prefers making dishes with five ingredients or fewer. 

Both the newspapers that are delivered to our door every day have weekly food sections with recipes. Since the editors test recipes before they appear in print, I've found the ones in the newspaper generally quite good. Of course, I seldom follow the recipes exactly, but make changes based on what I have available in the kitchen and the flavors we prefer. 

READERS: Where do you look for new recipes? In cookbooks, in magazines or newspapers, or on online?

📚

Maya Corrigan writes the Five-Ingredient Mystery series. It features a young cafe manager and her young-at-heart grandfather solving murders in a Chesapeake Bay town. Each book has five suspects, five clues, and Granddad’s five-ingredient recipes. Maya has taught college courses in writing, literature, and detective fiction. When not reading and writing, she enjoys theater, travel, trivia, cooking, and crosswords.

Visit her website for book news, mystery history and trivia, and easy recipes. Sign up for her newsletter there. She gives away a free book to one subscriber each time she sends out a newsletter. Follow her on Facebook.

A PARFAIT CRIME: Five-Ingredient Mystery #9

Set in a quaint Chesapeake Bay town, the latest novel in Maya Corrigan’s Five-Ingredient Mysteries brings back café manager Val Deniston and her recipe columnist grandfather – a sleuthing duo that shares a house, a love of food and cooking, and a knack for catching killers.

At the site of a fatal blaze, Val’s boyfriend, a firefighter trainee, is shocked to learn the victim is known to him, a woman named Jane who belonged to the local Agatha Christie book club—and was rehearsing alongside Val’s grandfather for an upcoming Christie play being staged for charity. Just as shocking are the skeletal remains of a man found in Jane’s freezer. Who is he and who put him on ice?

 After Val is chosen to replace Jane in the play, the cast gathers at Granddad’s house to get to work—and enjoy his five-ingredient parfaits—but all anyone can focus on is the bizarre real-life mystery. When it’s revealed that Jane’s death was due to something other than smoke inhalation, Val and Granddad retrace the victim’s final days. As they dig into her past life, their inquiry leads them to a fancy new spa in town—where they discover that Jane wasn’t the only one who had a skeleton in the cooler.

 

Library Journal: "Thanks to Val’s and her grandfather’s talent for exposing the truth, even a “perfect crime” will be uncovered...a satisfying read and a riveting murder mystery with a sweet ending."

 

Read an excerpt and see where to buy A Parfait Crime  

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Sesame Pork #Recipe by Maya Corrigan

This recipe appeared in the appetizer chapter of the 1961 New York Times Cook Book, under the name Marinated Pork Strips. Craig Claiborne's introduction to the recipe says that the hors d'oeuvre was served frequently by Myra Waldo, author two dozen books, including of The International Encyclopedia of Cooking. I've adapted it as a main dish for 3 or 4, though you can easily double it. 

Ingredients

1 pork tenderloin

1/4 cup soy sauce

1 Tbsp + 1 tsp sugar

1 Tbsp minced onion

1 minced garlic clove

1 Tbsp minced ginger root

1/4 cup sesame seeds

1 Tbsp oil

If the tenderloin is thick, split it lenghwise. Mine wasn't thick.

Combine the other ingredients except oil. Marinate the pork in the mix for at least three hours, turning it and basting with the marinade several times.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Drain and reserve the marinade to be used as a sauce, once it is cooked thoroughly.

Oil a roasting pan and transfer the pork to it. Roast until the internal temperature is 145 degrees Fahrenheit. Let the meat rest for 3 minutes before slicing it. 

Pork before roasting

Pork after roasting

Simmer the marinade for at least 10 minutes and serve with the pork.

This dish, my favorite way of preparing pork tenderloin, is always a hit because the meat turns out moist and flavorful. 

Do you have a favorite way of preparing pork?

📚

Maya Corrigan writes the Five-Ingredient Mysteries featuring café manger Val and her live-wire grandfather solving murders in a Chesapeake Bay town. Maya lives in a Virginia suburb of Washington, D.C. Before writing crime fiction, she taught American literature, writing, and detective fiction at Northern Virginia Community College and Georgetown University. When not reading and writing, she enjoys theater, travel, trivia, cooking, and crosswords.

Visit my website to sign up for my newsletter. I give away a book each time I send out a newsletter. My website offers easy recipes, mystery history and trivia, and a free culinary mystery story. 

Follow me on Facebook.

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Asian Marinated Pork Tenderloin #Recipe @PegCochran

 

This recipe comes from Mary Berry, the doyenne of British cooking!  She was recently made a dame in a ceremony with Prince Charles at Windsor Castle!  I made a few alterations to the recipe--I used the ginger that comes in a tube.  She also called for scattering green onions, a sliced red chili and chopped coriander over the cooked roast but I didn't have any of those ingredients on hand.  It was still delicious and a quick and easy dinner.  My tenderloin was slightly smaller than the recipe called for but I made the full recipe for the marinade.  I was glad I did--it was yummy!

 

Ingredients

 

1 pork tenderloin (approx. 1 ½ lbs)

1 ½ inch piece of ginger, peeled and grated

2 garlic cloves, crushed

4 tbsp. soy sauce

2 tbsp. sweet chili sauce

3 tbsp. honey

 

Mix all of the ingredients from ginger to honey in a bowl.  Pour into a large ziplock bag or a bowl large enough to fit the tenderloin (and fit in your fridge!). Let marinate in the refrigerator for several hours.

 

 

 

 

 

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Line a baking pan (I used a Pyrex baking dish) with parchment (for easy clean-up!) and place tenderloin in pan, reserving mariande.  Roast 25 to 30 minutes or until cooked to 145 degrees.  Let rest, covered with foil, for five minutes on a board to finish cooking.   

 

Meanwhile, simmer reserved marinade over medium heat for several minutes.   

 

Drizzle meat with marinade and carve and serve!  

 

 

 

COMING MARCH 1 - PRE-ORDER NOW!

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A murder in her quaint British bookshop drops American Gothic novelist Penelope Parish into her deadliest caper yet.

Penelope Parish is ready to close the book on her amateur sleuthing—from now on, The Open Book’s writer-in-residence will be sticking to villains of the fictional variety while she puts the final touches on her new novel. But when an author is murdered inside the bookshop, all of Upper Chumley-on-Stoke goes on high alert.
 
Now it’s up to Pen and the quirky citizens of Chumley to stop a killer and protect the charming British town she’s begun to call home.

 Book #1

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    Book #2

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Air Fryer #Pork #Tenderloin #Recipe @PegCochran

This recipe came about because I had a pork tenderloin (they were on sale--buy one/get one free) that I wanted to use and I didn't want to go to the grocery store.  I got out my air fryer (which I'm really growing to love), looked in the pantry and came up with this.  It's not earth shattering but it was very tasty and different from baking the tenderloin or grilling it, which is what I usually do.

Ingredients:
1 pork tenderloin
Dijon mustard or mustard of your choice
Panko or breadcrumbs
Italian seasoning or a combination of oregano, thyme and basil
olive oil spray

First, dry your tenderloin with some paper towels.  I chose to cut the tenderloin into individual pieces.

Next, spread some Dijon mustard (or mustard of your choice) on all sides of the tenderloin.

I used panko which I seasoned with a good dose of Italian seasoning.

Roll tenderloin in seasoned panko until well covered.

Pre-heat air fryer to 400 degrees and place tenderloin pieces in a single layer in the basket.  Spray lightly with olive oil spray.  Bake for approximately 8 minutes.

Flip pieces over, spray with olive oil and cook for another 8 to 10 minutes until panko is golden and brown.  The time will vary based on your air fryer, the size of your pieces, etc.  The pork should reach an internal temperature of 145 degrees.  You may want to remove the pork at 140 degrees and let it rest for 5 to 10 minutes--it will continue to cook to 145 degrees.

Pork does not have to be cooked until it's white--a tiny bit of pink is fine.  

OUT NOW!

Amazon review: "Murder, She Encountered by Peg Cochran is a terrific quasi-cozy mystery and a terrific read for anyone who likes WWII era fiction. One of the outstanding things about this book, which doesn't always happen, is that the author kept us solidly in 1939 New York between speech patterns, history happening in real time, and social history as it was happening....This was an excellent mystery and museum piece, both. I highly recommend it."

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New York City, 1939. A rising star at the Daily Trumpet, Elizabeth “Biz” Adams has been sent to the World’s Fair—billed as the “World of Tomorrow,” a look toward a brighter future even as the drumbeats of war grow louder—to cover a robbery. What she stumbles upon instead is a dead woman, dumped into the Aquacade’s pool with a nylon stocking wrapped around her neck.

Elizabeth snaps a photo as the police arrest Joey Dorman, a gentle young hot dog vendor who made no secret of his obsession with the murder victim. Even though she’s thrilled that her photo makes the front page, the fear and confusion evident on Joey’s face are haunting. So Elizabeth vows to prove his innocence—or his guilt—with her partner at the Daily Trumpet, Ralph Kaminsky. Meanwhile, her romance with Detective Sal Marino is heating up, and Elizabeth is more determined than ever to follow her heart.

But when Kaminsky’s efforts to expose the real killer land him in the hospital, Elizabeth is forced to continue the investigation on her own. And as she tries to narrow down the long list of suspects, she discovers a dark secret running through the Fair—a secret some would kill to protect.

Baked Garlic Pork Tenderloin #Recipe @PegCochran

Our grocery store often has a sale on pork tenderloins—buy one, get one free—so I tend to stock up on them and keep them on hand in the freezer.  The tenderloins are usually two to a pack and since there are only two of us, I freeze them separately.

Tenderloins cook quickly and make a great weeknight meal so I am always looking for new ways to prepare them.  This recipe, adapted from one on Sweet C’s blog, is easy and results in a tasty and juicy piece of meat.  After all the indulgences of the holiday season, this pork tenderloin served with a big salad would make a perfect light dinner.

Tenderloins are not always even—they tend to be thinner at one end.  I like to take the “tail” and tie it up so that the tenderloin is more or less the same thickness all over.  It makes for more even baking.

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
2 lbs. pork tenderloin
4 to 6 thin pats of butter
2 tablespoons diced garlic
1 tsp. dried basil*
1 tsp. dried oregano*
1 tsp. dried thyme*
1 tsp. dried parsley*
1/2 tsp. dried sage*
*OR 1 tablespoon Italian herb seasoning  

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a small bowl, combine garlic and herbs or Italian herb seasoning and set aside.  

Season tenderloin with salt and pepper.

In a large pan, heat oil until shimmering.  Add tenderloin and sear on all sides until golden brown.

Place a sheet of foil on a baking sheet and place seared tenderloin atop foil.  Coat tenderloin with herb mix and place pats of butter on top of the tenderloin.

Wrap up tenderloin in the foil, bake until pork is 150 degrees (about 25 minutes.)

Let pork rest for at least five minutes before serving.

Happy New Year to All!

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A Park Avenue princess discovers the dark side of 1930s New York when a debutante ball turns deadly in this gripping historical mystery for readers of Victoria Thompson, Anne Perry, and Rhys Bowen.

Manhattan, 1938. Tired of being trapped in the gilded cage of her family’s expectations, Elizabeth Adams has done what no self-respecting socialite would think to do: She’s gotten herself a job. Although Elizabeth’s dream is to one day see her photographs on the front page of the Daily Trumpet, for now she’s working her way up as the newsroom’s gal Friday.

But fetching coffee isn’t exactly her idea of fun, so when veteran reporter Ralph Kaminsky needs a photographer to fill in for a last-minute assignment, Elizabeth jumps at the chance. At the Waldorf Hotel, Elizabeth is tasked with tracking down the season’s “It girl,” Gloria DeWitt, who will be making her society debut. Working her own connections to New York’s upper crust, Elizabeth manages to land an exclusive interview with Gloria.

Then Gloria’s stepmother is shot dead in a Waldorf bathroom, placing Elizabeth at the scene of a headline-worthy scandal: “Murder of a Society Dame.” Now Elizabeth will have to get the scoop on the killer before her good name gets dragged through the gossip columns—or worse. . . .

From a Goodreads Review:

"What absolute fun! Penned with wit, humor and style, MURDER, SHE REPORTED gets my definite, “Yes!”

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