A few weeks ago, I wrote a post about five things you can do to feel beautiful. I happened to mention an off-the-cuff recipe I’d created for my birthday dinner, and several people asked me for the recipe. So here you go….

Sherried Pork Medallions in Demi Glacé Cream Sauce

Serves 2 adults, and 2 children. Scale as desired…

What you need:

• 1 pound pork tenderloin, cut into 1 1/2 inch thick medallions.
• 2 tablespoons butter
• Olive Oil
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled
• 1 small onion, peeled
• 8 ounces sliced mushrooms
• 1/4 c dry sherry
• 1 tablespoon demi glacé
• 1/2 c heavy cream
• 1/2 c dry white wine
• 1/2 tsp dry thyme, or 2 sprigs fresh
• 1/4 fresh Parmesan

What you do:

If you have a micro-plane, finely grate the onion and garlic together onto a small plate. If you don’t have a micro-plane, finely chop them instead. Season your medallions with salt and pepper. Keep in mind, we’ll be adding Parmesan later, so don’t over salt. Melt butter into olive oil on medium-high heat until butter starts to brown. Add medallions to pan. Don’t move them for about 3-5 minutes to allow them to fully sear on that side- although do check them so they don’t get too dark. You may have to turn the heat up a bit after adding all the medallions, depending upon your pan.

Turn the pork over, and sear the second side.  You can also go ahead and sear the edges, just make sure they sear quickly so you don’t over cook them. Remove the pork to a platter to keep warm. Stir in onion and garlic into the drippings, until the scents coming off the pan smell divine. No really, when you can actually smell both the caramelizing onion and the garlic, that’s an excellent indicator that they’ve cooked enough.

Add the demi glacé, and the thyme. Deglaze with the sherry, adding more as necessary. Whisk in the wine, the cream, and the Parmesan. Taste, and adjust seasonings as desired. Return the pork to the pan to finish cooking to your desired temperature. The FDA says pork should be cooked to 155 minimum, just for your information, although I usually pull it off at 150 and cover it 5-10 minutes to allow the residual heat to finish cooking it.

Serve with oven roasted Potatoes seasoned with rosemary, green salad,  Asiago garlic bread, and the rest of the wine. Do note, that in the summer I’ll substitute my Mediterranean Tomato salad instead of the potatoes…

Bon appetit!