Pork Tenderloin with Mustard-Caper Sauce

This is one of those dishes that's so easy to prepare and tastes like it required some culinary training to get it to taste so good.  The simplicity of this recipe makes it great; no fussy, hard to find ingredients and simple preparation.

To illustrate how easy and fool-proof this recipe is to prepare, I'll tell you about the very first time I made it. I made this dish for the first time many years ago for an old boyfriend (pre-husband). Anxious to cook and ready to impress my new boyfriend, I broke the golden rule of entertaining...which is, 'Never make a new dish for the first time for company'. Experimenting with a new recipe is never a good idea when entertaining others, especially a new boyfriend you're trying to impress by cooking for him. With that being said, I broke this rule because it was one of my Mom's recipes. She'd recommended I try it and as a general rule, my Mom's recipes are always good even if you've never made it before.(Provided you don't burn it or use the wrong ingredients.) Anyhow, I plowed forward and made the dish. I was nervous about how it would taste, since I myself had never tasted it before. We sat down and we took our first bites...and oh my....it was so incredible! The boyfriend sighed and mmm'ed in agreement that it was, in fact, delicious! Big relief! He went on and on about how good it was and finished the whole pan with seconds and thirds.
Anyway...the point of this walk down memory lane is that although I served a dish I'd never prepared before, the dish was utterly delicious. Not because I had intense hope that the dish would be awesome or even because of my cooking ability. Pork Tenderloin with Mustard-Caper Sauce was incredible because this recipe uses great ingredients and has easy, simple preparation which makes it fool-proof and delicious the first time and every time. This is one of my favorite dishes and I've made it many many times over the last 10 years since my maiden voyage and it's always delicious. Hope you give it a try.

   
Just a note about this picture above. I love the rustic feel and look of the rough chopped shallots and the graininess of the whole-grain mustard, it makes me feel comforted just looking at it and imagining the taste of it. The best of both worlds is a dish that can be elegant and light but also rustic and satisfying. I made this dish last week and served it with some roasted asparagus with garlic. Something light for Spring but still satisfying and delicious. Imagine this dish on a cold Winter night served with garlic mashed potatoes, roasted carrots, a bottle of wine and big loaf of crusty bread to soak up the delicious pan sauce. Can you imagine it? Give it a whirl and wait for the compliments to rain down on you. :)

Pork Tenderloin with Mustard-Caper Sauce (recipe from my Mom's book)
Serves 4

1 lb. pork tenderloin, silver skin removed and cut into 1" thick rounds
2 T butter
1/3 cup shallots, chopped
1 can chicken broth
4 T whipping cream
2 T rinsed and drained capers
2 T course-grained Dijon Mustard
salt and pepper (to taste)

Place pork rounds on a layer of plastic wrap and cover with another layer of plastic wrap and lightly pound pork rounds to approximately 1/2" thickness. Lightly salt and pepper and set aside.

Melt butter in skillet over medium high heat. Add pork to skillet and saute until brown and almost cooked through about two minutes per side. Transfer to a plate and set aside. Add shallots to skillet and saute for 2-3 minutes. Add chicken broth and cream and heat scraping up bits. Continue to reduce until sauce thickens to coat spoon. (~5-8 minutes)
Note: This sauce will not be a thick sauce as there is no thickening agent added. Heating and reducing the liquid concentrates the flavors and thickens the sauce.
Add mustard and capers. Return pork to sauce. Simmer for about 2 minutes more until pork is heated through. Salt and pepper to taste and serve.