FEED YOUR FACE: Maple-glazed Pecan Tenderloin

Yummers! Christmas is fast approaching, and it's time to think of what to feed family and friends. So let's have at it.

Here is what you need:
2 pork tenderloin, a pound or so each
1 Tablespoon veggie oil
1 Tablespoon butter
1/2 cup maple syrup (or maple syr-ple, as Kathi calls it)
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons of your favorite bourbon (or mine!)
2 Tablespoons of stone-ground mustard
A shot glass (so the cook can have a little nip)

Sprinkle tenderloins with salt. Heat the oil and butter in a large oven-proof skillet over medium high heat until it's hot. Add the tenderloin gently, so you don't get burned. Cook them about 3 minutes or so on each side until they are browned. Once they are browned, turn off the burner.

Combine your syrup, mustard, and pecans in a small saucepan and bring that to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer (uncovered) for about 3 minutes or until it gets thick. Stir in the bourbon. (The cook could have a little nip at this time.)

Now, take the sauce and spread it over the tenderloin in the skillet. Place the skillet into your oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes (or until a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part registers 160 degrees).

Remove the tenderloin to a serving platter and tent with some aluminum foil. Let it rest for 10 minutes or so.

Slice and serve with the remaining sauce from the skillet.
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The first time I had this as a child, at great grandmother's house, I was all excited because it had whiskey in it. 'Course, I thought that all alcohol was whiskey back then. I was feeling all grown up. She served it up with mashed potatoes, biscuits, homemade grape jelly, salad, and corn.

Years went by. One time I was up hunting deer and stopped by their house to say "hi" and see how they were doing. She had cooked the very same meal all these years later. 'Course, being older, I pigged out. I found out after I got back home that my Dad had called them from his farm in Arkansas. There he was in Arkansas, and here I was in Colorado, and we had just talked about this same meal.

Oh yeah. . . I came home with a nice fat little doe that season.

So, make some memories. Cook up a meal. And FEED YOUR FACE!