To celebrate our two week anniversary, I grilled up a special meal of Jamaican Jerk Pork Tenderloin, Mexican Grilled Corn on the Cobb, and Fire-Roasted Tomatoes with a cheap Chardonnay.
Here are the recipes:
Jamaican Jerk Pork Tenderloin
Pork Tenderloin (about 1.5 – 2 Pounds Total)
2 T Chopped Fresh Cilantro
1/4 C Dark Rum (I used light because it is all I had)
2 Tablespoon Fresh Lime Juice
2 Tablespoon Olive Oil
2 Tablespoon Light Brown Sugar
1 Cup Soy Sauce (I used 3/4 Soy and 1/4 C Bragg’s Liquid Amino)
1/2 Teaspoon Nutmeg
1/2 Teaspoon Cayenne
1/4 Teaspoon Ground Allspice
1/4 Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
1/4 Teaspoon Salt
Combine all ingredients except the pork in a flat baking dish. Reserve 1/3 of the marinade and keep it separate. Trim all fat and skin from pork tenderloins (this is Terry’s job) and place them in them in the marinade. Turn to coat well. Cover and marinate for 15 to 30 minutes at room temperature. (we’re newlyweds so the pork marinated much longer than the suggested time frame.)
Place pork on 3rd burner of grill (this is specific to our grill and this menu) with first two burners set to medium and 3rd burner at low. I used the first burner to roast red peppers (they were on sale for .99 each) for a tomorrow’s lunch: Roasted Red Pepper, Roast Beef, Smoked Gouda Cheese Sandwich on mini wheat buns with Chipotle mustard. (Check back tomorrow for the recipe!)
Let pork cook using Indirect Grilling method for about 30 minutes. After the peppers were charred, I put the corn on the cob on the 1st medium flame and the cherry tomatoes in a bar-b-que pan in the 2nd medium flame.
Turn the pork loin four times while flame is on medium to sear in flavor, then reduce flame to low and turn occasionally, marinating frequently. The reserved marinade is supposed to be heated and poured over the finished product, but this was unnecessary because we let the pork marinate longer than the recipe instructed and found it needed nothing more.
So here’s how we prepared the fresh sweet corn on the cob.
We shucked and washed it, sprayed it down with PAM Olive Oil and laid it on that hot grill.
But once it was cooked, we had a few surprise ingredients to throw in. Here’s the recipe for twelve ears. I improvised for two by mixing the ingredients in proportion, but I didn’t reduce the recipe by that much and was glad that I had lots of the seasoning to share with the grilled cherry tomatoes I threw in at the last minute:
Tex-Mex Corn on the Cob
12 ears of corn on the cob
3 Tablespoons minced fresh cilantro
1-1/2 teaspoons chili powder
1-1/2 teaspoons grated lime peel
3/4 teaspoon salt (BTW, I rarely add salt when instructed and never miss it.)
3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder (I’m sorry, but if it ain’t real garlic, I don’t use it. I skipped this ingredient!)
Refrigerated butter-flavored spray (I’m the grill queen so “refrigerated butter-flavored” sounds whimpy to me. I used Spray Oil specially formulated for grills.)
Place ears on medium heat until kernels bubble, pop or crinkle and show a tinge of black from the grill. (I made that up based on personal preference.) Stomp the other ingredients together in a mill or with a whisk. Grill corn then slather with mix. Use leftovers on anything else waiting to be grilled – like cherry tomatoes.
We both agreed it was one of our best meals, but we did have one minor disagreement you can help resolve. Which of the following pictures reflects correct table-setting etiquette?
Picture A
Picture B
Our table-setting disagreement didn’t spoil our two-week anniversary, but we do have a lot riding on the bet over who is correct.
