grilled pork tenderloin with glaze and mojo

if you were lucky to have nice weather (which we finally were!), like you, the mimis took full advantage and grilled every night this long holiday weekend. every time i think i want to move back to manhattan to be closer to school, a perfect early summer evening arrives and my brooklyn garden is like an oasis. i could never give this up, voluntarily.

so what did the mimis have? one night was boca burger night, but that's not very photogenic, huh? so no photos of that, but tasty as always. the first night we started with fresh grilled clams. if you have not tried this method of clamming, please do! very easy, and super delish.





we followed that with beef kabobs with cubano peppers and onions. the first rule of kabobs is keep it simple, don't go adding on a zillion different vegetables. i have learned that it never works right! the zucchinis never cook entirely and the tomatoes always fall off. and the second rule is to use the best meat. these morsels came from arcadian farms. wow, if there was ever proof that happy cows make delish meat, these kabobs were it!





for sides we keep to our motto of simple is almost always best. our go-to sides include small red potatoes grilled in an aluminum foil pouch, and whatever great green vegetables are around. for late spring, this means asparagus and some snap peas. everything is tossed with a little bit of olive oil, seasoned with salt and pepper. once my herbs are a bit bigger, fresh thyme and chives are added too. mr. mimi likes a sprinkle of paprika on the potatoes.



but the crown jewel of the weekend grilling bonanza was what we just enjoyed tonight.

back when the food network was actually about food (i loooved the two hot tamales!) the mimis weren't terribly fond of the popular bobby flay. it wasn't that we thought he was a bad chef, but his show was horribly lame with that token woman and his schtick was just unbearable to watch. but i was cruising around epicurious to find some special grilling recipe, and came across one of his menus. lame show or not, i assume bobby knows a thing or two about grilling.



i promise you, if you try this recipe you will not be disappointed!! mojo is a classic cuban sauce. combined with the glaze, this dish has a sweet and spicy kick that is gorgeous. a clean spiciness, but with half a habanero chile, it was definitely spicy. if you don't like spicy at all, then this isn't for you. if you like less spicy, just reduce the amount of chile. but don't skimp on any of the other ingredients or components, it really just works perfectly together.



grilled pork tenderloin with glaze and mojo: serves 6
adapted from bobby flay on epicurious (click here)

for glaze:
1 cup guava jelly (found in latin markets) or apricot jam (we used the jam)
1/4 cup dijon mustard
1/4 cup orange juice
salt + pepper

for mojo:
2 tb mild vegetable oil, such as canola
1 small red onion, finely diced
4 garlic cloves, finely diced
3 cups orange juice
1/2 cup fresh lime juice
1/2 habanero chile, seeded and finely chopped
2 tb chopped cilantro leaves
1 tsp cumin seeds (we used about 1/2 tsp ground cumin)
salt + pepper

for pork:
2 pork tenderloins, about 1 1/2 pounds each
2 tb vegetable oil, such as canola

1. make glaze: whisk ingredients together and season with salt and pepper to taste.

2. make mojo: heat oil in saucepan over medium-high heat. add onion and garlic and cook, stirring, until soft, about 5 minutes (do not brown). add habanero and cook for about 1 minute. add orange juice and lime juice and bring to boil. cook until reduced by half. whisk in cilantro and cumin and season with salt and pepper to taste.

3. make pork: prepare hot grill. brush pork with oil and season with salt and pepper. grill, brushing each side often with glaze, until just cooked through (reaching 150F at the thickest portion). be careful not to overcook. remove pork from grill, brush with remaining glaze if desired, and let rest for 10 minutes. cut into slices and drizzle with mojo.