Recipe(tried): A Cooking School Favorite - Roast Pork Medallions With White Wine Sauce

I am very fortunate to live close to a wonderful Kitchen store that also conducts cooking classes. They have local and Celebrity chefs from all over the country teach classes there. You sign up for each individual class that you are interested in. The classes last about 4-5 hours and you sit around the kitchen counter while the chef and assistants are preparing and teaching you techniques associated with the receipe or menu they are preparing. It is so much fun. Everyone is relaxed and able to ask questions as we go along; just like you were preparing dinner at a friends house.

The best part is "YOU EAT THE DINNER". By tasting the dishes, you know just how the sauce, etc. should taste and it is a big help when you go to prepare the menu at home. It also lets you taste receipes that end up being some of your favorites that if you had just seen in a cook book, you may have never even tried.

If you have similar classes taught in your towns, please do yourself a favor and sign up. You will love it. However, they are addictive! I have spent a small fortune on classes as I have been going for years.

Tonight I want to share one of my favorite entrees from one of the classes. It is the one I would fix for you if you would come to dinner.

Roast Pork Medallions with White Wine Sauce (serves 4)

3 whole pork tenderloins
3 T. fennel seed
2 T. thyme
garlic power, good quality olive oil,
salt and pepper

In a saute pan over high heat, no oil in pan, roast the fennel seed until it begins to turn lightly golden and becomes very fragrant. Remove seeds from pan onto a cutting board. Crush the seeds with a rolling pin.

Remove any white tendons from tenderloins and wash off. Generously coat tenderloins with the olive oil, then sprinkle with thyme, salt, pepper and garlic powder. Cover the tenderloins with the fennel seeds. Allow to sit, refrigerated, at least one hour, and up to overnight.

To cook the tenderloins put in pan and place directly under the broiler and roast on each side (4) for 2 minutes per side. This cooking time will produce a lightly pink center which tastes perfect. Remove from pan, set aside and cover and keep warm.

White Wine Sauce

2 Cups Dry White Wine (I use an inexpensive one
Taylor's California Cellers Chablis)
2 T. unsalted butter
2 T. demi-glace
1/2 medium onion - very finely chopped
2 cloves garlic
salt and pepper

In a saute pan, melt butter and cook the garlic and onion until tender, but do not brown. Deglaze roasting pan with white wine over high heat. Add the liquid from the roasting pan to the sauce pan and cook over high heat until reduced by half. Add the demi-glace and whisk in the desired amount of beurre manie to thicken. Season to taste. Slice the pork tenderloin medallions and arrange on dish and top with sauce.

Notes: Demi glace - you can take a good quality canned beef stock and pour the whole can in a sauce pan and reduce until you only have 2-3 T. left. Demi glace is also available frozen from upscale Kitchen stores. I have used the can method in this receipe and it works fine.

Beurre Manie - Melt 2T. butter. Turn off heat and add 2T. flour. Mix thoroughly. Whisk this into the above sauce a little at a time. A Beurre Manie is always just equal amounts of butter to flour.

Also, do not substitute margarine for the butter. Margarine would burn and not give you a satisfactory result.

Enjoy!