Pork Medallions Milanese

Our Valentine's Dinner

I really didn't know what to call this dish.  It was served on top of cheesy polenta...and it was topped with a Cheesy Tomato Sauce with Onions and Mushrooms and Basil.  The pork tenderloin medallions were "sort of" in the Milanese style.  They were pounded with a mallet and coated in Italian style bread crumbs...but not dipped in egg - and fried.  So I don't know if it qualifies.  I don't really care either. I suspect I'm mixing regions... I just know it was really, really good!  I'm calling it Pork Medallions Milanese and that's that.

It came together so quickly I had no time to take preparation photos.  All I have are a couple of photos of the finished product ready to take to the table...and there was so much it was almost overflowing the platter.  It was attacked with gusto by the family as we had not had lunch...just the Sunday morning breakfast tacos and we were all starved.  We had a simple side of steamed asparagus...and a lovely brownie cake waiting for dessert.  (More on that tomorrow)

This was our Valentine's Day celebratory meal.  There was no patience for photos at this table...no nicely set up plated meal...hell no.  They were on it like dogs on a plate of rib bones.  I didn't know whether to laugh or pull my hands back for safety.

The sounds of enjoyment were my rewards.  After a few bites, there were the appropriate ooohs and ahhhs and "honey this is good" which always warms my heart. 

Here's how I pulled it together.

1.  . Before starting the pork, clean and slice 1/2 pound of mushrooms and dice 1/2 small or 1/4 large sweet onion. Saute in 2 tablespoons olive oil. Add large pinch of salt once they are in the oil as well as 1/2 teaspoon dried basil. Once onions are translucent, add your favorite marinara or pasta sauce. I used Bertolli 5-Cheese Sauce. Stir and leave on low to use on top of the medallions. (if you haven't already prepped your side(s) - do that now.  Once the tenderloin and polenta get going, it goes fast.

2.  Trim a pork tenderloin of all silver skin and white stuff (that's a technical term).  Slice into about 1 inch medallions, placing each piece between pieces of plastic wrap, and pounding thin with a mallet.

3.  Place pounded medallions into a bed of seasoned bread crumbs, flipping back and forth to coat.  I used Progresso Italian Bread Crumbs.

4.  In a small amount of oil in a wide bottomed fry pan, over a medium high heat, begin browning the pieces of pork.  They go fairly quickly.  Remove browned pieces to a paper towel coated rack and lightly salt.  Put in another batch.  I had about 6 batches all together.

5.  Prepare your favorite polenta - I used Colavita fast cooking polenta for the first time - holy smokes, they weren't kidding that it only took 5 minutes - I had to hustle to stir with one hand and flip medallions with the other.  I must say, here, you really need to whisk from the start.  The directions say "stir" but whisk if you don't want any lumps.  And, when they say slowly pour in the polenta, they mean slowly...if you don't want lumps.  My addtion:  Add 1/2 cup cream, 1/2 cup grated Mozzarella and 1/4 cup grated Parmesan to the thickened polenta right before serving.  Stir until melted.

6.  Pour the polenta into a large serving platter, top with fried pork tenderloin medallions, and ladle the mushroom and onion tomato sauce over the top...and serve!

Okay, here's the other picture...looks pretty much like the other picture.  That's it!

Bon Appetit, Y'all!

SHARED WITH:

Creamy Polenta

Following along from my last post on the braised country pork ribs, it calls for a bed of creamy polenta when serving.  I've never had much luck making polenta.  I either make it too dry, or it has no flavor...I've only tried it a couple of times...and gave up.

I have high hopes for this recipe because Melissa d'Arabian said a chef told her to finish the polenta in a slow cooker for a no-fail method, using a 1:7 corn meal to liquid ratio.  Her recipe also calls for half-and-half, butter, and Parmesan cheese...part of my own personal holy trinity!  High hopes people!

The cornmeal I finally selected

The first challenge was finding the proper corn meal...my stop at the Port Isabel HEB garnered pre-made polenta on the "Italian foods" aisle (nope - that won't do) and had me moving on to the cornbread fixin's aisle, aka the baking aisle, where I found no coarse ground corn meal.  I didn't even find corn meal that had a recipe for polenta on the packaging.  I flip flopped on over to the breakfast cereal aisle and looked at the "grits"selections...no yellow grits.  So, I moseyed my way back to the "baking" aisle and looked at what I determined to be my best options.  One was a medium grind corn meal from Corsicana, Texas.  Probably would have been my first pick, except it expired in about 6 weeks...and I knew I was only using a small amount...and it was likely to go bad, resulting in my throwing it away.  So, I took the slightly more expensive but longer shelf-lifed option of a Stone Ground 100% whole grain cornmeal - medium grind.

It looked like the stuff I used to buy in Austin - the packaging was clear so I could see what I was buying.  Expiration date in mid-2012...with freezer storage and the assistance of my Food Saver seal for the bag after opening, this should be a winner and last long enough that I can use it multiple times.  I reckon I was wayyyy over-thinking the whole process...but I wanted to have the correct product!

So, onward towards the recipe....

CREAMY POLENTA
by Melissa d'Arabian

Ingredients:

Vegetable cooking spray
1 cup milk
1 1/3 cups half-and-half, divided
2 tablespoons butter, divided
1/3 cup coarse polenta, or corn grits
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
Special equipment:  Slow cooker

Method:

Spray the insert of a slow cooker with cooking spray (for easier cleanup) and preheat on high. (Note - if I had any brains I would have used a slow cooker liner - this looks like some hard-to-clean stuff...see the photo below at the 45 minute mark)

In a medium sauce pan, add the milk, 1 cup of the half-and-half, 1 tablespoon butter, and polenta. 

Polenta into the cold liquid

Season with salt and bring to a boil over medium-high heat, whisking constantly to keep the mixture lump-free.  Boil for 2 to 3 minutes.  Pour the mixture into the slow cooker and cook on high for 2 hours, stirring once or twice per hour. 

At the 45 minute mark in the slow cooker -
I'm thinking I'll try it on low heat for the remaining time!

Once you are ready to serve, open the slow cooker and whisk in the remaining 1 tablespoon butter, remaining 1/3 cup half-and-half and the Parmesan cheese....um, okay...I confess, the last 1/3 cup was not half-and-half...it was whipping cream :-)  My own personal touch.  I think it made it extraordinary.

Also, my slow cooker is old...and high was too high for 2 hours.  I turned it down to low for the last hour and turned it off for the last 15 minutes of cooking time.  That was perfect for my slow cooker.  I was worried there was not going to be enough...but I was wrong.  It was the perfect amount for the base of my serving platter!  Verrry cheesy and rich.

I put this out on a serving platter and placed the ribs down on top of the polenta and ladled the reduced braising sauce over the ribs.  Really, really good stuff.

Braised Country Pork Ribs over Creamy Polenta -
the steamy heat makes for blurry photos...sorry!

I served this dish with Melissa's Roasted Balsamic Onions.  Another post coming your way for that one...

Bon Appetit, Y'all!