During a quick afternoon visit last Sunday, my Dad asked what we were making for dinner, and offered up a marinade when I told him our main course was pork tenderloin.
He scanned the bookshelf in his kitchen, fingers gliding across dozens of cookbooks, until he found the right one.
Ahhh. A Junior League cookbook: Georgia on My Menu. Has there EVER been a bad Junior League cookbook? Not in my lifetime. Those Junior League ladies have got the process down. They have standards. They must have 30 families test each recipe so they can perfect them. Junior League Cookbooks are like war bonds or Superman or Sunday School teachers: they can be counted on. If aliens attack, I want to be protected by Junior League ladies.
So here’s the recipe. As Dad noted, “Of course it’s good, the page is covered in drips and drops!” Isn’t that right – all my favorite recipes are covered with the evidence of how many times they’ve been used.
Dear Reader, after the recommendation from Dad, I made this marinade mostly as written (sans lemon, as we were sadly lacking). I marinated our pork tenderloin for about 90 minutes in this potent potion, and WOW! I need to repeat that: WOW! The pork was savory, tender, succulent, umami-laden and just plain good. I boiled the marinade after the tenderloin was committed to the grill and it was a great glaze for the finished product, which, in addition to the pork, included grilled fennel, onions and bell peppers.
To use business phrases, the “key takeaways” are:
- Listen to Dad
- Trust Junior League Recipes
- If a cookbook page is crusty or stained, the recipe is a classic
This is my Dad. There are no words to express the goodness he has brought to my life. Including the pork marinade, of course.
The take-aways are spot on and the chops look tasty!