Dinner Party!

Friday night, Ryan and I had my friend Kirby and her new husband Jon over for dinner. They just got married early this month, and we have been looking for couple friends for a while now. Kirby and I worked together at Target, and since they just moved back to town, we thought it was the perfect time for a dinner party get-together! I had never met Jon, but from what I knew about him, I thought that he and Ryan would get along well! Turns out, I was right and they definitely hit it off. It's nice to have new friends. Since we were celebrating their new marriage and our 2 year anniversary, I decided to go all out for dinner. I made Pecan-crusted Pork Medallions with a maple-mustard sauce, Parmesan risotto, green beans, focaccia bread, and sour cream pound cake with fresh strawberries for dessert. All of it was delicious, but the pork was to-die-for! The crunchiness of the crust was just perfect without being hard, and the pecan and maple-mustard flavors were just incredible together. One of my favorite things about the meal was that I had placed the meat on top of the risotto and drizzled the sauce on top. This resulted in an unexpected but amazing flavor combination when I got bites of risotto with the sauce. The nutty and salty taste of the cheese was so good with the sweet spice of the maple-mustard sauce. YUM!



Pecan-crusted Pork Medallions

recipe courtesy of Betty Crocker cookbook




1 large egg

1/4 c. honey

pork tenderloin, cut into 1/2-inch slices

1 c. chopped pecans

1/2 c. yellow cornmeal

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

2 tbsp. vegetable oil



In large bowl, mix egg and honey. Add pork slices and toss to coat. In a food processor, place pecans, cornmeal, salt and pepper and process until finely chopped. Pour the pecan mixture into another bowl and dredge pork slices in pecan mixture.



In a 10-inch skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Cook pork in oil 6-8 minutes, turning occasionally, until golden brown on outside and no longer pink in center. Serve with maple-mustard sauce.



Maple-Mustard Sauce

recipe courtesy of Betty Crocker cookbook



2 tbsp. pure maple syrup

2 tbsp. Dijon mustard

2 tbsp. olive oil



Whisk ingredients together and serve.





Parmesan Risotto

recipe adapted from Better Homes and Gardens cookbook



1/3 c. chopped onion (1 small)

1 tbsp. butter

2/3 c. uncooked arborio rice

2 c. chicken broth

dash freshly ground pepper

1/4 c. freshly grated Parmesan



In a medium saucepan cook the onion in hot butter until tender; add rice. Cook and stir 2 minutes more. Carefully stir in the chicken broth and pepper and bring to boiling, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes. (Do not lift lid)



Remove saucepan from heat. Let stand, covered, for 5 minutes. Rice should be tender but slightly firm, and mixture should be creamy. Stir in Parmesan cheese and serve.