Rubbing Some Pork and Peanut Butter Pasta

Today my husband emailed me and said, "What are we cooking for the blog tonight?". 

Funny how I don't remember cooking ever being a "we" activity, unless, of course, you ask my husband.  He maintains that chopping something, asking questions about a recipe, or stirring a simmering pot counts as cooking, so when he does "help", he'll routinely refer to my meals as things that "we made".  Interesting.


Anyway, back to our email exchange:


Him: "What are we cooking for the blog tonight?"
Me: (Ignoring the fact that he implies that "we" are cooking anything) "Dinner tonight is honey sesame pork with peanut noodles and roasted broccoli.  Its going to be awesome."
Him: "Great, because that sounds like something I can cook pretty easily"
Me: "Really?  Tell me more."
Him: " Yep. Easy.  You just rub some honey on some pork, boil some pasta in water with a bunch of peanuts in there, and put the broccoli in the oven."


Sounds delicious, eh?


Luckily, his only contribution was drinking Amstel Light and slicing the pork when it was done.  Although I do think raw pork with honey rubbed on it paired with plain pasta with boiled peanuts would have been mighty tasty as well. 

Honey Sesame Pork Tenderloin
Source: Food.com

1 1/2 lbs pork tenderloin
½ cup soy sauce
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp fresh grated ginger
1 Tbs vegetable oil
¼ cup honey
3 Tbs brown sugar
¼ cup sesame seeds

Rinse tenderloin and pat dry. Trim any fat. Place in large ziploc freezer bag.

Mix soy sauce, garlic, ginger and oil in a bowl. Pour over the tenderloin and seal the bag. Marinate in the refrigerator for 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.

Mix honey and brown sugar in shallow dish. Set aside.

Drain the tenderloin, discarding the marinade. Roll tenderloin in the honey mixture until well-coated. Roll in sesame seeds.

Place the tenderloin on a V-rack with a drip pan. Bake 40 minutes, or until meat thermometer inserted into the thickest portion registers 160 degrees.

Slice into medallions and serve immediately.

Cold Sesame Noodles
Source: Adapted from Epicurious

Kosher salt

1 pound Chinese egg noodles or spaghetti

3 cloves garlic, smashed

2 tablespoons light brown sugar

1 cup creamy peanut butter

3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar

3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce

1 teaspoon red chili sauce (recommended: Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce)

1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil

6 tablespoons water

2 scallions, sliced thin

1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds, for garnish

Fresh cilantro leaves, for garnish

Cook the noodles in large pot of boiling salted water.  Drain immediately and rinse with cold water until cool.

Whisk together the ginger, garlic, sugar, peanut butter, vinegar, soy sauce, chili sauce, sesame oil, and water.

Pour the peanut sauce over the noodles and toss until well coated.  Serve garnished with the scallions, sesame seeds, and cilantro