1 pound pork tenderloin, trimmed
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 teaspoon ground cumin
salt and pepper

1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons onion, minced
2 tablespoons shallot, minced
1/2 cup sherry
1 cup chicken broth
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 cup sour cream

1. Preheat oven to 500 degrees.
2. Make 1/2" slices in the top of the tenderloin at 1/2" intervals. Insert a sliver of garlic into each cavity.
3. Rub the pork with oil, then season with cumin, salt and a generous amount of black pepper.
4. Place pork in an ovenproof skillet and roast pork in the oven until a thermometer can be inserted into the thickest part of the meat and read 155 degrees.
5. Remove meat from the pan to a warmed plate and tent with foil.
6. Heat pan over medium-high heat and add the butter, onion and shallot.
7. Add the sherry and scrape as much of the bits from the pan as possible. Reduce the liquid by half, then add the chicken broth and lime juice.
8. Boil until the sauce is thickened and slightly syrupy in texture.
9. Remove the sauce from heat and allow to cool slightly. Stir in the sour cream. Either pour over slices of tenderloin and onto a plate with slices of pork on top.

Makes 4 servings

5 ounces salt pork, cubed
1 large onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
2 cups dried black eyed peas
1 bay leaf
water

1. Soak beans overnight with enough water to cover. Drain and rinse.
2. Heat a large pot over medium-high heat. Rinse the salt pork then add it to the pot, browning on all sides. Drain the excess fat, then add the onions, garlic and cumin.
3. Sauté until the onions are lightly browned, then reduce the heat. Add the beans, bay leaf and enough water to cover. Simmer until beans are tender, about 1 hour. Add more water as necessary.

Makes 6 servings

Ah, more fun with pork and beans not even a month after the Last Time. I've been drawn to pork tenderloin every time I see it lately and it ends up coming home with me. The beans always seem like such a natural accompaniment that I hardly ever question it. Especially with ingredients like this, that sort of have a Mexican or Caribbean flare.

I made Roasted Garlic Pork Tenderloin with Lime Cream Sauce and was under the impression that the cumin and lime juice would give it a flavor I've grown accustomed to. It was very, very different. It turned out very much more like bistro style cooking than any sort of Mexican dish I've ever had. I suppose this is technically two recipes in one, but I combined them. The pork itself was over roasted, which is pretty easy to do in a 500 degree oven, but still ended up being tender. The garlic was slivered and inserted into the pork loin, which flavored the meat and roasted the garlic at the same time. So even by itself it was great. The sauce involves butter, wine and sour cream, hence the bistroness of it. I lit the wine on fire for no reason whatsoever other than to indulge the pyro in me that enjoyed making the Cognac Chicken simply for that fact. The sauce is very rich and potently flavorful and I enjoyed it so much I ate the whole tenderloin!

The bean part of the dinner failed to impress me, but it was my fault for ruining it. I've never cooked with salt pork before and I didn't realize that it was so, well, salty. I gave it a good rinse under water because it had a lot of visible salt but even still I used way too much for my little batch of beans. The Salt Pork Black Eyed Peas are definitely potentially good, assuming you used a proper ratio of beans to pork.