Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Pear and Apple Chutney

News flash! I have a confession to make. Our family has not sat down for dinner in days... er... I mean weeks. Here I am writing a blog about getting your family back to the dinner table, and I can't even get mine to all eat at the same time.

This past Sunday as dinner was ready, lo and behold, we were all home. We sat at our kitchen island with its new counter top and ate dinner together as a family. No Thank You Boy remarked that it has been eons since we all ate dinner at the same time. We have been eating in shifts lately because of the varied schedules of the 5 of us.

I must say that we all enjoyed each others company and had really forgotten how much we actually like to eat together. Not that they wasn't an argument or two about who knows what, we still lingered at the table not wanting to think about what was needed to be done for the upcoming week.

Sunday's dinner was Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Pear and Apple Chutney. I used an old stand by recipe for roasting the tenderloin and added a sweet and slightly spicy chutney with pears, apples, red onion, sage, cinnamon, sherry vinegar and sugar. It tasted a little like a savory chunky applesauce and complimented the pork well. I also made mashed sweet potatoes and creamed spinach.

My Middle One ate 1 serving....2 servings.....3 servings of the pork tenderloin and, I don't think she had much of anything else. Is she trying to tell me that she is tired of the pasta, fried rice, and sandwiches I have been trying to pass off as dinner lately and just wants some....MEAT!? When I prepare the usual 2 and 1/2 pounds of pork tenderloin, we have at least a couple servings of leftovers. Not on this night. It was gone before I had the chance to package it up my my lunch the next day.

I will be making our family dinners more of a priority in the future. We may eat a little later than we like, but being able to spend some time together will be well worth it.

Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Pear and Apple Chutney
 2 pork tenderloins, about 2 1/2 pounds total
salt
pepper
dried sage
olive oil

for the chutney -
1 apple, peeled and chopped
1 pear, peeled and chopped
1 teaspoon sage
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup water
3 tablespoons sherry or apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoon brown sugar

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Rub tenderloins with olive oil and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and sage. Heat a large, ovenproof saute pan to medium high and drizzle with olive oil. Brown tenderloins on all sides. Roast tenderloins in the oven for about 15 - 20 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 135 degrees. Remove tenderloins from oven and tent with foil.

Meanwhile, prepare the chutney. In a small saucepan, combine all of the ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for about 30 minutes until most of the liquid has evaporated. Remove from heat and set aside.

To serve, slice the tenderloins and top with some of the warm chutney.

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