One recipe leads to another

I had a taste in my mouth. Have you ever had that happen? You start thinking about something you want to cook or bake and you just...taste it.

Most of this was due to Alton Brown's Good Eats show on pomegranates. I love pomegranates. On the show, he makes pomegranate molasses. Since my local grocery stores don't run to that wonderfully thick, sweet syrup, I decided to follow his recipe and make myself some.

And then smear it, with a few additions, on a pork tenderloin. Oh, my goodness, was it good. The only fly in the ointment was a overly-large piece of black pepper that lodged itself in my throat about halfway through dinner. I coughed and wheezed and sweat and cried. And my throat and tongue swelled - not enough to warrant a trip to the emergency room, but enough to cause painful swallowing and tongue movement for a few hours. Thankfully, I had the presence of mind to pop an allergy pill and snort some antihistamine as soon as I got that piece of pepper gone.

And then I took a warm tea bath to soothe myself.

And sipped warm apple cider while reading a rot-my-brain romance novel while relaxing to the sound of the ocean (thanks to my alarm clock).

I have a tenderloin left. I am almost afraid to eat the leftovers LOL.

Pork Tenderloin with Black Pepper and Pomegranate Molasses

2 pork tenderloins

1/2 cup pomegranate molasses

1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper

1 tbsp dijon mustard

1 tsp horseradish

Kosher salt

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Either oil a baking dish or place a layer of foil in the bottom (I missed this all-too-important step and had a hell of a time getting my Le Creuset baking dish clean - don't forget to do this!) before laying the tenderloins (slightly spaced apart) in the dish. Sprinkle lightly with kosher salt.

In a small bowl, whisk together the molasses, pepper, dijon mustard, and horseradish. Brush a generous layer on the tenderloins and then place the baking dish in the oven. Every 15 to 20 minutes, brush some more of the molasses mixture over the tenderloins. Bake until cooked all the way through (185 degrees) - time will depend on the thickness of your tenderloins. Mine took an hour and 15 minutes.