Dinner with the parents

my very full tiny grill

Last Wednesday night, my parents drove up for dinner. Since my mother is the best cook I know, and the person who taught me everything I know (thanks, Mom), I am always really nervous when serving her a meal. Impressing her is totally thrilling! So, I opted for my old stand-by: pork tenderloin on the grill. After deciding on the main course, I figured I may as well make the whole meal on the grill. Lately I have been intrigued by grilling things that typically are not found on a grill and this inspired me to pick my two side dishes-- carrots and fennel. I also made a salad (not pictured) of arugula, pistachio, and baby heirloom tomatoes.

1. Grilled pork tenderloin
I put a dry rub on the pork and let it marinate for about an hour. The dry rub consisted of fennel seed (both whole and ground), dried parsley, a dash of cayenne, the zest of one orange, a bit of salt, and a healthy amount of cracked black pepper. I threw the tenderloin on the grill (Medium-ish heat) for 40 minutes, turning twice. I let the pork sit ten minutes (under a foil tent) before slicing. THIS IS THE MOST CRITICAL STEP! Pork can very easily dry out, so it is very important to let it sit and hold in all of its juices and flavor. The pork was GREAT. The outside was crusty with just a little kick; the inside was tender and juicy. There were not any leftovers, so that would seem to be a success!

2. Grilled carrots
I peeled a pound of carrots and rubbed them with olive oil. After some research, I decided to grill them for 20 minutes, turning every 5 minutes. The last time I turned them, I covered them with a glaze of OJ, butter, and brown sugar. After removing the carrots from the grill, you can add a bit more of the glaze (I did), sprinkle with some salt, and garnish with parsley (the recipe I saw online recommended fresh thyme which would have been fantastic!) The flavor of the carrots was incredible, but they were not evenly cooked. If I were to do this again, I would flash boil (or even microwave) the carrots first and grill them just for a few minutes. 


3. Grilled fennel
I adore fennel. This should be well known by now. I try to eat it whenever possible, and constantly try to trick Tim into sharing my passion for it!
The idea of grilled fennel was just fantastic to me. I personally think it was better in theory than in application, but everyone else enjoyed it well enough. Basically, you quarter the fennel while keeping the core still in tact so the quarters are held together. Toss with olive oil, grill for about 12 minutes, and then when you remove it, cut the cores out and drizzle with lemon juice and salt and garnished with parsley. The fennel looked great, and the flavor was good, but like the carrots, I felt that the pieces were just not very evenly cooked. I will have to try again and perfect my strategy!