For dinner last weekend, I decided to be adventurous and make a spice-rubbed pork tenderloin with pomegranate reduction and some vanilla-sweet potato puree (the latter of which we first tried last Thanksgiving). We already had the pork and the pomegranate juice at home, so we stopped by the store for some sweet potatoes and cream. I let Jeremy choose the sweet potatoes (they were labeled “yams,” but we know the difference, right?), and he picked out 4 big ones that turned out to weigh 3.5 lbs, which was 2 lbs more than I needed for the recipe. So we doubled it and then some. We also got some romaine hearts for a salad.

I cooked both pork tenderloins in my package, but turned out not to actually like the taste of the pork much, either with the spice rub, or the pomegranate reduction, which was incredibly sour (“slightly tart,” my eye!). I ate more sweet potatoes than I ever have before, which amounted to 4 or 5 forkfuls. Then I filled my stomach with salad, which was the best part of the meal, to my mind. I made some quick Caesar salad dressing from Cooking Light and tossed that with the romaine and some Parmesan curls. We forgot to get some appropriate bread for making croutons, so I had to leave them out, and frankly, to my taste, they’re the best part of a salad. Can you tell I’m still a barely reformed salad-hater? Anyway, this Caesar salad was very quick and easy to make, and all the ingredients are pantry items, at least in my house.

I won’t post the recipe for the pork or sweet potatoes, because I just followed the recipes. I will note, however, that any leftover sweet potatoes (and we had a vast amount left) can be made into delicious sweet potato-pecan pancakes. I’ve also been considering sweet potato biscuits, cinnamon rolls, and/or ice cream, because using 3/4 C on pancakes made little to no dent in our remaining stash.

Creamy Caesar Salad

1 tsp minced garlic
1/2 C nonfat mayonnaise (we use SmartBalance)
2 T red wine vinegar
2 tsp Dijon mustard
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
2 anchovy fillets
1/4 tsp pepper

Drop ingredients into a mini-prep food processor or blender, and process until well-blended. Cover and chill at least 1 hour. Toss with torn romaine leaves, grated or shaved Parmesan cheese, and fresh garlic croutons, and serve.