Pork Tenderloin

One of my favorite main dishes is pork tenderloin and some amazing sauce.  Usually I start by searing the meat in a saute pan, then sauteing some mushrooms, onions, shallots, and/or garlic in the same pan, then deglazing the pan with some red or white wine, and lastly, I add some chicken stock and let it reduce and simmer until the pork tenderloin is done baking in the oven.  So amazing.

Elephant Garlic and Leek Soup

While in Seattle, I visited the Pike Place Market, which has the most amazing produce and seafood selections.  I saw the biggest head of garlic that I have ever seen before.  It actually wasn't garlic at all, it was elephant garlic, and it was actually part of the leek family.  I had to buy one.  I brought it back on the airplane with me to Houston and researched recipes until I found just the right one, Elephant Garlic and Leek Soup.  The recipe began by cutting off the top quarter inch of the elephant garlic and drizzling it with olive oil.  I then put the elephant garlic in an oven safe pan and roasted it for 45 min, it smelled amazing.  To a soup pot, I added some white wine, the roasted elephant garlic, leeks, a potato, an onion, some chicken stock, and a little bit of basil and let it simmer for an hour.  After that, I pureed the soup and served warm with some homemade beer bread.

Pictures:

The first is the remnants of the elephant garlic after roasting, it smelled so amazing.

The second is a close up of the soup.