Doug's Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Asparagus

The dish that became an Easter tradition the moment it arrived at the table

The platter arrived at the table, and I wasn’t expecting it to look like that…

Crusty, caramelized, deeply brown - sliced and presented like something from a restaurant kitchen. I’m not a huge pork lover, if I’m honest. But my Aunt Kathy had offered to make it, mentioned it was a recipe from my cousin Doug, and I decided to go along with it. What I didn’t know was that she had called her daughter-in-law, Kelsey, that morning just to get the recipe right, because it had become one of her favorites, and she wanted to make it for us. Kathy is one of us, a fellow foodie who understands exactly why certain recipes deserve to be passed along. A retired nutritionist, she loves developing, collecting, and protecting the recipes she loves. This was one of them. Doug had brought it to Wisconsin from Missouri, and once Kathy tasted it, it earned a permanent place in her rotation.

Kathy had marinated the pork early that morning so it could become even more tender and succulent by dinner. Dan, my uncle, handled the grill. He always does. Our family is full of people who know how to tend a grill. Pizza ovens, fancy grills, 1980s originals, grill pans, cast iron everywhere. You learn it without being taught.

When I tasted the pork, I was pleasantly surprised. Tender, moist, smoky, savory, sweet, all at once, from a marinade built from six pantry ingredients. Kathy paired it with asparagus, roasted and plated with red wine vinegar, olive oil, salt, and pepper. I’m not sure whether the asparagus was Doug’s idea or hers, but it was perfectly matched. I’ve since simplified the finishing. Warm the reserved marinade to a boil, add a little Dijon mustard, and pour it over the pork and asparagus. A buttery garlic glaze on the asparagus is optional but highly recommended.

Thanks, Doug, for creating and sharing such a delightful dish. Thanks, Dan, for grilling up a masterpiece. And thanks, Kathy, for carrying the recipe from Wisconsin to California, and for making it for us that day.

This recipe now lives in our family history, right here in The Dinner Bell.

Kathy and Dan. The recipe arrived in our kitchen because of them.

Easter comes this Sunday. I wanted you to have a delicious but supremely simple dish to bring to your table. As the kids in our family have grown older, the egg hunts have slowed, the master cooking and cleanup have quieted, and this year we make our way to Temecula to let someone else wait on us and sip in the goodness of the season. But I remember all those lovely years running around various family yards chasing eggs, or helping the little ones find them, wink-wink. One year, my sister’s very good friend, Myra, added confetti eggs to the mix. The adults had a blast. My niece was not impressed by all that confetti in her hair until the candy showed up, at which point she forgot all about it. It’s still one of the best memories I have.