by Lisa

Last weekend was the annual limoncello brewing party.  The ingredients were familiar: bags full of lemons…

a table of citrus drinks…

a pile of zesters, a stock of Everclear, a row of juicers…

a table full of food…

Friends brought panzanella, mortadella-wrapped grissini, fig covered bruschetta, lemon bars, lemon sauce, vanilla ice cream, fresh berries.  They brought daffodils. We had rice salad with mint and peas and lemon zest, and grilled pork tenderloin with capers. There was sunshine and prosecco and jars filled with curling golden rinds,  looking a lot like liquid sunshine.

But this year? Mostly I want to tell you about a group of women who can sweep into your home with delicious food, help you cook even more food, help set up your yard and house, pack gift bags, enjoy themselves all afternoon , and then? Before you know it, they have cleaned up the dishes, swept your floor, pulled down the folding tables, hand washed the dishes.

There is an art to this kind of generosity, to the gift of time and energy, to being able to pitch in, and do what needs to get done, and to knowing how to treat your friend’s house like your own.  It’s like this every, single time.   More than teaching my kids how to make limoncello, or a good tenderloin, or set the table or throw a good party, I want to teach them this: how to walk into a friend’s home and treat it like their own. How to be generous.

Ladies, thank you.

Grilled Pork Tenderlon with Mustard and Capers

  • Pork tenderloin
  • Cumin
  • Salt
  • Dijon mustard
  • Red wine vinegar
  • Honey
  • olive oil
  • Salt
  • 2 garlic cloves, smashed

For dressing:

  • 2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar
  • 2 Tablespoons mustard
  • 1 smashed garlic clove
  • about 3/4 cup olive oil
  • 1 Tablespoon capers
  1. Light salt pork tenderloin, then season with a couple of teaspoons of cumin.  Cover lightly with mustard and about 2 teaspoons of honey. Put seasoned pork in a ziplock bag and sprinkle with about 1/8 cup vinegar, then cover with olive oil.  Add smashed garlic cloves to bag and let marinate a couple of hours in the refrigerator.
  2. In a glass measuring cup pour vinegar on top of the garlic clove and let sit to flavor vinegar for 20-30 minutes or longer. Fish out the garlic cloves, then add an equal amount of mustard and whisk together, then add olive oil slowly in a stream. You should have about 3x the amount of olive oil as mustard + vinegar. But do it to your taste. Whisk in capers.
  3. Heat grill on high, then turn down heat to medium high and grill pork until cooked, about 10 minutes total. The pork will cook very quickly. It’s done when the meat springs back nicely when poked. If it’s mushy or flabby when poked, it’s not done. Be careful not to overcook.
  4. Let the pork rest about 10 minutes, then carve in thin slices and serve with vinaigrette.