Christmas Dinner Traditions

I can remember the smell of the cornish hens roasting in the oven, the sweet smell of Christmas cookies, and a lingering smell of wrapping paper.  These are all memories from my childhood Christmas with family.  Now that I am older and married.. we are starting new traditions.

The last few years I've started a new Christmas dinner tradition of mashed potatoes and pork tenderloin - among other things.  This year, I was trying to save myself $10 and decided to go with a regular cut of pork rather than a tenderloin.  Typically a pork tenderloin and can be found already seasoned.  The cut of pork that I bought was not seasoned.  It was time to get creative.

I found a couple of marinade tips on AllRecipes.com.  Yes, I always claim not to use recipes from others but, I was in need of some help.  So I took a recipe and made it my own...

Recipe of Pork Marinade
- 1/2 cup of soy sauce
- 1/2 cup teriyaki sauce
- 3 TBSP of Liquid Smoke
- 1/2 teaspoon Onion Powder
- 2 cloves of grated or minced garlic

I marinated the pork in liquid smokiness for about 4 hours.  I placed the pork in a baking pan and baked at 400 degrees for 75 minutes.  The internal temperature should be 170 degrees if you are using a meat thermometer.  Continue cooking until the internal temp reaches 170.

A bottle of liquid smoke will run you about $10.  The price might be steep but the flavor is outstanding.  It will add great flavor to any cut of meat.

I paired the pork with cheesy, garlic mashed potatoes and a salad with homemade dressing (Honey Mustard Vinaigrette).

We also enjoyed a nice bottle of Christmas wine, which complimented the pork very well.  We both look forward to building on this new tradition for many more years to come.

I hope that you all had a wonderful Christmas.  Happy New Year too!