Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Mustard-Molasses Glaze, Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Brussels Sprouts, and Cranberry Couscous

Fall weather is finally peeking its head out in Charleston and last night's dinner was the perfect fall cooking teaser. I had two pork tenderloins in the freezer and John had a friend coming over for dinner so I called upon Epicurious.com for some ideas. For whatever reason, I searched on "pork tenderloin and mustard." I don't quite remember why mustard came to mind now I think back... But anyways, the fourth recipe listed was Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Molasses and Mustard and it had 54 reviews, most all of them glowing, so I gave it a try.

For two pork tenderloins I doubled the recipe. John actually assembled the marinade for me while I was at work and we let it sit in the fridge for about 5 hours.

*1/2 cup mild flavored molasses

*4 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar *4 Tablespoons dijon mustard

*4 Tablespoons course grained mustard

When I got home, I preheated the oven to 400 degrees to roast my vegetables. I then peeled and cubed two medium sized sweet potatoes and cleaned one bag of fresh brussels sprouts (slicing off the bottom part, removing the outer leaves and halving length wise). I tossed the vegetables in a bowl with:

*a few tablespoons of olive oil

*1 tablespoon of maple syrup

*1 teaspoon of kosher salt

*1 teaspoon of dried thyme

*1 teaspoon of dried rosemary *some freshly cracked pepper

Once everything was evenly coated, I spread the mixture on a lightly greased cookie sheet and put them into the oven. After 20 minutes I gave the vegetables a shuffle around with a metal spatula and put them back in for another 15 minutes.

As soon as the vegetables went in, I removed tenderloins from the marinade, patted them dry with a paper towel, and seasoned with kosher salt and cracked pepper. John started the pork on the grill (he cooks it for about 8 or 10 minuets per side for the perfect medium temperature) and I poured all of the left over marinade from the zip-lock into a small sauce pan. I added 2 more tablespoons of cider vinegar per the recipe and boiled over medium -high heat for a couple of minutes until it thickened up a bit more.

Lastly, I prepared one box of Olive Oil and Garlic Couscous per the package instructions adding two Tablespoons of dried cranberries (roughly chopped) in with the spice packet and water. Couscous is one of my go-to weeknight side dishes. You can jazz it up a dozen different ways and it takes 8 minutes max from start to finish.

I let the pork rest 10 minutes before slicing it diagonally and plating with the vegetables and couscous. I served the mustard-molasses sauce in a small pitcher on the side to pour over the pork and it was absolutely heavenly. The sweet-tangy glaze worked very well with the toasty, sweet and savory vegetables and cranberry couscous added another nice touch of fall.

Having company for dinner is always the best excuse for dessert. John picked up cupcakes from the Cupcake store in town. They have 9 or 10 different flavors and they are scrumptiously adorable piled high with frosting and decorated with sprinkles. Last night we had a selection of chocolate, red velvet and Fluffernutter (banana cake with peanut butter/marshmallow fluff frosting!)

P.S. We had left overs again tonight but I baked some ciabatta rolls and made sandwiches with the pork and left over glaze. The only thing I would do differently next time would be to make a third tenderloin!

P.S.2. I just learned that brussels sprouts has the extra s in there! Who knew!?