Worth a Second Look

At one point in time I had a nice three ring binder with all my accumulated recipes of many many years neatly organized in labeled pockets. But as time went by each pocket got fuller and fuller until they ripped. And  the binder was no longer usable.  So recipes stuffed into the pockets got stored in a bag, pushed aside to make way for new recipes and cooking magazines. 
I decided to take a second look at each folder and pulled out some 40 recipes to consider remaking or giving the recipe a makeover. I noted there were several sauce recipes that went well with pork, a versatile meat.
So I started with 3 pork tenderloins.

They were baked with a savory bourbon sauce. 

Grilling pork kebabs basting with the sauce is another alternative. The recipe was adapted from cuisineathome.com August 2014. Mini liquor bottles are a good purchase as they are the perfect amount needed for making the recipe. Note the mini bourbon bottle in the photo.
1-1/2 lbs. tenderloin used for recipe. 
Bourbon Sauced Pork 
Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup sweet onions, diced
• 1 TB. butter
• 1/3 cup ketchup
• 1/4 cup each fresh orange juice, cider vinegar and bourbon
• 2 TB. brown sugar
• 2TB. molasses
• 1 TB. Worcestershire sauce
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tsp. cornstarch

Directions:

• Cook onions in butter in a saucepan over medium heat until soft 4-5 minutes.
• Stir in ketchup, orange juice, vinegar, bourbon, brown sugar, molasses and Worcestershire, season with salt and pepper. Whisk in cornstarch. 
• Bring sauce to boil on low heat and simmer until thick about 7 minutes. Cool slightly and puree.

Baking 
Place tenderloins in a greased glass dish. Pour sauce over the pork and cover with foil. Bake at 275 degrees for 35- 40 minutes. Remove foil and bake 5 minutes longer. Let meat rest 5 minutes before serving. 
For kabobs
Thread pork cubes with chunks of red onion on double skewers. Divide sauce and baste cubes with sauce, 4 minutes per side. Turn again and baste. Use a thermometer for a 145 degree read for doneness. let kebabs rest 5 minutes.   

Cherry Sauce
Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup sweet onion diced 
• 1 TB. butter 
• 3/4 cup cherry preserves 
•  2 TB. chili sauce 
• 1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce 
• 1/2 package dried cherries
• 1/2 cup chicken broth  
• 1/4 cup dry red wine

Directions:

• Saute diced onions in a saucepan. 
• Add rest of ingredients and cook on low heat 6 minutes until thick.