BIRCHFIELD MANOR'S PORK MEDALLIONS WITH CHERRIES

SOURCE: PIERRE FRANEY AND RICHARD FLASTE. PIERRE FRANEY’S COOKING IN AMERICA.

Childhood home to soul singer Oleta Adams and birthplace of the late Pentecostal preacher-turned-screaming shock comedian, Sam Kinison, Yakima sits at the heart of its namesake valley fertilized by the volcanic soil spitted out by the Cascade Range … — The historical ***Birchfield Manor*** in central Washington once served as the residence of the late Republican senator Alex Deccio for almost 30 years. Chef Wilford Masset purchased the property from the legislator in 1978 and converted the entire establishment into a luxurious bed and breakfast inn and restaurant, ushering a renaissance in Pacific Northwest fine dining during the late 1980s and early 1990s. Masset’s culinary legacy, which has long passed on to his son, Brad, placed importance on the farm-to-table produce acquired from the 12,000-acre orchards of the surrounding Yakima Valley, where a fifth of the land supplies cherries for the entire United States and international export. More than a dozen cherry cultivars annually grow in the Yakima volcanic soil spitted out by the Cascade Range and showered by mild rains. The predominant variety is the mahogany red *Bing* cherry, which the elder Masset lends its intensely sweet and tangy taste and seductively juicy and firm interior to bring a vibrant balance to the richness of pork.

Ingredients

Tomato-Stuffed Zucchini

2 medium-sized zucchinis, about 1.25 inches/3.2 cm in diameter, trimmed off its ends

2 tablespoons/30 mL olive oil

2 tablespoons/20 grams finely chopped onions

1 tablespoon/9 grams finely chopped garlic

4 ripe plum tomatoes, cored, peeled, seeded, and coarsely chopped

1 tablespoon/17 grams tomato paste

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

2 tablespoons/10 grams freshly grated Parmesan cheese

4 pork tenderloins, weighing about 3/4 pound/340 grams each and cut into 4 equal rounds each

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1 tablespoon/15 mL vegetable oil

1 cup/240 mL Port wine

2 cups/360 grams pitted Bing cherries

1 teaspoon/3 grams cornstarch

2 teaspoons/10 mL water

Freshly grated zest of 1/2 lemon

Freshly squeezed juice of 1/2 lemon

2 tablespoos/25 grams sugar

Specific Equipment

OPTIONAL: Microplane grater or vegetable peeler

Melon baller

Small saucepan

Baking dish

Plastic wrap

Mallet or heavy-bottomed skillet

Nonstick pan OR skillet large enough to contain 8 pieces of pork in one layer

2 medium-sized saucepans

Serves 4

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400°C/200°C.

2. Score the sides of the zucchini with a microplane grater or peel the thin strips of from the zucchini in an alternate fashion to make a striped effect. Cut the zucchini into four equal lengths, about 1.5 inches/3.8 cm long. Scoop out the flesh of each zucchini section, digging halfway down with a melon baller.

3. Pour 1 tablespoon/15 mL olive oil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Sauté in the onion and garlic for 4 to 5 minutes or until the onion has softened and wilted. Stir in the zucchini flesh, tomatoes, and tomato paste and season with salt and pepper to taste. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes or until the liquid has completely reduced.

4. Place the zucchini sections in a baking dish and fill each with an even amount of the tomato mixture. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon/15 mL olive oil and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake for 15 minutes or until the cheese has turned golden-brown. Do not overcook. Remove the zucchini from the oven and set aside on a warm place.

5. Cover each pork round with a sheet of plastic wrap and pound with a mallet or heavy-bottomed skillet to a thickness of 1/4 inch/0.64 cm. Season each round with salt and pepper.

6. Pour the vegetable oil in a nonstick pan or skillet and place over high heat. Sauté the pork for about 1 1/2 minutes on each side. Do not overcook. Remove the pork from the pan or skillet, but keep the oil in the pan. Set the pork aside and keep warm. Repeat this step for the remaining slices. Set aside and keep warm.

7. Bring the Port wine to a boil in a saucepan over medium heat and boil for 3 minutes. Stir in the cherries and let simmer under moderate heat for 2 minutes. Dissolve the cornstarch in water and stir into the cherry-Port wine mixture until well-blended. Add the grated lemon zest and lemon juice. Remove from heat and set aside.

8. Heat the sugar in a separate saucepan over high heat until it has caramelized to a light brown color. Stir the cherry-Port wine mixture immediately into the hot sugar until well-blended or the caramel has completely dissolved. Set aside and keep warm.

9. Place each pork on individual serving plates and divide the sauce evenly over each serving. Garnish each serving with 2 pieces of the zucchini.