Pork Tenderloin with Pears and Shallots

Just when you've had it with summer and the f%#$*# air conditioning that barely works... bam, you suddenly find yourself having to wear a sweater when you go out at night. Ah, fall, how I've missed you. John's parents came over for dinner last weekend, and we wanted to cook something appropriate for the changing of the seasons. But before we get to that, allow me to introduce our newest (and tiniest) kitchen assistant, Penny:

Penny fits nicely in my apron pocket, and she looooves to eat. And now back to the cooking...

The finished dish looks pretty elegant, but it was relatively simple to prepare. You brown the pork tenderloin and then pop it in the oven while you prepare the pears and the sauce. The sauce contains pear nectar (find it in the International Foods aisle with the other Goya stuff), which adds just enough sweetness. We served this with some rice pilaf, roasted tomatoes and green beans, and my favorite fall dessert, apple squares.

Peach Sangria

My sangria is why I get invited to parties what people always ask me to bring to their parties. I brought this to my friends' Labor Day BBQ last weekend. I actually have special portable sangria pitchers for such occasions. I am serious about my wine cocktails, ok?

I also make a lovely red sangria, which we'll get to one of these days, but let's hang onto summer a little longer and talk about the peach sangria. This sangria is a bit sweeter than a red, and people who don't really even like wine that much (weirdos) love this. I was able to get a few end-of-season peaches at our farmer's market which I pulverized into peach puree using a stick blender. If you can't get good peaches, I've also used peach nectar (Goya makes this; it's usually in the International Foods aisle at the supermarket).