Pork tenderloin en croute + herbed potatoes = yummmm

I got both of these recipes from one of Emeril Legasse's cookbooks. It is all the best recipes from his restaurants in one book. The recipes are anything but quick and simple, but they are great for that special ocassion. I have found that if you do a little prep work ahead of time the actual cooking time isn't that bad.

The first couple of times I made it I found it to be very time consuming, but once I figured out how to time time things (ie: put the potatoes in the oven first then start the pork) it didn't take much more time than anything else I make.

The secret to perfect, herbed potatoes is this .... do NOT stir them while they cook. Cover them with herbs and oil and let them cook for 45 minutes at 400 and walk away. Being in one place on the pan gets them crispy .... turning them makes them soggy.

I was going to make this for a fancy Xmas Eve dinner, but we got home too late. Then I was going to make it as a fancy Xmas day dinner, but we were too exhausted. So this became the Day-after-Xmas-fancy-meal. It is pork tenderloin covered with a Cajun mustard, mushroom saute, and wrapped in puff pastry. The potatoes are SO good in just olive oil and fresh rosemary, oregano, basil, salt and pepper. Absolutely cravable.