Apple-Stuffed Pork Tenderloin

Christmas week. Amber was home. Eli came for dinner Thursday. We ate leftovers. Gayle came over for dinner Friday and slept in the guest room because Dave and I insisted; a hard cold snap was coming and the idea of Gayle alone in her drafty house at 79 with a quieter heart was not something we were going to allow. She protested for two sentences. She agreed for the rest of the week. She slept in the guest room five nights.

Christmas Eve was the candlelight service. We went together — Gayle too, bundled in Dave's heaviest coat because hers was not warm enough. She sang the hymns. She held my arm on the icy steps on the way out. Tyler held her other arm. Justin stood behind her as we walked to the truck. Our family made a protective ring around my mother without speaking about it. It is one of my proudest moments as a parent.

Christmas morning: slow. The kids ate cinnamon rolls. Presents at 10. Josie got a keyboard she had asked for. Tyler got a new toolbox for his car (his savings are up to $1,800; he thinks he will be driving by spring). Justin got a specialized pair of running shoes he had studied for weeks. Amber got a leather-bound journal and a silver pen from Dave — the gift he had been planning for months without my help, which made me smile because Dave picking a thoughtful gift for Amber is both rare and exact. She hugged him hard. I got from all the kids: a first edition of "Crossing to Safety," the novel Amber had recommended a year ago, which they had found online and pooled to buy. I cried. I also got from Dave: a pair of emerald earrings that belonged to his grandmother. I had not expected that. He said, "For the book tour." I said, "There is no book tour." He said, "Yet." He knows me.

Dinner: ham, scalloped potatoes, green beans, rolls, pecan pie, chocolate sheet cake. Ten of us — our six, Gayle, Steve, Louise, Eli. Gayle ate a small plate and a piece of cake. She sat with Ella — who came with her parents later for dessert — on her lap. She was exhausted by 8 p.m. I put her to bed early. I stood in the hallway watching her room a little while, a 45-year-old daughter learning that she is now tucking her 79-year-old mother in.

The year is ending. Sarah emailed with final numbers: 355,000 copies sold. Half a million by spring. The second book is at 15,000 words. I am in a new life. I am still in the old life. Both are mine.

The ham that year was a gesture of abundance — ten of us at the table, the good china out, Gayle eating a small plate and smiling at Ella on her lap — and every time I come back to that Christmas I come back to the warmth of that meal as much as the presents or the candlelight service. This Apple-Stuffed Pork Tenderloin is what I reach for now when I want to recreate that feeling: something that looks like a celebration, smells like a winter kitchen doing its best work, and asks almost nothing of you while the people in the next room are laughing. It is the kind of roast that says the table is ready, come sit down, you are home.

Prep Time: 25 min | Cook Time: 45 min | Total Time: 1 hr 10 min | Servings: 6

Ingredients

2 pork tenderloins (about 1 lb each), trimmed
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 medium onion, finely diced
2 stalks celery, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 medium apples (Honeycrisp or Granny Smith), peeled and diced
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried sage
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup fresh breadcrumbs
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
1 teaspoon salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon black pepper, divided
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons maple syrup
Kitchen twine, for tying

Instructions

Preheat the oven. Heat your oven to 425°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet or roasting pan with foil and set a rack inside if you have one.
Make the apple stuffing. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and celery and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute more. Add the diced apples, thyme, sage, cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the apples have softened slightly, about 4 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the breadcrumbs and parsley. Let cool for 10 minutes.
Butterfly the tenderloins. Place one tenderloin on a cutting board. Holding your knife parallel to the board, slice lengthwise through the center, stopping about 1/2 inch from the opposite edge so it opens like a book. Repeat with the second tenderloin. Cover each with plastic wrap and pound gently to an even 1/2-inch thickness.
Stuff and tie. Spread the apple mixture evenly over one tenderloin. Lay the second tenderloin on top, smooth side up, matching the ends. Tie the two together at 1-inch intervals with kitchen twine so the stuffing is enclosed.
Season and sear. Rub the outside of the tied roast with the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Heat an oven-safe skillet over high heat and sear the roast on all sides until golden brown, about 2 minutes per side.
Glaze and roast. Whisk together the Dijon mustard and maple syrup. Brush generously over the top and sides of the seared roast. Transfer to the prepared pan (or leave in the oven-safe skillet) and roast at 425°F for 25–30 minutes, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center reads 145°F.
Rest and serve. Remove from the oven and tent loosely with foil. Let rest 10 minutes before removing the twine and slicing into 1-inch rounds. Arrange on a platter and spoon any pan juices over the top.

Nutrition (per serving)

Apple-Stuffed Pork Tenderloin — The Centerpiece of a Christmas Table I Will Never Forget