Tender pork with a side of fries...

Just a few days ago, we made our own potato chips and that had Jeff itchin' for another potato dish ever since. To try and quench his craving, I made these Garlic and Cumin–Seasoned Fries with Chipotle Ketchup as a side for tonight's dinner.

The preparation of the potatoes themselves was nothing too out of the ordinary - buttery Yukon golds are cut into a slender fry form and tossed with olive oil. Using our favorite trick as of late, the baking sheet is first heated up in the hot oven before the potatoes are added. Once the golden fries had come out from the oven, they were immediately and gently tossed with a seasoning mixture of salt, cumin and granulated garlic.

Where these fries turn the corner is the spiced up ketchup that is served along side. To the thick red ketchup, a mixture of fresh lime juice, a dash of sugar and chipotle chile powder is added. Just those few ingredients added a zesty depth with a smoky note that played off the cumin seasoning on the fries. We both thought these were quite good, but the garlic was a little weak for us - if you prefer a stronger garlic punch, how about trying those baked Garlic Fries instead? One note on the potatoes - if you cut your fries much bigger than 1/4" thick, you will need most likely need a few more minutes until they have sufficiently browned.

When I had pulled out this Spiced Pork Tenderloin with Maple-Chipotle Sauce recipe to make for dinner, I was expecting something that would end up being a sweet, yet spicy dish. Once I had begun making the dish, it dawned on me that there would be no heat here.

There is some extended downtime for this - the lean tenderloins are given a sprinkling with a spice mixture of salt, thyme, nutmeg, cinnamon, pepper and allspice. The pork then needs to chill out for at least 2 to 3 hours to give those spices some time to work their magic - I would probably go ahead and do this in the morning if you wouldn't be home during the day. They tenderloins are drizzled with olive oil and roasted just until the centers are still fairly pink. While they are resting, the sweet sauce is prepared.

Here is where I thought the heat would come in - the original ingredient list actually called for the use of chipotle chiles in adobo sauce. However, when you get to this point in the recipe, the directions only call for the smoky sauce and not the chiles themselves! I decided to go ahead and make it as is, but I probably should have added a chile or two since we tend to enjoy hotter foods. Into the same roasting pan that cooked the pork, the adobo sauce is swirled in, along with pure maple syrup, broth and a little cider vinegar. After a few minutes of heating through on the stove to warm up the sauce and loosen any of the flavor-packed crusty bits stuck on the bottom, the tenderloins are added back in for just a quick second to coat the outside with a bit of the sauce. The pork is then sliced and served with the remaining sauce on the side - we did push it through a sieve to ensure it was silky smooth, but you don't have to do that step. Now don't get me wrong, we quite enjoy the sweet/savory combination, but just a touch of heat would have made it that much better for us as it was fairly mild in that department.

Recipes
Garlic and Cumin–Seasoned Fries with Chipotle Ketchup
Spiced Pork Tenderloin with Maple-Chipotle Sauce