A Berry Happy Valentine's Day

For Valentine's Day, I am making the following dinner for two:

Pork Tenderloin with Blackberry Sauce

Spinach Salad with Blackberries, Manchego, and Prosciutto

Uncle Ben's Long Grain & Wild Rice

Heart-shaped Poppy Seed Cookies (Transcendental Kitchen recipe from January)

Pork Tenderloin with Blackberry Sauce

1 pork tenderloin

Kosher salt

Coarse ground pepper

½ teaspoon dried thyme

¼ teaspoon ground allspice

2 tablespoons butter

1/3 cup red onion, minced

½ cup white wine

3 tablespoons blackberry fruit spread or seedless blackberry preserves

Preheat oven to 425.  Sprinkle tenderloins with salt, pepper, thyme, and allspice, and place in roasting pan.  Roast for 15-20 minutes until 150.  Cover meat with foil and prepare sauce while roast rests.

Melt butter in sauce pan over medium-high heat.  Add onion and sauté for 5 minutes.  Add wine and fruit spread and reduce by half.  Serve over pork tenderloins.

Spinach Salad with Blackberries, Manchego, and Prosciutto

4 thin slices of prosciutto

4 cups packed baby spinach leaves

6 ounces fresh blackberries

Dressing in a jar (Transcendental Kitchen recipe from January)

2 ounces Manchego cheese, thinly sliced with a vegetable peeler

Cut prosciutto crosswise into strips.  In a small pan over medium/high heat, stir prosciutto until crisp and browned, about 5 minutes.  Drain on paper towels.

In a large bowl, combine spinach, blackberries, and dressing to taste. Mix gently to coat. 

Top with prosciutto and Manchego