Macy’s Great American Grilling Guru competition

As you know I enter a lot of recipe contests and some are cook-offs. I was super excited to make the semi-finals for this cooking competition where we competed in Charlotte,NC this time and our judge was celebrity Iron Chef Cat Cora and what a treat to grill my Shrimp & Apricot Pork Tenderloin with a jalapeno apricot creamy sauce and have Cat judge it and she loved it but all three dishes were fantastic it was a hard decision for her. Although I didn’t win to go on to the finals I had a great experience and tons of fun! On to the next one…
ME BEFORE SHOWDOWN WITH BIG KNIFE_CROP

Me before the showdown with the other two

Me at the cook off in action

Me at the cook off rolling my pork tenderloin

Me at the cook off with host while prepping explaining my ingredients

Me at the cook off plating my dish

Me presenting my dish to Cat Cora at the showdown

Shrimp & Apricot Stuffed Grilled Pork Tenderloin with a Jalapeño Apricot Cream Sauce

Shrimp & Apricot Stuffed Grilled Pork Tenderloin with a Jalapeno Apricot Cream Sauce

Shrimp & Apricot Stuffed Grilled Pork Tenderloin with a Jalapeño Apricot Cream Sauce

1 ½ pound extra lean pork center cut filet butterflied (pork tenderloin)
1 cup Garlic & Cheese Croutons finely crushed
6 dried apricots finely chopped
4 oz. cooked salad shrimp thawed and finely chopped
¼ cup fresh parsley finely chopped
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
4 tablespoons butter melted
1 tablespoon water
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh thyme finely chopped
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary finely chopped
Sauce-
1 small jalapeno deseeded and chopped fine
½ cup apricot spreadable fruit
½ cup regular cream
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
Extras –
4(10 inches) long pieces cooking twine

Preheat grill on medium high heat.
Open up the butterflied pork tenderloin and lay flat on a clean cutting board.
In a medium bowl add the next 8 ingredients mix until well incorporated. Take the shrimp & apricot mixture and spread evenly in the middle of pork tenderloin leaving a 2 inch border on the long side of tenderloin and a 3 inch border on the short side of the tenderloin. Starting with the short end of the tenderloin roll tenderloin over stuffing. Wrap and tie the pork tenderloin with the cooking twine to keep tenderloin together.
In a small mixing bowl mix together the thyme and rosemary. Brush the pork tenderloin with olive oil to coat tenderloin well to prevent sticking sprinkle thyme and rosemary all over the tenderloin. Place tenderloin seemed side down first on hot grill close the lid and cook 40 minutes turning it every 10 minutes to cook tenderloin evenly on all sides. Remove from grill let rest 10 minutes.
In a small sauce pan add jalapeno, spreadable fruit, cream, salt & Pepper. Cook on medium heat on the side burner of the grill. Whisk until sauce comes to a light boil and cook a 2 to 3 minutes until it becomes a smooth sauce.
Cut twine off the pork tenderloin and slice into 10 pieces. Drizzle sauce over pork. Serve immediately.