Stuffed Pork Loin

I know it is late Friday afternoon and I'm just getting this on the blog.  I'll type fast.  I really apologize if you were looking for it this morning. However, my dog died this week.  Little Nasty, not to be confused with "Big Nasty" (if I bathed them more often, they wouldn't have these nick-names - totally my fault), was very old. He got a stomach bug and didn't last. It kind of messes up your plans to have your dog die... Anyway on to better topics - my favorite - COOKING!!!

See below for shopping/ingredients list for this meal as well as a picture of the finished product.
First you need to filet your pork loin. I count off about 1" of pork loin for every serving. I also make sure it will fit in my largest non-stick skillet. When I do this for a crowd, I cut a large loin in half so I can brown it in my skillet then transfer both pieces to a roasting pan. Rinse the loin and put it on a cutting board fat side up.


You are going to make a cut into it like you are opening up a book 1/3 of the way down. Take this cut until you are 1/2" from the edge. Don't cut thru the "binding" of the book!

 Cut down the side of the loin (the binding- like you are going to cut out some pages) so you are 1/3 of the way from the bottom. Then you will cut back toward the other side.

Continue cutting until you are 1" away from that side.

And Voila! a perfectly butterflied piece of pork!

Next saute the pancetta, and layer it in with the dried cherries and stilton or gorganzolla cheese (use more than I did in the picture. I had the right amount of cherries but could use a little more cheese & pancetta.) Top all of that with bread crumbs. I took my picture half way thru so you could see the other ingredients.

Brown this in an oven safe skillet. The beauty of this meal is that you can do all this before your guests arrive and then put it in the oven after you have appetizers and a glass of wine!

You can also go ahead and dice your butternut squash, toss it in olive oil and sprinkle it with herbs de provence, salt & pepper. I like to use a stone-ware baking sheet for roasted veggies because it will brown the bottom. Great to have this done (not cooked just spread on the pan) before the guests arrive. By the way, when dicing butternut squash, I just cut off the bottom bulb and throw it away. I find it way too much trouble to deseed it and get the small walls of the bulb. Buy squash with a big neck - all the meat is there!

When you're ready to cook, preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Put a thermometer into the meat so that the tip is in the middle. Put the pork in the oven and cook for about 30 minutes or until the thermometer reads 160 degrees. (You can also grill the meat - very delicious - but use indirect heat.) About 15 minutes in, put the squash in the oven. When the pork is done, let it sit for about 5 - 10 minutes before slicing. The squash is done when it is fork tender.

I hope y'all enjoy this!!!