But was it ever really gone?

Pesto is kind of like Tom Hanks. It climbed to fame in the 80’s and 90’s. It’s not the hot new thing anymore but it never really went “out” per se. It makes an appearance every once in a while and we still love it even though it might be older and passé and “family friendly” now. We may not want to be stuck alone on an island with it, but at the end of the day, it’s still really really nice. In small doses. And then, of course, there are those people that just loooooooooove it.

I did not include a recipe for pesto with this. These days, most people have frozen cubes of the stuff in their fridge or you can buy it freshly made at any fancy grocery store, like Whole Foods. If you’ve never made your own pesto and are curious to try it, here’s a basic recipe. You can use a different nut if you want, anything but peanuts will work. Put the leftovers in an old ice cube tray and freeze them, then transfer to a ziplock once they’re frozen.

The beauty of pork (or rather, hog) tenderloin is that you can pull together a really good dish with very little time, ingredients or effort. With hog, you don’t have to worry too much about the meat being tender so you can get away with a fast cook time. This recipe is quick and simple, and the parmesan panko makes a lovely, crispy crust.