Apple, Walnut and Blue Cheese Pork Tenderloin

If you need a meal that says, "fall is here!" - then this is for you. I certainly enjoy pork year-round, but it tends to make itself onto my plate especially in the fall. And with the addition of apples, walnuts and blue cheese, it doesn't get any more fall than this to me. Oh wait, it does when you add mashed sweet potatoes with Vermont Creamery's exclusive maple and sea salt butter (OMG so good! Grab some at Whole Foods Market next time you're in, but only if you have good taste), and roasted cauliflower. 

Apple, Walnut and Blue Cheese Pork Tenderloin

1 tablespoon butter
1/2 medium apple, peeled, cored and chopped into 3/4 inch pieces
1 shallot, finely chopped
2 tablespoons crumbled blue cheese
2 tablespoons chopped nuts (I used walnuts)
1 pound pork tenderloin, butterflied and pounded to 1/2-inch thickness
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

In a cast iron or oven-safe skillet, warm to medium heat then melt butter. Add apple and shallot and saute until softened, about 5 minutes. Remove to a bowl and add blue cheese and nuts. Meanwhile, spread out pounded pork tenderloin and then about 2 inches away from one end, add the apple filling in a long strip from end-to-end, about 1 1/2 inches wide. Then, carefully roll up the pork and secure with with kitchen twine to ensure it stays rolled.

Place pork in the cast iron and sear on all sides. Then place in the oven and cook until it reached at least 145 degrees, about 15 minutes. Let rest 5 minutes, then slice. Enjoy!