Eating in Heels

Tonight we're making Bobby Flay's Rum-glazed Pork Tenderloin with Grilled Pineapple Relish.  I was looking for any pork recipe that didn't include apples and raisins. I know apples, raisins, and pork go together splendidly, but jeez - that's not ALL that goes with pork! Flay's Pineapple Relish doesn't have either of the offending ingredients ... AND it has Rum! Winner winner!

To the recipe ...

Everything was straightforward except for some of the amounts, which were vague. What does a "small pineapple" look like exactly? And why am I adding "a few tablespoons of oil" to the relish? When you consider how many fire-inducing ingredients are in both the glaze and the relish, I'd appreciate more precise instructions - especially since this is the first time I'm making this dish. The cook-times are also vague. The grilling instruction for the pork says to, "grill until crusty and charred on both sides and the internal temperature reaches 145 degrees on an instant-read thermometer." That's great, but when I'm trying to figure out when the stages of a meal need to be complete so I know when we'll actually eat (I'm guessing around midnight), I like to see a "about 25 minutes" tip included in the instructions.

The result:

Although delicious, the end result was not worth the effort. It was flavorful and tasty, but it literally took hours to put together. The pineapple is grilled before it's added to the relish and then the relish has to sit for 30 minutes before serving. You'd think you could grill the pork during this window, but it's then that you're making the glaze, which also took over 30 minutes. We're not above a good challenge in the kitchen, but when something requires a large amount of effort, we expect a spectacular payoff. I want proclamations of "I can die now!" hollered out after I've just spent two hours making one dish. There were no declarations. To use one of my favorite Tim Gunn quotes, it was "good - not great."