Cranberries with the smokey chipotle in adobo sauce. Enough said! This sauce also goes well with other cuts of pork, like pork chops.

Ingredients:

For braising the pork tenderloin:

• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 1/2 to 2 pound pork tenderloin
• salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

For the cranberry-chipotle sauce:

• 3 tablespoons minced shallots
• 3 garlic cloves minced
• 3 cups fresh or thawed frozen cranberries
• 4 tablespoons sugar
• 1 cup dry red wine
• 2 1/2 cups chicken stock
• 1 chipotle chili in adobo sauce, puréed
• 2 teaspoon minced fresh sage (can use 1 teaspoon dry sage instead)
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature
• salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Instructions:

1. Preheat an oven to 375 degrees F. In a large skillet over medium heat, melt butter and olive oil. Season the pork with salt and pepper and brown the meat on all sides. Remove the meat to a rack set on a baking pan and cook until it reaches an internal temperature of 150 degrees F. about 40 minutes. Reserve the skillet and drippings.
2. To make the sauce, sauté the shallots and garlic in the reserved drippings for about 30seconds. Add the cranberries and sugar and cook, stirring, another 30 seconds. Add the red wine, scraping up any browned bits on the bottom of the pan; boil the mixture over high heat until about 1 cup of liquid remains. Add the chicken stock, chipotle purée and sage. Boil over high heat until about 2 cups of liquid remain. Turn heat down to keep warm and whisk in the butter, add salt and pepper and keep warm.
3. When the pork is done, remove it from the oven, cover it loosely with aluminum foil and let it rest for 10 minutes. Transfer to a cutting board and cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Place on a serving plate and spoon the sauce over.

Serves up to 8, depending on the amount of pork tenderloin.

This recipe was inspired by a recipe in “Southwest the Beautiful” cookbook.