Bishop's Lodge Ranch Resort and Spa's Executive Chef, Brian Shannon
Bishop's Lodge Ranch Resort and Spa

This is part of a series of Thanksgiving recipes by Santa Fe chefs.  Santacafe's Pumpkin Chiffon Pie,  Fuego's Cranberry Apple Chutney, Terra's side-dishes

Just five minutes from Santa Fe’s Historic Plaza, The Bishop’s Lodge Ranch Resort & Spa is a lush oasis, a treed treasure in the high desert.

The property has a colorful history. Willa Cather’s classic Death Comes to the Archbishop fictionalized Bishop Jean-Baptiste Lamy, a prominent fixture in Santa Fe history. This property was his retreat; his small home and chapel on the grounds are open to visitors. For a brief period the famed Pulitzer family of newspaper fame used the property as a get-away. In 1918, it was bought by the Thorpe family and converted to a hotel. They sold it in 1998 and it has been corporately run ever since. Bishop’s Lodge offers guests horseback riding, tennis, a pool, spa and lots of activities for the entire family. Guests may dine on-site at Las Fuentes Restaurant and Bar.

Brian Shannon, Executive Chef at Las Fuentes since 2007, is a native Santa Fean. Prior to his current gig he was sous chef in the same kitchen for two years. His resume boasts stints in the kitchens at the Inn of the Anasazi, The Old House at the Eldorado Hotel (as sous chef to Martin Rios) and Santacafe working with well-known chef Ming Tsai and Amavi’ s David Sellers. He also did a stint at La Casa Sena under chef Kelly Rogers, a long-time veteran of Santa Fe kitchens. Chef Shannon’s Chorizo Stuffed-Pork Loin is on the restaurant’s Thanksgiving Grand Buffet menu. It has been adapted here to pork tenderloin which works well with smaller portion in a home kitchen. It’s a great alternative or addition to turkey on your Thanksgiving table.

Chorizo Stuffed Pork Tenderloin

Servings: 4

Served with poblano mushroom gravy and roasted baby red potatoes

Ingredients:

2 each 8-ounce pork tenderloins, silver skin removed
2 slices focaccia or (sourdough bread), cut in 1/2" cubes
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
3 cups yellow onions, sliced
5 tbsp fresh garlic, chopped fine
1 tsp dry Mexican oregano
6 cups baby spinach, loosely packed

Gravy:

1 ½ cups Mexican Chorizo ground for the gravy (not to be confused with hard Spanish Chorizo)
4 each poblano peppers, roasted peeled and seeded
1 ½ cups yellow onion, sliced
2 tablespoons garlic, minced
1 teaspoon of olive oil
¼ teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
2 cups chicken stock
1 cup heavy cream
4 cups medium shitake mushrooms, sliced
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

Cut focaccia slices into ½ -inch cubes and toss with 3 tablespoons of the extra virgin olive oil and bake in 350-degree oven until golden brown.

Meanwhile, in a 2-quart saucepan, sauté 3 cups diced onion and 5 tablespoons minced garlic until translucent, add oregano then add chorizo stirring frequently until cooked through. Incorporate spinach and cook until wilted then combine mixture with focaccia croutons. Set aside and then let cool.

Take each tender and cut along the side lengthwise to fold open, place tenders between 2 sheets of plastic and evenly pound out flat with mallet or small sauté pan. Place half of chorizo mixture down the middle of each tender. Fold over and roll up. Using butcher’s twine, tie closed every 2 inches over the length of each tender.

For the gravy:

Toss sliced shitake mushrooms with 4 tablespoons of the extra virgin olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Roast in a 350-degree oven for about 8 minutes or until light brown. Set aside.

Over a gas burner, fire roast poblano peppers until evenly charred and blistered, place peppers into a medium-sized mixing bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to steam and reserve until cooled. Remove stems and slice in half. Clean out seeds and peel skin, then thinly slice.

In a 2-quart sauce pan, with 1 teaspoon of the extra virgin olive -- sauté 1½ cups of the sliced yellow onion. Add 2 tablespoons of the minced garlic, let sweat until translucent add ¼ teaspoon cumin, 1 teaspoon coriander, and the sliced poblano peppers, add chicken stock and heavy cream and reduce until liquid is level with the peppers. Puree in large blender until smooth, transfer back into pan and add roasted shitake mushrooms and keep warm. This will make about 4 cups.

Season tenderloins with salt and pepper and brown in a heavy skillet finish in oven for about 15 minutes at 320-degrees and let rest for about 4 minutes. Slice pork and serve with baby roasted red potatoes and mushroom gravy.