Roasted Pork Club with Scallion Mayonnaise

Fancy mayonnaise? Who would have thought? I'm a pretty big fan of mayonnaise in general, though not as much as those people that eat it plain on their artichokes and such. This recipe had me making mayonnaise mixed with a little salt and pepper and scallions and to my surprise, it was delicious. I think I will make this mayonnaise for toppings on other things, just for the extra kick. I must warn you though, it really does a number on your breath. So take note: this is not a date appropriate recipe.

This recipe is actually a combination of 2 separate recipes so I will combine them as smoothly as I can.

• 8 slices bacon
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 4 scallions, trimmed and minced
• coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 12 sliced whole wheat sandwich bread, lightly toasted
• 3/4 lb pork loin
• olive oil for frying
• 1 ripe avocado, pitted, peeled and thinly sliced
• 1 cup alfalfa sprouts
• 8 thin slices Swiss cheese
• dill pickle spears for serving, optional

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. In a medium ovenproof skillet, heat oil over medium high. Pat pork dry with paper towels. Generously season pork all over with salt and pepper. Cook until brown on all sides, turning as needed, about 8-10 minutes. Pour off all but 1 Tbsp fat. Transfer skillet to oven, and continue to cook pork until an instant read thermometer inserted in the thickest part registers 145 degrees, about 25-35 minutes. Transfer pork to a plate, cover loosely with aluminum foil (internal temperature will rise about 5 degrees as it sits).

While meat rests, in a large skillet over medium heat, cook bacon until crisp, turning once, 6-10 minutes. Let drain on paper towel-lined plate. Mix together mayonnaise and scallions, season with salt and pepper.

Spread one side of each bread slice with mayonnaise mixture. Layer 4 bread slices with pork and avocado, layer another 4 slices with sprouts, bacon and cheese. Stack layers, then top with remaining bread.

NOTES: I forgot the alfalfa sprouts on our sandwiches, but I don't think anyone was terribly missing them anyway. We added some lettuce to our sandwiches instead. Also, we were going to run out of bread with the 9 of us there (my brother-in-law's family attended this week's meal) so we just made normal sandwiches with 2 slices of bread instead of layering them like a club sandwich. Still tasted great and a couple of the kids went back for seconds!

Serves: 4
Prep Time: 30 min
Total Time: 1 hr

Recipe from Every Day Food - Fresh Flavor Fast from Martha Stewart Living