Cookin' With Leo

By Leocthasme

Well now, summer's over more or less. Anyway here it is the Fall of the year again and most folks are back inside and for the most part outdoor cookin' is more or less forgotten. Kids are back in school and busy on the weekends with football and such, so the family outdoors get together around the BBQ pit is put aside for the most part. So be it, but that don't mean you can't make something just as good on the inside with a roaster or a big ol' cast iron pot with a wire meat rack that fits in it, an' a tight fittin' lid.

Personally, I prefer the Cast Iron Dutch Ovens or Cast Iron Skillets, which I got plenty of, rather than them delicate electric, roaster pots with glass lids. I'm a bit clumsy with such modern, so-called, conveniences. Seems a waste to have all those extra plug in utensils around which only do one or two things. And, even if you get lonesome for the great outdoors you can take your cast iron pots and pans and set 'em on the BBQ grill just for ol' times sake, but don't try that with them new electric gadgets.

Nuff' said, let's get busy with a nice Pork Roast with some harvest flavor. Here's what we're gonna' need:

A nice boneless center cut pork loin at least 2 pounds.

(Now hear this! If you still know a friendly butcher shop where your friendly butcher will cut things the way you want them and fix things nice for you, he will probably cut and trim a nice roast and tie it with butcher string. That's great - leave it that way. However, getting a roast from the super is a little different. You may have to look at a whole display of roasts to find one just right, and when you get it home it will probably be bagged in plastic with a plastic net around it to hold it together. So, don't go roasting any plastic netting and such, remove it. If the roast needs to be held together, use some cotton string and truss it up yourself.)

2 tblspns Olive Oil.

1/4 cup dry red wine

2 tblspns brown sugar.

Fresh ground pepper, use your pepper mill.

2 large sweet onions, peeled, quartered

3 firm pears, fresh, unpeeled, quartered.

1 tblspn fresh Rosemary.

Now, let's get cookin'!

Heat the oil in the roaster or Dutch oven.
Then pepper and brown the pork loin on all sides, about 6 to 8 minutes to brown it all around.
Remove it and set it aside while you do this.
Put your roasting rack in the roaster and put the meat back in the roaster with the fat side up.
Pour the wine over it and sprinkle the sugar and rosemary on top of it.
Place the onions and pears around the sides.
Set your oven for 400 degrees or set your automatic roaster for 400 degrees and cook for about one hour.

If using an automatic roaster you will not have to do much but check after about 45 minutes. In the oven, about every 15 or 20 minutes baste the roast with the juices in the bottom of the pot.

Something with your roast? A nice green salad will go good and some hearty rye bread or Pumpernickle to sop up the gravy..