Wreath of Flubber

I can’t seem to quit cooking with Marsala. Yesterday I tried a new idea for pork tenderloin. Last week I fried medallions in Marsala, but I thought they were a little dry. This time I decided to bake a whole pork loin in Marsala. I made up the recipe on the fly, which is not hard to do when you bake pork in wine. It will always be good. You might try it and fiddle with it and see what you think.

INGREDIENTS

1 pork loin
1 cup Marsala (Florio’s Sweet)
1 large white onion
3/4 cup sliced carrots
1 clove garlic, pressed
20 grape tomatoes
5 cayenne peppers, seeded and chopped
2 tbsp. butter
1 tsp. salt
pepper to taste

I dissolved the salt in about 1/2 cup of Marsala and put it in a plastic bag with the tenderloin, with the air squeezed out. An hour or two later, I arranged the tenderloin in a wreath shape (it separated into two long halves) around the bottom of a 2 1/2-quart Pyrex dish. I sliced and quartered the onion and lowered it into the round hole between the pork loin halves without breaking it up. I tossed in the peppers and the butter and everything else. I peppered the top of the loin. I baked at 300 for two hours and then increased the heat to 350 for one hour, to brown it.

It was very nice. Maybe I should have added beef broth. Sun-dried tomatoes might be better than fresh. I meant to add sauteed almonds at the end, but I forgot.

Truthfully, it was still dry, even though it baked while soaking in wine and butter. Is that just inevitable with pork loin? If so, I’d go with a boneless pork roast. They’re fantastic.

Today I’m fixing lamb arm chops (Winn-Dixie cheapies) using my recipe for lamb shanks with orzo. I’m leaving out the orzo. They’ll still be good. I don’t know why arm chops are so cheap. They’re great.