I don't like pork. Yep, it's time I admit it, pork is just not for me - which is just as well, given how pigs are treated in commercial farms. Still, pork is a very popular meat in Spain, indeed, I'd say, the most popular meat in Spain, so I couldn't really ignore it when choosing what recipes to make. Which is not to say, I won't next time.

The sauce on this dish was very good, it had a balanced, rich, and yet not very heavy flavor, that I really enjoyed. It's definitely a refined sort of sauce, something that could very well be served at a restaurant. What I found very interesting is that the mushrooms seem to have been turned into mush and combined with the rest of the sauce, which was fortunate as my 7-year-old believes she doesn't like mushrooms. The pork, alas, tasted like pork.

I made a few changes from the original recipe. First, I couldn't find the lemon juice, so I didn't use it - I think the pears would be better with it. Second, I neither blanched or toasted the almonds, again, I'm sure it'd be better if done so. And finally, the original recipe called for prunes rather than raisins, but we don't really like prunes and I'm on savings mode, so I wasn't going to spend extra money for a dried fruit we don't really enjoy.

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Pork Loin with Pears and Raisins Ingredients 1/2 lb small pears lemon juice (optional) 1 bottle red wine, divided 1 cinnamon stick 1 1/2 lbs. boneless pork loin salt & pepper 2 Tbsp. olive oil 2 Tbsp. brandy 1 onion, finely chopped 1 bay leaf 3/4 cup chicken broth, divided 1/3 cup almonds 2 cloves garlic 1/4 tsp. dried oregano 1/4 tsp. dried thyme 4 oz. mushrooms, sliced 1/2 cup raisins Instructions Peel the pears. Rub with lemon juice, if using. Place in a small saucepan, and pour enough red wine to mostly cover them - reserving 5 tablespoons of wine for later. Add the cinnamon stick, bring to a boil, turn down the heat and then simmer, covered, for 20 minutes, or until the pears are tender. If the wine doesn't cover the pears, turn at least once. When done, remove from the wine (you can discard it), and set pears aside. Season the pork generously with salt and pepper. Heat the olive oil over medium-high heat in a large pot and add the pork. Brown on all sides. Add the brandy and flambee. When the flames subside add the onion and saute until soft. Add the 5 Tbsp. of wine and reduce the liquid by half. Add the bay leaf and 1/2 cup chicken broth. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, put the almonds, garlic cloves, oregano and thyme in a mini-chopper and process until the mixture is as smooth as possible. Add the remaining 1/4 cup chicken broth and process into a paste. Set aside. Once the 20 minutes have passed, add the almond mixture, the mushrooms and the raisins to the pot, stir and taste for salt. Season with salt if necessary. Cover and cook for another 30 minutes or until the meat is cooked through. Remove pork from pot and keep warm. Turn up the heat and quickly boil off some of the liquid from the sauce. Core and slice the pears. Return pork to the pot and add the sliced pears, stir and turn off the heat. Serve pork accompanied with pears and sauce.

Adapted from a recipe in Penelope Casas'Delicioso! The Regional Cooking of Spain