Oh. My.Goodness. Tonight's Dinner? Sublime.

I made an AWESOME meal tonight. And I have MrsVJW of Diary of the Suburban Hausfrau to thank for it since she sent the recipe for the pork to Just Ask Rosie at RosieHawthorne@aim.com, wanting me to try it and report back to her. But first, my side dish. It's going to be a molded rice dish with fruits and nuts

I started out by sauteeing a cup of arborio rice in about 2 tablespoons of butter. Arborio rice is a short grained Italian rice used in risotto dishes. The high starch content creates a super creamy texture.

I sauteed the rice for about 3-4 minutes...

... then added about half a cup of white wine, stirring until the wine was absorbed.

Since pineapple chunks are going into this dish, I drained the pineapple juice into the rice, stirring over low heat until dissolved.

I thawed out one of my quarts of chicken consomme and added 1 cup, a quarter cup at a time, stirring until absorbed. I added maybe another cup of wine, just a little bit at a time, stirring.

The process took about 40 minutes but is well worth the time since the creaminess of risotta is unlike anything else.

The ingredients for my molded rice dish: maraschino cherries pineapple 1/2 cup brown sugar honey

1/2 cup walnuts 1/2 cup almonds handful chopped dried apricots handful raisins small handful of chopped dates

First I put a layer of the rice in my buttered bowl, then some cherries and pineapple.

Another layer of rice, then more fruits, some nuts and some brown sugar.

Honey's always good.

Just keep layering with rice and the other ingredients.

Smooth out the rice layer on top.

And add some of the brown sugar.

And a little cherry juice never hurt anything.

I put a small colander inside a large pan and added water.

And placed the rice bowl in the colander. The water should come about halfway up the side of the bowl. I dotted with butter ...

... and covered with buttered wax paper.

I brought the water to a simmer, then put a lid on, and gently simmered for 40 minutes.

Then carefully inverted the bowl.

Isn't this pretty?

In fact, I thought it was so pretty I had to keep turning it and shooting pictures.

OK, enough rice. Let's get to the meat of the matter - MrsVJW's recipe she sent to me. "Pork Medallions with Grapes in Pomegranate Sauce"

I just happened to have pork tenderloins in my freezer (sale priced $2.99/pound at Harris Teeter). Actually, I have most any kind of meat in my freezer you could want, at any given time. After trimming the silverskin and most of the fat off, I cut the loin into 1-inch slices and salted and peppered them.

The rest of my ingredients: 1/2 cup of my homemade chicken consomme 1/2 cup pomegranate juice (Which I just happened to have on hand since I won a case - Thanks to Judy of Judy's Kitchen.) 2 TB ketchup 1 cup seedless green grapes dried cherries and cranberries handful of arugula

I heated my butter and olive oil in a large, heavy skillet, then added the loins, cooking over high heat for about 2 minutes on each side.

I flipped them over and cooked another two minutes, then seared around the sides for a minute or two more. Most people over cook pork. I like it slightly pink in the center.

I removed the medallions from the pan and set in a warm oven while I prepared the pomegranate sauce.

Chicken consomme was added to the pan. (Use low sodium chicken stock if you don't make your own. But if you don't, you should because there's no comparison.)

Then pomegranate juice.

I brought this mixture to a boil, then reduced the heat to low and cooked, covered for about 4-5 minutes.

Next, the ketchup went in.

And the grapes.

And the dried cherries and cranberries.

Boil for about a minute until the sauce is smooth and slightly thickened.

I plated my pork medallions and poured the sauce over top, albeit none too carefully. Oh my. This is starting to look like a crime scene.

Lastly, I sprinkled on the arugula.

Let me introduce you to tonight's dinner. A perfectly cooked, slightly on the rare side, juicy, pork medallion, ensconced in a pomegranate/chicken consomme sauce with green grapes, dried cranberries, and dried cherries. With shredded arugula on top. With a side of home made apple sauce. With a side of my rice.

I didn't realize it until looking at this picture, but that's one huge grape on top of the pork.

The rice was creamy, sweet, fruity, and nutty.

Mr. Hawthorne declared, "This meal is a treat."

"Excellent."

"A trophy meal."

"A keeper." This is how pork should look. Slightly pink. Pink pork = porfect. Thanks again, MrsVJW, for a terrific recipe.

Rosie Makes Pizza For Lunch Today.

Every now and then, Mr. Hawthorne and I get a hankering for pizza. I actually started on the dough yesterday after we got home from the cook-off. Mr. Hawthorne said he wanted pizza and I asked him, "What kind?" He responded with, "I dunno. Something different" And I asked him if he wanted a chili pizza. He said he doesn't want to see any chili for a long, long time. I think he was chilied out. So, I started on the dough, which I'll go through step by step for you pizza virgins out there, along with suggestions for different types of doughs. And we didn't eat the pizza last night. While the dough was rising, Mr. Hawthorne got impatient and fixed himself a salad. Now, on to pizza dough.

One half cup of warm water and one package of yeast.

Sprinkle a tablespoon of sugar over top the yeast and stir to mix.

Set aside to let the yeast "proof." That means get all puffy and means the yeast is working. Then add in an egg and mix.

I added maybe one cup of unbleached bread flour and some salt and pepper, mixing with a fork.

Then I turned the messy gloppy dough onto a lightly floured surface and kneaded, adding in a tablespoon or so of flour at a time, as needed, and as kneaded. You can tell. If the dough gets too sticky, sprinkle on some flour. You want the dough to be soft, smooth, pliable, and elastic. And the more you knead it, the more it becomes those things.

Here's the part where you can make a twist on your basic pizza dough. I had sliced green onions and parsley left over from the cook off so I decided to add that to my dough. You could, of course, use other combinations: sage and ham or sausage bits, garlic and onion, jalapeno and cilantro, basil and sun dried tomatoes, just for starters. Use your imagination and don't be afraid to experiment.

I sprinkled some parsley on the dough and kneaded for a bit.

Then I added some green onions and kneaded some more.

The dough was getting a bit "tight" so I added in maybe a tablespoon of olive oil.

Then some more flour to make it just right. Please don't be intimidated by making dough. It's quite simple and the dough tells you what it needs.

I kneaded away, alternately adding in parsley and green onions and olive oil and flour. Add flour and oil in as needed, depending on climate, humidity, your astrological sign, phase of the moon, and your own personal issues.

Place the dough into a well-oiled bowl, turning to oil the dough all over, and I like to sprinkle some more salt and pepper on top. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise. Here's my tip for dough-rising: Wet a kitchen towel, nuke it for about 90 seconds so it's nice and hot, cover the dough bowl with the towel (bottom, sides, and top), and place back in the microwave to rise. The heat and the steam help.

And here's my risen dough, about 90 minutes later.

I punched the dough down, kneaded it some more, then wrapped in plastic, and stuck it in the fridge for the next day.

Sunday morning. I guess I didn't wrap as securely as I should have. The dough continued rising even in the fridge. I just kneaded it again and it was fine.

We wanted a small, thin-crust pizza, so I divided the dough in half. Start with a ball of dough in the center of your oiled pan and press from the center outwards. You don't want to rush your dough and tear it. Take your time with dough. Press outward, then stop and let the dough rest. Then resume pressing until you have the dough the way you want it. I may take 20-30 minutes just spreading the dough out. At this point, you could have taken the whole dough, or the other half and formed and turned it into a loaf pan and made a loaf of bread. This is a very versatile dough. I left the pizza dough in a barely warmed oven to rise...

... and I took the rest of the dough,

and divided it into balls.

And I made bread sticks.

Brushed them with melted butter.

Sprinkled with parmesan cheese and set aside to rise.

Now, Mr. Hawthorne is working on his pizza toppings. Here's a tip: Slice your pepperoni, place on a paper towel, and nuke for about 40 seconds or more.

Gets a lot of the grease out of the pepperoni and off of the pizza.

Sliced peppers, onions, and mushrooms.

Oooh. I think Mr. Hawthorne has been paying attention to me. He's squishing the liquid out of the mushrooms.

Mr. Hawthorne slightly browned the pizza dough and added a layer of cheese. And more cheese.

Next, he added a thin layer of tomato sauce he'd seasoned and prepared last night. I don't like a lot of sauce on my pizza and we both agreed upon tasting that this was slightly on the heavy side.

Pepperoni next.

Roasted red peppers.

Shrooms.

Green peppers.

Onions.

And cheese and more cheese. Then into a 425 degree oven until the cheeses melted, maybe 12 minutes.

The bread sticks cooked for about 6-7 minutes.

And canIjestellya? They were delicious.

As was the pizza. Before going into the oven, Mr. Hawthorne topped the pizza with oregano and cayenne pepper.

The crust was light, thin, and crispy. The sauce was almost too much, but I like a very thin, scarce sauce on my pizzas. The toppings were perfect. The flavors were all in balance. The herbiness of the oregano and the slight heat of the cayenne were excellent accompaniments to the rest of the ingredients. And did I mention? ... my crust kicked ass.

Can't you just see all the flavors?