One of the things I’d been meaning to try out for a while (read : the past 3 years) was roasting something in the oven. Something, anything really…but I was intimidated by the concept. Roasting always took a long time, what if you burned the food, what’s the right temperature for the meat, etc…
But finally, I ended up sucking it up and giving it a shot last weekend. I took out my handy Italian cookbook (that I’d never used a recipe from yet), the Silver Spoon, and flipped to the pork loin section, since that was what I was feeling up for that day. After gawking a bit at the book, I finally settled on this recipe and set off to pick up a pork roast at Whole Foods. As expensive as Whole Foods is, I always like how fresh the ingredients are, and the meat is no exception, and the roast was pre-wrapped with string for me already!
All in all, not as hard as I imagined it would be, though I overcooked the roast just a tad. Definitely will be trying this again sometime, with a little more experience next time 
Roast Pork with Lemon
Serves 6
Time 3 hours 30 minutes (including marinating time)
Ingredients:
- 2 pound pork loin (boneless)
- 2 tbsp fresh rosemary needles, chopped
- 3/4 cup dry white wine
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 5 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp brandy
- 1 lemon, sliced (optional)
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2-3 cloves garlic, sliced
Method:
1. Make a few incisions in the meat using a small knife. Insert a pinch of rosemary needles and a little garlic until half of the rosemary and garlic is used.
2. Place the pork in a deep bowl, pour in the wine and sprinkle with the rest of the rosemary and garlic. Marinate in the refrigerator for about 2 hours, turning occasionally.
3. Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. Remove the pork from the bowl, reserving the marinade and place in a roasting pan. Roast for 15 minutes.
4. Lower the temperature to 350 degrees Farhrenheit and roast for another 30 minutes.
5. Pour the marinade over the pork, season with some salt and pepper, and roast for another hour.
6. Combine the sugar, lemon juice, and brandy. Pour over the pork and return to the oven, basting every 10 minutes or so until the sauce has thickened and the meat is dark and shiny (Or until the meat is the desired temperature, I cooked it until 165 degrees and that was too much for me).
7. When the pork is finished, remove and let stand for a few minutes before untying and carving.