Pork Loin

Roxann Angil of Baltimore wants a recipe for pork chops with a sweet sauce. "I had it in California a few years ago, and it tasted as if it had a plum sauce on it, but I'm not sure. It was the best pork chop I have ever had, and I've tried to find it in cookbooks but have not been able to come up with it. Hope you can help me." W.H. Hamill Jr. of Forest Hill responded with tester Laura Reiley's choice. Cherry-Glazed Pork Loin or Chops Serves 6 1 tablespoon vegetable oil one 3-pound boneless pork loin, cut into 2 pieces lengthwise (freeze 1 piece for later use)

Each day of the week offers a menu aimed at a different aspect of meal planning. There's a family meal, a kids' menu, a heat-and-eat meal that recycles leftovers, a budget meal that employs a cost-cutting strategy, a meatless or "less meat" dish, an express meal that requires little or no preparation, and an entertaining meal that's quick. SUNDAY / Family Treat the family like royalty and serve them Roast Pork Loin With Pear Stuffing. Serve the juicy pork roast with aromatic basmati rice.

Each day of the week offers a menu aimed at a different aspect of meal planning. There's a family meal, a kids' menu aimed at younger tastes, a heat-and-eat meal that recycles leftovers, a budget meal that employs a cost-cutting strategy, a meatless or "less meat" dish for people who may not be strict vegetarians but are trying to cut down on meat, an express meal that requires little or no preparation, and an entertaining menu that's quick. SUNDAY / Family Gather the family for easy boneless Smothered Pork Loin Chops.

Is it possible to cook for a day and make enough meals for a month? I wasn't sure, but I was intrigued. I decided to narrow the question. For a family of four, is it possible to cook a month's worth of dinners in a day? What if it's just a month of weekdays? Now I was hooked. But what would I cook? Knowing that I would live with, and eat, my choices for a month, I decided to fix dishes that we normally eat. There had to be a blend of comforting, sophisticated and ethnic dishes.

BEIJING -- In a city where the culinary scene includes Cultural Revolution-theme restaurants and Folies Bergere-style dinner theaters, one of the most entertaining new places to eat is under water.Beginning on Valentine's Day weekend, the Blue Zoo aquarium began offering candlelight dinners in a restaurant that moves through an acrylic underwater tunnel. Over roast pork loin and red wine, diners sit transfixed as scuba divers hand-feed sand tiger sharks and targetfish cruise about the 1.2 million-gallon tank.

When Joel Shalowitz and Jerry Pellegrino bought Daniel's (formerly Tabrizi's) this spring and changed its name to Corks, you knew wine was going to be important. You just didn't know how important.Corks' wine list isn't a wine list. It's a major literary work. It has a table of contents. An introduction. Maps. A glossary. The only problem is that by the time you actually read it all, dinner is over.But if the list's sheer size doesn't put you in a panic, you'll find it's actually quite user-friendly, with a breezy and non-jargony text.

Since it's been more than a decade since Bill Murray did his scathing lounge singer act on "Saturday Night Live," it may be safe to come out strongly in favor of lounges. At these magical places, noun blends seamlessly with verb. After all, what do you do at a lounge? You lounge. They're like waiting rooms with better conversation and mixed drinks.An old favorite of dyed-in-the-wool lounge lovers, Johnny Dee's has been around. A great lounge needn't have great food, but among Johnny Dee's charms is a pleasant and inexpensive menu.

Here's a sumptuous combination for the fall season -- pork loin chops in a bed of fresh spinach.To prepare spinach, place freshly washed leaves on a microwave-safe plate and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Microwave 1 to 2 minutes or until bright green and slightly wilted.For the salad, use the tender inner leaves of a head of romaine lettuce. Concoct a quick salad dressing by combining equal parts yogurt and mayonnaise with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice and a dash or two of soy sauce.A dessert of warm pecan pie from a bakery makes a sweet finish.

Maybe it's the shorter days or the chill of the evenings, but whatever the impetus, entertaining ranks high on the season's agenda.Here's a menu designed for make-ahead preparation. The cook simply roasts a succulent pork loin, reheats the side dishes, tosses the salad and opens the wine. Easy.Roast Pork Loin With Thyme and GarlicMakes 6-8 servings3 tablespoons minced fresh thyme3 tablespoons olive oil4 large cloves garlic, peeled and minced2 tablespoons lemon juice1/2 teaspoon minced lemon peel (zest)