The Courvoisier Collective called wondering if I, or my readers, would submit a recipe for their contest. I thought that was funny: readers? You mean my Mom? Anyway, they offered free stuff, so I said yes. I’m a total whore. The free stuff was underwhelming. Now I had to create a recipe.

I can’t really recall how I came to this recipe but it’s something like the following:

Courvoisier? What’s that? Oh, Cognac. What’s Cognac? Oh, brandy from the region called Cognac. Brandy is distilled wine. It reached its height in popularity slightly before the American Civil War. To the cocktail archives!

Hmm, the Brandy Punch looks interesting: Brandy, Raspberry Syrup, Sugar, Orange, Pineapple.

But “the Collective” wants entrees, not desserts. With what could I serve this? Pork goes well with sweet things. To the kitchen!

Serves 6

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup Courvoisier or other brandy
• 7 tbsp water
• zest of 1 orange
• juice of 1 lemon
• olive oil, salt and pepper
• 1 tbsp fresh thyme, chopped
• 1 pork loin, about 3 lbs
• 1 half pineapple, peeled, cored and cut in half

Put the sugar, brown sugar, brandy, water and orange zest in a small pot. Bring to a boil over a high heat. Simmer at medium for about 5 minutes. Set aside to cool. Once cooled, stir in the lemon juice.

Score the fat on the pork with a paring knife in a criss cross pattern. Cover the pork in oil, then season with salt and pepper. Cover the roast with the thyme. Prepare your grill for medium heat.

Grill the pork over direct medium heat, about five minutes a side. Watch the fat side for flareups. Once all sides are brown, grill with indirect medium heat until done, 40-60 minutes. Put the pineapple on the grill now too. In the final 15 minutes, brush the sauce over the pork.

Allow the pork to rest for 10 minutes before slicing. Chop the pineapple into large dice. Serve on a platter with the remaining sauce.