Archive for August, 2011

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Lamb Ragout with Olives and Peppers

Monday, August 29th, 2011

RECIPE FOR: Lamb Ragout with Olives and Peppers
PAIRS WELL WITH:  2008 WillaKenzie Estate Pinot Noir Triple Black Slopes

Recipe adapted from Food and Wine magazine by Kim Gibson

 


Ingredients:
2 Tbs canola oil
2 lbs boneless lamb shoulder, cut into 2″ cubes
kosher salt/pepper
1/2 large Spanish onion, chopped
2 celery ribs, chopped
2 medium carrots, chopped
2 Tbs tomato paste
1/2 cup dry red wine
3 1/2 cups water
2 Tbs cornstarch slurry (2 Tbs cornstarch whisked with 2 Tbs water)
1/2 cup sliced Picholine or other green olives
3/4 cup roasted red peppers, sliced
1 Tbs parsley, chopped

 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 300. In large dutch oven or other cast iron casserole, heat oil until shimmering. Pat lamb dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Add lamb to casserole in a single layer, working in batches, and brown all sides of lamb cubes, 3-4 minutes per side. Remove to a plate.

2. Add onions, celery and carrots to pan. Cook until vegetables are soft and have partially de-glazed pan, about 5 minutes. Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring, until paste is slightly browned, 3-4 minutes. Add the wine and de-glaze, scraping any remaining browned bits with a wooden spoon until wine is nearly evaporated. Add the water, season with salt and pepper, and bring to a boil. Return lamb and any accumulated juices to pan. Cover and braise in oven 2 1/2 – 3 hours or until lamb is completely fork tender.

3. Transfer lamb to a platter and coarsely shred the meat. Strain the broth over a bowl (reserving broth). Return broth to pan and skim fat from the surface using a spoon. Add cornstarch slurry and bring broth to a boil, then simmer to thicken, about 10 minutes. If desired, return vegetables to sauce. Add the olives, red peppers and parsley.

Serve over Israeli cous-cous*, wide egg noodles or rice.

Serves 4 main course portions

* for gluten-free, use rice. Israeli cous cous is not gluten-free.

Posted in Recipe Archive for WillaKenzie Wine & Food Pairings, Recipes to pair with WillaKenzie Pinot Noir Triple Black Slopes | Comments Off

Stuffed Mushrooms with Prosciutto

Monday, August 29th, 2011

RECIPE FOR:  Stuffed Mushrooms with Prosciutto
PAIRS WELL WITH:  2009 WillaKenzie Estate Pinot Noir Thibaud’s Cuvée

Recipe from Savory Adventures

Serves:  6

 

Ingredients:

3 – 4 Tablespoons bacon grease
1 medium sweet onion (Vidalia if available), chopped very finely
12 large mushrooms
6 mushroom stems cut into small pieces
2 thick slices of prosciutto (about 1/8” thick), diced finely
1/2 teaspoon of marjoram
1/2 cup of dry wine, such as dry vermouth
1/4 cup chopped parsley
Salt and pepper to taste
Butter
Parmegiano Reggiano cheese

 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a separate pan, cook mushroom caps in bacon grease, browning the tops and barely heating the bottom. Place on a paper towel or paper bag to drain the grease. Let cool while you prepare the stuffing.

Sauté chopped onion in bacon grease on medium high heat until they begin to get soft, about 5-7 minutes. Once they begin to soften, lower heat to medium, add diced mushrooms pieces and sauté for an additional 2-3 minutes. Once the mushrooms have begun to soften, turn the heat to medium high – high and add the white wine, let the wine evaporate. Add diced prosciutto, 1 tablespoon butter, and marjoram and cook a little longer, about 2-3 minutes. Add parsley, salt and pepper to taste.

Stuff the above mixture into the previously browned mushroom caps, place on an aluminum lined baking sheet, sprinkle heavily with the parmesan cheese and bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown on top. Check on them every 5 minutes. Allow to cool slightly before serving.

Posted in Recipe Archive for WillaKenzie Wine & Food Pairings, Recipes to pair with WillaKenzie Pinot Noir Thibaud's Cuvee | Comments Off

Julia Child’s Coq au Vin

Monday, August 29th, 2011

RECIPE FOR: Julia Child’s Coq au Vin
PAIRS WELL WITH:  2008 WillaKenzie Estate Pinot Noir Terres Basses

Recipe by the legendary Julia Child
Servings:  4
Cook Time:  30-60 min

 

Ingredients:
1/2 cup lardons (4 ounces — 1-by-1/4-inch strips of blanched slab bacon or salt pork – see Special Note below)
2 1/2 to 3 pounds frying chicken parts
2 tbs. butter
1 tbs. olive oil (or good cooking oil)
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 or 2 large cloves of garlic, pureed
1 imported bay leaf
1/4 tsp or so thyme
1 large ripe red unpeeled tomato, chopped, (or 1/3 cup canned Italian plum tomatoes)
3 cups young red wine (Zinfandel, Macon or Chianti type)
1 cup chicken stock (or more)
Beurre manie, for the sauce (1 1/2 tbs. each flour softened butter blended to a paste)
Fresh parsley sprigs (or chopped parsley)
1/3 cup good brandy (optional)
12 to 16 small brown-braised white onions
3 cups fresh mushrooms, trimmed, quartered and sautéed

 

 

Cooking Directions:

Browning and simmering the chicken. Before browning the chicken, sauté the blanched bacon or salt pork and remove to a side dish, leaving the fat in the pan. Brown the chicken in the pork fat, adding a little olive oil, if needed. Flame the chicken with the brandy, if you wish — it does give its own special flavor, besides being fun to do. Then proceed to simmer the chicken in the wine, stock, tomatoes and seasoning as directed in the master recipe.

Finishing the dish. Strain, degrease, and finish the sauce, also as described. Strew the braised onions and sautéed mushrooms over the chicken, baste with the sauce, and simmer a few minutes, basting, to rewarm the chicken and to blend flavors.

Special note: To blanch bacon or salt pork: When you use bacon or salt pork in cooking, you want to remove its salt as well as its smoky flavor, which would permeate the rest of the food. To do so, you blanch it — meaning, you drop it into a saucepan of cold water to cover it by 2 to 3 inches, bring it to the boil, and simmer 5 to 8 minutes; the drain, refresh in cold water, and pat dry in paper towels.

Posted in Recipe Archive for WillaKenzie Wine & Food Pairings, Recipes to pair with WillaKenzie Pinot Noir Terres Basses | Comments Off

Olive-and-Spice-Crusted Leg of Lamb

Monday, August 29th, 2011

RECIPE FOR:  Olive-and-Spice-Crusted Leg of Lamb
PAIRS WELL WITH:  2008 WillaKenzie Estate Pinot Noir Pierre Léon

Recipe courtesy Food Network Magazine

 


Prep Time:  –
Inactive Prep Time:  2 hr 40 min
Cook Time:  25 min
Serves:  8 servings

Ingredients:

3 cloves garlic
2 teaspoons paprika
2 teaspoons coriander seeds, crushed
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds, crushed
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup pitted mixed green and black olives
1/2 cup fresh parsley
1/4 cup fresh cilantro
Juice of 1 lemon
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 5- to 7-pound boneless leg of lamb, butterflied and trimmed of surface fat (have the butcher do this for you)

 

Directions

Puree the garlic, paprika, coriander, cumin, 1 tablespoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper into a paste in a mini food processor. Add the olives, parsley, cilantro and lemon juice; pulse to chop. Add the butter and pulse to incorporate all the ingredients.

Cut the lamb along a natural seam into 2 equal pieces. Rub the olive-spice mixture evenly all over the lamb; cover and refrigerate for 2 to 6 hours.

Bring the lamb to room temperature about 30 minutes before cooking. Preheat the broiler and line a broiler pan with foil. Place the lamb smooth-side down on the pan. Broil just until charred, about 15 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven; carefully turn the lamb, using tongs. Return to the oven; broil until a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the meat reads 125 to 130 degrees, about 10 more minutes.

Transfer the lamb to a cutting board, cover loosely with foil and let rest for 10 minutes. Slice across the grain and arrange on a platter.

Posted in Recipe Archive for WillaKenzie Wine & Food Pairings, Recipes to pair with WillaKenzie Pinot Noir Pierre Leon | Comments Off

Grilled Salmon with Mustard-Wine Sauce

Monday, August 29th, 2011

RECIPE FOR:  Grilled Salmon with Mustard-Wine Sauce
PAIRS WELL WITH:  2008 WillaKenzie Estate Pinot Noir Kiana

Recipe from Sunset Magazine, May 2010

 

Yield:   Serves 6
Total:  30 Minutes


Ingredients

1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
6 salmon fillets (6 oz. each)
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon flour
1/2 teaspoon paprika
3/4 cup milk
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1/4 cup dry white wine, such as Pinot Gris
1 teaspoon chopped fresh basil leaves
1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary leaves


Preparation

1. Prepare a grill for high heat (450° to 550°; you can hold your hand 5 in. above cooking grate only 2 to 4 seconds). In a small bowl, combine garlic, salt, 1/2 tsp. pepper, the oil, and lemon juice. Brush mixture over salmon, then cook, turning once, until done the way you like, about 6 minutes total for medium.
2. In a small saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Stir in flour and cook until starting to brown. Whisk in remaining 1/2 tsp. pepper, the paprika, milk, mustard, wine, and 3 tbsp. water. Cook until simmering, then spoon over salmon and sprinkle with herbs.

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Roasted Quail with Apricot-Port Wine Sauce

Monday, August 29th, 2011

RECIPE FOR:  Roasted Quail with Apricot-Port Wine Sauce
PAIRS WELL WITH:  2008 WillaKenzie Estate Pinot Noir Jory Hills Vineyard

Recipe from Hunter Angler Gardener Cook

 

For the Roast Quail

Ingredients:
Serves 2

OPTIONAL BRINE

1/4 cup kosher salt
4 cups white wine or water
4 bay leaves

QUAIL

4 quail
Olive oil or butter
Salt
2 celery sticks
Black pepper

 

Directions:
-  If you choose to brine your quail, boil the water or wine with the kosher salt and bay leaves, then turn off the heat and let cool. Submerge the quail in this brine for 4-8 hours.
-  Preheat your oven to 500 degrees. This will take a little while for most ovens, up to 30 minutes. While the oven is preheating, take the quail out of the fridge and pat them dry. Coat with olive oil or melted butter (your quail will be browner with melted butter) and salt generously. Set aside at room temperature while the oven heats.
-  When the oven is hot, get a small roasting pan or cast-iron frying pan and set the quail in it. They will want to tip over, so steady them with cut pieces of the celery stick. Try to prevent the quail from touching each other to speed the cooking process.
-  Roast the quail in the oven for 10-15 minutes. The lower end of the spectrum will give you quail that are juicy, succulent and a little pink on the inside. The higher end of the spectrum will give you a fully cooked quail, which is OK, but which I find boring. Your choice.
-  When you take the quail out of the oven, place on a cutting board and loosely tent with foil for 5-10 minutes. Use this time to make the wild game sauce of your choice, or just squirt lemon juice on the birds before serving.

 

 

For the Apricot-Port Wine Sauce

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons duck fat or butter
4 tablespoons apricot jelly or jam
1 cup game or vegetable stock (duck, venison, etc)
1/2 cup Port wine
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon red pepper puree, such as Sriracha
Salt to taste

 

Directions:
-  If there is only a little fat in the pan you used to roast or sear your meat, melt the extra duck fat or butter first — but there will often be enough fat already in the pan. Deglaze the pan with the Port and stock. Let this boil furiously until it is reduced by half.
-  Add the tomato paste, apricot jelly and the red pepper puree and mix well. You might need a whisk. Let it boil until it thickens, about 4-5 minutes.
-  Taste the sauce. Add salt if needed.
-  If you have one, pour the finished sauce into a fat separator and serve as fatless as possible. This is optional: The sauce is equally good with all the fat, but it looks less refined.

Posted in Recipe Archive for WillaKenzie Wine & Food Pairings, Recipes to pair with WillaKenzie Pinot Noir Jory Hills Vineyard | Comments Off

Tea-Smoked Duck

Monday, August 29th, 2011

RECIPE FOR:  Tea-Smoked Duck
PAIRS WELL WITH:  2008 WillaKenzie Estate Pinot Noir Emery

From EatingWell:  January/February 1992

 

4 servings, 2-ounces each

Active Time:1 hour

Total Time:1 3/4 hours

Ingredients

1 4-5 pound duck, washed and dried
6 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce, divided
4 whole pieces star anise
1 cinnamon stick
1 cup uncooked long-grain white rice
1 cup strong black tea leaves, such as Darjeeling
1 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

 

Preparation

- Remove any fat from the cavity of the duck and prick the bird all over.
- Bring an inch or two of water and 4 tablespoons soy sauce to a boil in a wok with a tight-fitting lid. Add star anise and cinnamon.
- Place the duck on a rack in the wok, cover and steam over simmering water just until the juices run clear, about 40 minutes.
- Remove the duck from the wok, pouring out any juice from the cavity, and set the bird aside.
- Discard liquid, rinse the wok and dry it with paper towels.
- Line it with heavy aluminum foil, allowing foil to hang about 2 inches over the edge.
- Place rice, tea and sugar in the bottom of the wok and mix well.
- Place a rack about 1 inch above the rice mixture. (If you do not have a rack that fits properly, place four chopsticks across the wok so that they crisscross.)
- Place the duck on the rack, breast-side up.
- Cover with foil, allowing at least 1 inch between the duck and foil and letting the foil cover also hang about 2 inches over the edge.
- Cover with the lid.
- Turn heat to high (turn on exhaust fan) and cook until smoke begins to emerge from the wok, 3 to 5 minutes.
- Crimp the top and bottom edges of the overhanging foil together and smoke for 10 minutes.
- Reduce heat to medium and smoke for 20 minutes longer. Turn off heat and, leaving foil sealed, let sit for 15 minutes.
- Unwrap duck and discard tea mixture and aluminum foil.
- Remove and discard skin.
- Carve the breast meat into thin slices.
- Cut the legs from the carcass (discard carcass) and separate the thigh from the drumstick at the joint.
- Mix remaining 2 tablespoons soy sauce and sesame oil and brush over the meat.

Posted in Recipe Archive for WillaKenzie Wine & Food Pairings, Recipes to pair with WillaKenzie Pinot Noir Emery | Comments Off

Roast Chicken with Wild Mushroom Sauce

Monday, August 29th, 2011

RECIPE FOR:  Roast Chicken with Wild Mushroom Sauce
PAIRS WELL WITH:  2007 WillaKenzie Estate Pinot Noir Dijon Clone 777
Recipe from Martha Stewart Living, March 2007

 

 
Prep Time:  15 minutes
Total Time:  35 minutes
Yield Serves 4

Ingredients

4 boneless chicken breast halves with skin (about 11 ounces each)
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 small yellow onion, thinly sliced
1 pound assorted mushrooms (such as shiitake, cremini, and white), stemmed and quartered
2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups homemade or low-sodium store-bought chicken stock
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, plus sprigs
1 tablespoon heavy cream

 

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken, skin side down; cook until golden brown, 4 to 5 minutes. Flip; transfer to oven. Roast until a meat thermometer registers 160 degrees, about 15 minutes. Transfer to a plate; cover.

Place the skillet over medium heat. Add onion; cook, stirring, 1 minute. Add mushrooms. Cover; cook, stirring occasionally, 3 minutes. Stir in vinegar. Add flour; cook, stirring, 1 minute. Stir in stock and chopped parsley; simmer, stirring, until thickened, about 5 minutes. Stir in cream; season with salt and pepper. Serve with chicken; garnish with parsley sprigs.

Posted in Recipe Archive for WillaKenzie Wine & Food Pairings, Recipes to pair with WillaKenzie Pinot Noir Dijon Clone 777 | Comments Off

Pan-roasted duck with cherry sauce

Monday, August 29th, 2011

RECIPE FOR:  Pan-roasted duck with cherry sauce
PAIRS WELL WITH:  2007 WillaKenzie Estate Pinot Noir Dijon Clone 115
Recipe from Brian Turner

Less than 30 mins preparation time
10 to 30 mins cooking time
Serves 1

Ingredients

For the duck—
½ duck breast
1 tbsp olive oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the cherry sauce—
6 cherries, stones removed
1 tsp caster sugar
3½fl oz white wine
1 tsp cornflour, mixed into a paste with a little water
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preparation method

- Preheat the oven to 400F.
- To make the duck, rub the duck on both sides with the olive oil then season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
- Heat a frying pan and cook the duck for five minutes skin-side down. Pour off excess fat and turn the duck breast over. Place in the oven and cook for eight minutes. Remove and rest for one minute.
- To make the sauce, heat the cherries in a frying pan and stir in the caster sugar.
- Add the wine and cornflour paste and cook to reduce by half.
- Serve the breast in the middle of the plate and spoon the cherry sauce around.

Posted in Recipe Archive for WillaKenzie Wine & Food Pairings, Recipes to pair with WillaKenzie Pinot Noir Dijon Clone 115 | Comments Off

Failure-proof Cornish game hens

Monday, August 29th, 2011

RECIPE FOR:  Failure-Proof Cornish Game Hens
PAIRS WELL WITH:  2007 WillaKenzie Estate Pinot Noir Dijon Clone 113

Recipe by Aprille Clarke

Equipment needed: roasting pan (ideally with elevated rack), meat thermometer

Ingredients:

Stuffing of your choice
2 Cornish game hens, thawed and rinsed
2 tsp butter, cut into 4 equal pieces
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
Appx. 2 tablespoons olive oil
1 bunch asparagus or other vegetable of your choice

 

Directions:

1. Make your stuffing. You can use whatever kind you like; here’s my favorite:
Prepare your favorite cornbread batter. Before you bake it, add 1 shallot, finely minced; 1/2 cup chopped pecans; and 1/2 cup dried cherries, cut up a little. Bake according to recipe directions; set aside to cool until it doesn’t hurt to touch it. Cut it into approximately 1-inch cubes. Sprinkle about 1/2 cup chicken stock over stuffing, mixing with your hands, until it is moist and holds its shape when squeezed.

2. Heat oven to 400F.

2a.  Warm up your stuffing if it’s room temperature or cooler.  A minute or so in the microwave will do it.  The idea is that since we’re taking the temperature from the cavity, you don’t want to require a lot of extra time to get cold stuffing up to temperature, because by that time, your hens will be overcooked.

3. Prepare hens: dry hens well with paper towels. Fill with about 1/2 cup stuffing; don’t overstuff. Separate the skin from the breast just enough that you can get your finger in there; slide a butter chunk between the skin and each of the two breast parts per hen. Rub all over with olive oil, then season generously with salt and pepper. Place breast-side down in roasting pan. Insert meat thermometer (ideally remote-read) into the center of the cavity, so it’s stuck into the stuffing. Roast for 25-30 minutes or until just beginning to brown.

4. Flip hens so they are breast-side up. Roast until the thermometer reads 150F, which should take another 15-20 minutes.

5. Remove pan from oven; set rack with hens on it aside. Put asparagus and stir to coat in drippings. There’s nothing better than taking a perfectly healthy food like asparagus and cooking it in chicken fat. Replace rack and return pan to oven.

6. Crank the heat up to 450F. Remove from oven when thermometer reads 165F, which should be another 5-10 minutes. The skin will be nice and browned, the meat will be cooked through but still juicy, and your dining partner will think you’re fancy.

Serves 2.

Posted in Recipe Archive for WillaKenzie Wine & Food Pairings, Recipes to pair with WillaKenzie Pinot Noir Dijon Clone 113 | Comments Off

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