For several weekends in early summer, the Kentucky Renaissance Festival. in Eminence, welcomes visitors from around the region. The festival provides wonderful entertainment and shopping experiences, from jousting to buying oils and period clothing.
Visiting the Renaissance Festival also provides an opportunity to stop in New Castle to visit Smith-Berry Winery. We stopped by last weekend. The reds at Smith-Berry are superior. We were especially pleased by the release of a Norton Reserve. If you are in the region, I recommend a stop.
The Renaissance Festival will be around for two more weekends. There’s something for everyone to enjoy. We’ve been many times and have always enjoyed ourselves. Smith-Berry Winery is open both Saturdays and Sundays. I recommend visiting there to relax and taste some wines on your way home.
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For quite some time, I’ve wanted to try a roast beef dish with one of Kentucky’s fine red wines; but couldn’t make up my mind about the herbs. This weekend when I was looking at my spices, I found my sage and rosemary next to one another and immediately thought of the Simon and Garfunkel hit song Scarborough Faire – “parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme”. It seemed an omen. This is the recipe for my dish. By the way, my husband loved it and made sure I wrote it down.
With most of my recipes, I try to use Kentucky products. In this dish, the shoulder roast was Kentucky Red Angus from our own farm. The Norton wine was from Horseshoe Bend Vineyard and Winery.
Scarborough Faire Roast Beef from the Kentucky Wine Lover’s Kitchen
Ingredients:
For gravy you will need 1 to 1 and ½ T. of corn starch
Mix together the spices, and set aside. Place the shoulder roast in a roasting pan; rub spices into the meat. Pour in wine, beef bouillon, and water. Cook covered, slowly in a 300 degree oven, for 3 and 1/2 hours. Add mushrooms and cook uncovered for ½ hours (or until mushrooms are tender).
Remove meat and mushrooms from the liquid and place on a meat platter. To make gravy, add 1 and ½ T. of corn starch, bring to a boil, and cook over medium to high until it reaches the desired consistency. If you prefer, leave out the cornstarch and let liquid boil it over medium heat until reduced. Pour either gravy or juice over the meat & mushrooms.
by adminHope to see you there. The Georgetown event will be from 5-8, in downtown Georgetown.
by adminLast fall, we visited Lavender Hills, in Augusta, and I bought some lavender for cooking. If you’ve never visited there, I recommend it. We enjoyed the experience a lot; it’s a lovely place and their products are really nice. Deciding what to make with the lavender wasn’t easy. Having some extra time, without classes to teach, I started experimenting. The results were very good and I think you might like to try it yourself.
Ingredients:
Trim fat from the chops and cut each into two pieces, place in a 4 x 6″ baking dish. Mix remaining ingredients and pour over pork chops. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Uncover and continue baking at 425 degrees for 15 minutes.
by adminGeorgetown is once again celebrating the flavors of their town. The 6th annual Taste of Georgetown will be held in historic Georgetown, on Thursday, July 27, from 5 until 8 PM. Food vendors will be sharing their offerings with tastes for visitors. Just a few of those with food will be: Evans Orchard, Sam’s, Wholly Smokers, and 3 Pepperhead Hot Sauce.
Wine tastings will also be provided by wineries such as, Talon Vineyard and Winery, Rose Hill Vineyard and Winery, and Harkness Edwards Vineyard and Winery, and by Kentucky Eagle Inc., a wine distributor in Lexington.
Wine gifts will also be available from York’s Corks, A Very Vine Creation, Heirlooms and Gretchen’s, and Unique Gifts and More.
I will be there at a booth signing copies of A Wine Lover’s Odyssey Across Kentucky. This sounds like a great way to spend an evening. Hope to see you there.
by adminWhile at the festival at Jane’s Saddlebag, I had the opportunity to meet the people from Glisson Vineyards and Winery. They came from Paducah to take part. Many visitors were able to taste wines that they are not usuallyable to get in Northern Kentucky. Glisson Winery is still rather small with a lovely tasting room in downtown Paducah, featuring their wines, tapas, and arts.
I’m always interested in meeting and hearing about the new wineries, that have opened since I wrote my book. Check out their website(glissonwinery.com). If you are going to be in Western Kentucky, try out Glisson Vineyards and Winery and let me know what you think.
by adminNearly 2000 visitors enjoyed Jane’s Saddlebag’s first wine festival. Kentucky Wineries: StoneBrook Vineyard and Winery, Atwood Hill Vineyard and Winery, Verona Vineyards, McIntyre Winery, Talon Winery, Lovers Leap Vineyard and Winery, Noahs Ark Winery, Glisson Vineyard and Winery, Serendipity Winery, as well as Indiana’s Indian Creek Winery delighted visitors with tastes of their wines.
Thirty craft vendor’s were also greeting those in attendance. I enjoyed talking to many of the visitors and sharing wine stories.
If you weren’t able to make it this year, look for the date next year. I’m sure you’ll want to be there.
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For those making plans for next weekend, consider a visit to Union, Kentucky. Just a couple of miles past Big Bone Park, Jane’s Saddlebag will be hosting a wine festival featuring many of Kentucky’s wineries and arts and crafts from local vendors. Not only will visitors be able to enjoy the wine, the booths, the food and the entertainment; they will also be contributing to the Children’s Hospital with a portion of the proceeds going to the charity.
The festival will be from noon to 6 PM, on June 8.
I’ll be there signing A Wine Lover’s Odyssey Across Kentucky. Hope to see you there.
by adminBarboursville Vineyard and Winery, years ago, created a blended Bordeaux style wine called Octagon. This wine has won a multitude of awards over the years, has been served to Presidents and Queen Elizabeth II. The most recent vintage received a 90 by Wine Enthusiast. The blend is made up of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot and some years Petit Verdot.
While many wineries create blends to correct deficiencies in the varietals, Barboursville creates Octagon from the best of the varietals and the result is amazing.
A few years ago we purchased two bottles of the 2004 vintage, which sold out quickly because of the quality of the wine. We decided then to cellar a bottle until our 45th anniversary. Last Sunday we opened that bottle. It was definitely worth the wait. After letting the wine breathe, the smooth, elegant flavors and aroma were exceptional. The wine aged well. The complexity of each of the varietals were at their best.
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