Jun 13thLavender Pork Chops

Last 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:

• 4 small center cut boneless pork chops
• 1 cup Elk Creek Pinot Grigio
• 1 and 1/2 T. Balsamic Vinegar (from Stuarto’s)
• 1 t. coarse ground black pepper
• 1 t. sea salt
• 1 t. rosemary
• 1 t lavender from Lavender Hills

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.

Jan 8thTuscan Chicken

On New Year’s Day, I was preparing dinner for friends and decided to experiment with a chicken dish. It turned out to be delicious so I’m sharing it with you.

• Four large chicken breasts, cut into 3 to 4 inch pieces
• 1/4 cup of olive oil
• 2 T. balsamic vinegar
• 1 T. chopped basil
• 1 T. parsley flakes
• 1 T. oregano flakes
• 1 t. salt
• 1 t. black pepper
• 1 pound of portabello mushrooms, sliced
• 1 large onion (sliced  to the size of the mushroom slices)
• 1 and 1/2 cup of white wine

Brown the chicken pieces in the olive oil. When browned, place in a 9 x 13 baking dish with the onions and mushrooms on top. Using the olive oil remaining in the skillet, add the balsamic vinegar and the spices. Stir the wine into this mixture. Pour over the chicken and vegetables.  Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour and 45 minutes. Check while cooking to be sure that the chicken does not get too dry. 

As with most of my dishes recently, I have tried to use Kentucky products. I used the Traditional 18-year aged Balsamic Vinegar and the Tuscan Herb EVOO from Lexington’s Stuarto’s Olive Oil Company. My spices are from a company named Litehouse, which sells freeze dried herbs (available at Krogers). The wine in this is Pinot Grigio, like that offered by the Grimes Mill Winery in Lexington.

Hope you enjoy this dish as much as we did.

Oct 31stKentucky Memories Cake

Anyone growing up in rural Kentucky will have memories of picking blackberries, or of drying black walnuts to crack in the fall. Most Kentuckians have always put those memories in the closets of our minds of times with our grandmothers and cherish each and everyone. I decided to create a cake that would tie those memories of my childhood with my love of wine. Hope you enjoy it as well.  I combined some of the best ingredients from a number of jam cake recipes and added some of my own.

Cream together 1 cup of slightly melted butter and 2 cups of sugar, add 4 eggs. In a separate bowl, mix together 2 and 1/2 cups of flour and 1 teaspoon of baking soda. Add the dry ingredients to the butter, sugar, and eggs mixture gradually alternating with 1 cup of Walnut Ridge Wine (from Millanova in Bullitt County, KY). Mix, then add the following spices: 1 t. vanilla, 1 t. nutmeg, 1 t. ground cloves, 1 t. cinnamon, 1/2 t. ground ginger, and 1 t. allspice. Blend in 1 cup of seedless blackberry jam. (I used jam made by Sunflower Sundries, Mt. Olivet, KY.) Add 1 cup of black walnuts. (Mine were purchased at the Kountry Kupboard in Harrodsburg, KY.) I recommend a bundt pan. Bake at 325 degrees F. for 1 hour in a greased and floured pan.

For a glaze, stir together 1/2 cup fresh blackberries, 1/2 cup black walnuts, and 1 cup of blackberry wine (I used the Blackberry from Chrisman Mill, Nicholasville, KY.), reduce until the liquid is somewhat thick.  Pour over the cake.  Arrange a few fresh blackberries on the plate.

You might also want to serve it with ice cream or with a sauce.  I served it without those, and it was a hit.

Oct 2ndVintage Pork Medallions from the Wine Lover’s Kitchen

Ingredients:

4 lb. Pork Tenderloin, 1 T. Oregano,1 T. Basil, 2 T. Minced Red Onions, 1 t. Minced Garlic, 1 t. Marjoram Leaves, 1 t. Rosemary Leaves, 1/2 cup Balsamic Vinegar, 2 cups Red Wine, Olive Oil, Coarse Ground Black Pepper, Sea Salt

1. Slice the pork tenderloin into 1/2 inch slices, cut each slice in the center to make medallions. Put medallions into skillet with olive oil. Season with Coarse Ground Black Pepper and Sea Salt. Brown both sides. Remove and place in a 9 x 13 casserole dish.
2. In a bowl, mix the remaining ingredients. Pour over the medallions.
3. Cover with foil.
4. Bake at 375 for two hours. Remove foil and bake for 15 minutes.

After having pork medallions at several restaurants over the years, I began experimenting with herbs and amounts. This is the recipe that has been the most successful.  I’ve used different types of wine, from Merlot to Cabernet Sauvignon.

The last time I served this I used a blended red table wine from CCC Trail Vineyards  in Morehead and  Traditional 18 year aged Balsamic Vinegar from Stuarto’s Olive Oil Company in Lexington.

Sep 17thAn easy dessert that always gets raves

A few years ago while visiting the winery at the Biltmore Estate, the young man pouring our wine made a cooking suggestion for a cake that sounded just too easy to believe. Of course, I had to give it a try.  Not only was it one of the easiest desserts I’ve ever made, but it is also one of the most popular with my friends. I serve it at parties.  You might want to give it a try.

Start with a devils food cake mix. (Duncan Hines is my choice, but any brand will do.) Follow the directions on the box for a bundt cake, with just one change. Instead of adding the water, add the same amount of Cabernet Sauvignon.  When it’s baked, sprinkle with powdered sugar. Serve it to your friends. sit back, and wait for the compliments.

Other red wines work just as well.  Last Christmas, I used Merlot and it was delicious.   To make it a little festive, put a few grapes around the cake.  You might even want to try a white cake with white wine.  The wine makes the cake extremely moist and gives it a surprise flavor.