Jul 5thWine for Cooking

Recently, I heard someone ask for the cheapest wine because they were just cooking with it. When using wine for cooking, I suggest you always use a wine that you would enjoy drinking. A cheap wine that you wouldn’t consider drinking is not going to taste any better in your recipe. You want your food to be enjoyable, so use a wine you would enjoy as well.

While you don’t necessarily want to use the most expensive, special wine you’re saving for a special occasion, you do want a wine that you would enjoy drinking with that dinner.

When following a recipe, most white or red wines could be exchanged. If you prefer the taste of Cabernet Sauvignon to Merlot, changing the wine will only enhance the flavor that you enjoy most. For instance, in my Wine Cake recipe, I have used several different reds. The flavors change somewhat, but they’ve all be delicious.

Have fun experimenting when cooking and remember what doesn’t go in the recipe should be enjoyed by the cook while preparing that favorite dish.

Jun 26thScarborough Faire Roast Beef

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:

• 3 to 4 pound shoulder roast
• 14.5 oz. beef boullion
• 14.5 oz. Norton wine
• 14.5 oz. water
• 1 t. parsley
• 1 t. sage
• 1 t. rosemary
• 1 t. thyme
• 1 t. garlic powder
• 1 t. sea salt
• 1 t. coarse ground black pepper
• 1 pound portabella button mushrooms

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.

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.