Pair with our 2009 hope & grace Malbec

Recipe created by Chef Sean O’Toole of Hopper Creek Kitchen the signature restaurant of Hotel Yountville

Ingredients:

Preparation: (Serves 4)

As we swap books and recipes we are always looking for great staples that can be tweaked to our fancy to elevate the delicious elixir in our glass in hopes of reaching “Napa Nirvana”. The ‘Seasons in the Wine Country’ features recipes from the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone provides wonderful recipes that ensure perfect results from their easy to follow directions. With a few practice rounds(yes my job is soooo hard… haha) you can start to elaborate and unleash that creativity and make it your own….

This recipe was perfect with our 2009 hope & grace Santa Lucia Highlands Doctor’s Vineyard Pinot Noir… Sweet, savory, salty and succulent! So delicious the dogs won’t have a chance to taste even a morsel!

Roasted Pork Tenderloin with apple bacon compote-Recipe by The Culinary Institute of America at Greystone, Cate Conniff, Seasons in the Wine Country -

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Mince 8 of the sage leaves and reserve until needed.

2. Bring the tenderloins to room temperature and dry completely with paper towels.

3. Place a roasting rack on a baking sheet. Season the pork with 1 teaspoon of the salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper. In a large sauté pan or skillet over medium-high heat, heat the 2 tablespoons of oil until a sheen develops and oil begins to separate. Add the pork and brown well and evenly on all sides, turning occasionally, about 2 minutes per side.

4. Remove the pork from the pan (reserve the pan) and place the pork on a roasting rack. Place the pork on the middle rack in the oven and roast until the center of the meat reaches and internal temperature of 145°F for medium-rare( pink in the middle), about 25 minutes, or 150°% for medium, 30 to 35 minutes.

5. While the pork roasts, add the bacon to the reserved pan and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until crisp, 6 to 8 minutes, stir in the garlic and cook for 30 seconds or until aromatic. Stir in the onion, minced sage, and thyme and sauté stirring and scraping the bottom of the pan for browned bits, until the onion is tender, about 4 minutes. Add the apples and sauté, stirring often, until lightly caramelized and tender, about 5 minutes.

6. Turn the heat to high and add the cider to deglaze the pan. Scrape any remaining browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Lower the heat to medium-high and reduce the liquid to a thick glaze, stirring occasionally, 4 to 5 minutes. Season with the remaining ½ teaspoon of salt and the ¼ teaspoon of pepper. Remove from eh heat and keep warm.

7. Remove the pork from the oven and cover loosely with aluminum foil. Let stand 10 minutes. The internal temperature will continue to rise by 5 to 10 degrees.

8. While the pork is resting, hear the 1 cup canola oil in a small sauce-pan over medium-high heat. Once the oil is warm enough so that the sage sizzle without smoking, fry the remaining 16 sage leaves until crisp, 10 to 20 seconds. Remove the sage leaves and drain on a plate lined with paper towels.

9.Cut the pork into ½-inch-thick medallions. Arrange the medallions and border with about ½ cut apple and bacon compote per serving. Place 2 sage leaves on each plate and serve immediately.

As always, we encourage you to try this recipe than make it your own… we always like to go a little barbeque with everything. Throw together some cayenne, smoked paprika, dry mustard, salt and pepper and add something extra to your pork. It’s great with the apple bacon compote…

You won’t stuff this pork into the couch cushions that’s for sure! Bon Appetit!

More often than not a huge garden will be planted and all summer long friends are generously dropping off baskets of tomatoes by the variety, jalapeños, padrone peppers (not as spicy as Kung Pao chicken), habaneros, red and green bell peppers, corn, zucchini and squash, swiss chard and kale, carrots and more, which are offered over a neighbors’ balcony with a smile. The abundant crop yields also make us creative as we strive to make use of every piece of produce provided…

As a child, summer vacation meant at least 1-2 weeks commitment in the production line of my mother’s kitchen helping with canning and freezing. When the tomatoes were in, they would get blanched, peeled and then frozen in quart containers to use all year long (My favorite part was the BLT lunch around mid-day)…The blackberries and raspberries meant jam and jellies(although we tried to eat as many berries as possible)… and then there was the Red Pepper Jelly…

The plethora of jalapeños, red bells and green bells would be sliced, seeded and finely chopped… For us kids that was the extent… The picking, seeding, and then thorough hand washing in an attempt to make sure my brother didn’t burn his face…. Again… from there Mom would take over…

The Red Pepper Jelly was sweet, a little spicy and delicious on cream cheese and crackers, roast meat sandwiches and more… The best was the last jar of the season we saved for Easter. So simple, delicious as it basted our Easter Ham and perfect with pinot noir….

Red Pepper Jelly

My mother followed the science of canning and still uses the SURE.JELL® Hot Pepper Jelly recipe…it’s a keeper.

Ingredients

2 medium red peppers, seeded, finely chopped (about 1-1/2 cups)

2 medium green peppers, seeded, finely chopped (about 1-1/2 cups)

10 large jalapeño peppers, seeded, finely chopped (about 1 cup)

1 cup cider vinegar

1 box SURE-JELL Fruit Pectin

½ tsp. butter or margarine (optional)

5 cups sugar, measured into separate bowl (See tip below.)

Directions

1. BRING boiling-water canner, half-full with water, to simmer. Wash jars and screw bands in hot soapy water; rinse with warm water. Pour boiling water over flat lids in saucepan off the heat. Let stand in hot water until ready to use. Drain well before filling.

2. PLACE peppers in 6- or 8-qt. saucepot. Add vinegar. Stir in pectin. Add butter to reduce foaming, if desired. Bring mixture to full rolling boil (a boil that doesn’t stop bubbling when stirred) on high heat, stirring constantly. Stir in sugar. Return to full rolling boil and boil exactly 1 min., stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Skim off any foam with metal spoon.

3. LADLE immediately into prepared jars, filling to within 1/8 inch of tops. Wipe jar rims and threads. Cover with 2-piece lids. Screw bands tightly. Place jars on elevated rack in canner. Lower rack into canner. (Water must cover jars by 1 to 2 inches. Add boiling water, if necessary.) Cover; bring water to gentle boil. Process 10 min. Remove jars and place upright on towel to cool completely. After jars cool, check seals by pressing middle of lid with finger. (If lid springs back, lid is not sealed and refrigeration is necessary.)

Roasted Red Pepper Jelly Easter Ham

Cook time: 1 hour and 15 minutes

Ingredients

1 (5 pound) ready-to-eat ham

1 jar of Red Pepper Jelly (recipe above)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).

2. Score ham in not pre-sliced and place ham in foil lined pan.

3. After 40 minutes, pull the ham out and spread/brush the ¾ of the Red Pepper Jelly generously all over the ham and bake for an additional 35 minutes.

4. Baste ham every 10 to 15 minutes with a little more jelly.  If it doesn’t have a nice glaze and a little crisp, turn on broiler to caramelize the jelly for the last 4 minutes. The ham should read an internal temperature of 140 at this point. Remove from oven, and let sit a few minutes before serving.

So simple for a large crowd or fabulous for the family and leftovers the rest of the week. We love it paired with the 2008 hope & grace Santa Lucia Highlands Pinot Noir…

The ham and cheese sandwiches the next day will be a treat for the family… no complaints!