Category: Wine

Ingredients

2 (8 ounce) beef sirloin steaks
1 tablespoon butter
1/4 cup brandy
1 onion, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup red wine
2 tablespoons steak sauce
1 dash Worcestershire sauce
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 (4 ounce) package button mushrooms, sliced
1/2 cup Dijon mustard, divided
1 cup heavy cream

Directions

Place the steaks between two sheets of plastic wrap; pound with a kitchen mallet to tenderize.

Melt the butter in a skillet over medium-high heat, and heat until it begins to smoke. Cook the steaks for 1 to 2 minutes on each side until they have browned. Pour brandy over steaks and carefully ignite. Once the flames burn off, remove steaks from the pan and set aside.

Cook the onion and garlic in the same skillet over medium heat until they soften. Stir in the red wine, steak sauce, Worcestershire sauce, salt, and pepper; mix well. Mix in the mushrooms, stir, and cook for about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, coat one side of each of the steaks with 2 tablespoons of the Dijon mustard. Gently lay them on top of the sauce in the skillet, mustard-side down. Spread 2 tablespoons on top of the steaks. Cook 2 to 3 minutes per side. Remove the steaks from the sauce, and keep warm.

Stir the cream in to the mushroom sauce and bring to a gentle simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low, return the steaks to the sauce, and simmer for 1 minute more before serving.

Ingredients

6 potatoes, diced
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 trout fillets
2 tablespoons dried Italian seasoning
salt and ground black pepper to taste
1 yellow bell pepper, thinly sliced
2 medium onions, thinly sliced
3 anchovy fillets, chopped
2 tablespoons chopped kalamata olives
4 tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1 tablespoon drained capers
1 bunch Italian flat leaf parsley, chopped
2 tablespoons medium-dry white wine

Directions

Place potatoes in a medium pot and fill with enough lightly salted water to cover. Bring to a boil, and cook until fork-tender, about 8 minutes. Drain, cover, and set aside.

While the potatoes are cooking, heat the extra virgin olive oil in a large skillet on medium high. Rinse the trout fillets and pat dry. Season the trout with the dried Italian seasoning and salt and pepper. Gently place the trout in the heated oil and pan fry without moving the fillets for 10 minutes.

Carefully turn the fillets. Arrange the bell pepper and onions on top of the trout and cook for 5 minutes. Then, place the anchovies, olives, tomatoes, capers, and parsley on top of the fillets. Pour in the white wine and simmer for an additional 5 minutes. Serve the trout and vegetables on a bed of steamed potatoes.

Ingredients

3 cups cranberries
1 1/2 cups orange juice
1 cup thinly sliced apples
1/2 cup chopped golden raisins
1 tablespoon orange peel, cut into strips
1 cinnamon stick, broken into large pieces
8 whole cloves
2 1/2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

Directions

In a large saucepan, combine cranberries, orange juice, apples, raisins, orange peel, cinnamon and cloves. Bring to simmer, stirring to mix well. Cover, reduce heat to low and cook until cranberries burst and mixture thickens slightly, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Remove from heat, stir in vinegar and cool. Cover and refrigerate at least overnight. Remove from refrigerator 20 minutes before serving.

Ingredients

10 plum tomatoes, chopped
3 medium green peppers, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1 (3.25 ounce) package sliced pepperoni
1 (2.25 ounce) can sliced ripe olives, drained
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/3 cup tomato juice
1/4 cup red wine vinegar or cider vinegar
1/4 cup olive or vegetable oil
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon pepper
3/4 cup seasoned salad croutons

Directions

In a large bowl, combine the tomatoes, green peppers, cheese, pepperoni, olives and onion. In a small bowl, combine the tomato juice, vinegar, oil, garlic, basil and pepper; mix well. Pour over tomato mixture and toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate for several hours. Just before serving, sprinkle with croutons.