Lingua Franca LLC

Brandon's Salmon with Lemon Beurre Blanc Recipe

Ingredients (Serves 4):

• (4) 4 oz salmon filets

• 2 tbls canola oil

• 3/4 cups dry white wine such as Avni Chardonnay

• 1/2 cup heavy cream

• 1 shallot, finely diced

• 8 oz (two sticks) unsalted butter divided into 1/2 inch cubes

• 2 tbls fresh squeezed lemon juice

• Zest of one lemon

• Kosher salt (to season salmon and to taste for the Beurre Blanc)

Preparation:

For the Beurre Blanc:

1. In a medium sauce pan, combine the shallots and wine. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to medium. Reduce by 1/3.

2. Add the cream and reduce by 1/3 again.

3. Over low heat, add the butter slowly, one cube at a time and constantly stir to incorporate. Do not let the sauce boil - it will separate.

4. After all of the butter has been incorporated into the sauce, add the lemon juice and season with salt to taste.

For the Salmon:

1. Preheat oven to 375F, season salmon with salt to preference.

2. In a large, oven-safe skillet, heat on high and add the canola oil. Once the oil is hot, turn the heat down to medium-high, add the salmon (skin side down), and sauté untouched for 2 minutes.

3. Carefully flip the salmon over and move the pan to the oven and roast for 8 to 10 minutes (for med-rare to medium).

4. Plate the salmon skin side down on the plate, add the lemon zest to the Beurre Blanc, quickly incorporate and sauce the salmon.

Photo Credit: Entertaining with Beth

Jul 31, 2020 at 10:42 AM Permalink

Sam's Pan Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Marsala Mushroom Risotto Recipe

Ingredients (Serves 4):

• 1 Whole Pork Tenderloin (about 2-2 ½ lbs) 

• 3 Tablespoons Canola Oil

• 1 Cup Arborio or Carnaroli Rice

• 1 Cup Dry White Wine (Avni Chardonnay works great!)

• 4 Cups Chicken Stock

• 1 Cup Sweet Marsala Wine

• 10 ounces of Baby Portabella, Shitake, or Crimini Mushrooms brushed, Stemmed and Sliced

• 3 Tablespoons Olive Oil

• 1 ½  Teaspoons Fresh Thyme, Finely Chopped

• 1 Tablespoon Chives, Finely Chopped

• 2 Cloves Garlic, Finely Chopped

• 1 Shallot, Finely Chopped

• 1 Cup Freshly Grated Parmigiano-Reggiano Cheese

• 2 Teaspoons Kosher Salt

• 1 ½ Teaspoons Fresh Ground Black Pepper

• 5 Tablespoons Cold Unsalted Butter, Diced Into Cubes

• Additional Salt and Pepper to taste

Preparation:

1. Pre-heat oven to 375℉

2. Mix the white wine and chicken stock in a medium sauce pan and warm over medium heat to a slight simmer.

3. Remove the silver skin from the pork tenderloin and pat it dry with a paper towel. Mix the salt and pepper in a small bowl and use it to coat the tork tenderloin as evenly as possible on all sides.

4. For the risotto: put the olive oil in a large sauce pan and turn the burner to medium heat. When the oil begins to shimmer, add the shallot and sauté for 2 minutes or until soft and translucent. Do not let the edges burn or turn brown.  Add the rice to the pan and mix with the shallot and oil to coat. Sauté for 3 - 4 minutes stirring gently but constantly to avoid burning until the rice starts to produce a slightly nutty aroma.  Add enough of the warm chicken stock and wine mixture to just cover the rice and stir to mix.  Set the heat level to medium low and let the rice simmer.

5. Check the rice every 5 minutes or so by running a spatula through the center of the pan.  When the rice divides and doesn't immediately fill the space made by the spatula, add another dose of the stock mixture to just cover the rice and give it a few stirs to incorporate.  Repeat this step until the stock is used up and the rice is tender.

6. For the pan roasted pork: While the rice is cooking, put 2 tablespoons of canola oil in a cast iron skillet or heavy steel sauté pan and set the burner to high.  When it the oil begins to shimmer, carefully add the pork tenderloin to the pan — it may smoke a bit so make sure your vent hood is running.  Let the meat sear for 2-3 minutes, until it releases from the pan without tearing its surface, and rotate a quarter turn.  Repeat this two more times to brown the meat on all four sides.  When you turn the meat the third time (on the fourth side) carefully put a probe thermometer through the end of the tenderloin as level as you can to the middle of the meat and put the pan in the oven to roast.  Remove the tenderloin from the oven when the thermometer reads 145℉  and cover lightly with aluminum foil for 5-10 minutes to let the meat rest.

7. For the Marsala mushrooms: while the meat is roasting in the oven, combine 2 tablespoons of butter and the remaining tablespoon of olive oil in a large non-stick skillet and heat over medium-high until the butter is melted and foamy.  Add the sliced mushrooms to the pan and sauté for about 5 minutes until the mushrooms start to brown and shrink slightly.  Turn the heat down to medium and add 1 teaspoon of chives, thyme and garlic along with the remaining tablespoon of butter to the skillet and stir to combine with the mushrooms.  Continue to stir the mushrooms every few minutes. When the mushrooms are uniformly brown and most of the oil has been soaked up, remove from the heat and add the Marsala wine.  Stir to deglaze the pan and coat the mushrooms.  Return to medium-low heat and stir gently until the marsala is mostly absorbed into the mushrooms.

8. If the last dose of broth has been incorporated into the risotto, add the mushroom mixture directly to the risotto and stir to combine.  If not, move the mushroom mixture to a bowl and cover to hold temporarily and then add it to the risotto when the last dose of stock has been absorbed.

9. Remove the risotto from the heat and add the Parmigiano-Reggiano to the risotto and stir to incorporate.  Then add the cold butter, one cube at a time and stir it into the risotto until it is melted and mixed in.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

10. Slice the tenderloin into 1 1/2 to 2 inch portions.  Put a large serving spoon or two full of risotto onto a plate and place a portion (or two) of tenderloin on top.  Turn a few grinds of black pepper over each serving and garnish with the remaining chives.

Photo Credit: Simply Delicious

Jul 10, 2020 at 10:00 AM Permalink

Cellar Master Joe's BBQ Dry-Rub Recipe

The combination of salty, sweet and savory makes for the perfect pairing to The Plow Pinot Noir. Try it on grilled steak, chicken, salmon or vegetables. Store it in an airtight container for up to three months, or package it in a jar and give it as a gift. Cellar Master Joe's BBQ Dry-Rub Recipe Ingredients: 1/4 Cup Paprika 2 Tablespoons Brown Sugar 2 Tablespoons Kosher Salt 2 Tablespoons Ground Cumin 4 Teaspoons Garlic Powder 4 Teaspoons Onion Powder 4 Teaspoons Dried Oregano 4 Teaspoons Orange Zest 2 Teaspoons Freshly Ground Black Pepper Photo credit: Kitchen Laughter Preparation: Combine ingredients in a bowl and mix well Rub steak, chicken, pork, fish or veggies with olive oil, and then season: 1 tablespoon rub for every 1 pound of meat or vegetables Let stand for 10 minutes before grilling

Jul 4, 2020 at 9:00 AM Permalink

Larry Stone's Duck Recipe

This recipe is quite simple and perfect for a wide range of Pinot Noirs and terrific with complex or mature wines as the seasoning subtly enhances the flavors of the dish rather than fighting them. My version below was adapted from Liberty Duck Farm’s recipe.

Purchase a high-quality, plump duck breast - one per person. I buy them online from D'Artagnan and when I lived in Northern California, I purchased them fresh from Liberty Ducks in Sonoma. If there is a good local farm with fresh duck, buy from them.

My recipe is very easy - duck is so flavorful that not much needs to be done.

Ingredients:

• High-quality, plump duck breast - one per person (see notes above)

• Canola or Grapeseed Oil

• Cardamom

• Salt & Pepper

Preparation:

I rinse and dry the duck, trim the fat cap at the edges to fit nicely on the meat surface and not hang over. I salt lightly all over, make parallel diagonal slits across the surface of the fat, about 5mm apart. This cuts the surface of the skin and allows the fat to render without curling.

Then coat the duck all over with ample ground cardamom. Air dry it with a fan for around 20 minutes so that the meat and fat are very dry on the surface. Air drying prevents some sticking to the pan and prevents some loss of meat juices.

Take a hot aluminum, cast iron or high-quality stainless-steel skillet or sauté pan (not non-stick) of sufficient size that allows for ample room for each breast. Pre-heat on stove. When hot, drop a little grapeseed or canola oil on the surface of the pan and spread it around by rotating the pan in a circular motion. It should be just enough so that the duck will not stick to the pan before rendering its fat.

Lay the breasts skin side down in the pan. Move breasts around frequently when first getting them in the pan to avoid their sticking. After a few minutes and when the fat starts to render and the skin begins to brown, turn the heat to a medium to medium-high temperature depending upon how hot your range burns. Too hot and the skin will burn, lower is better to have time to let the fat render and leave a thin tasty layer of fat on the breast with a crispy brown to dark black surface.

The idea is to render the fat without overcooking the meat. One could have a can on the side to dump excess duck fat as it melts, but that would be a waste. As the fat renders and starts to build up in the pan, pour the excess fat into a glass container that can be sealed. It may be necessary to go through this a couple of times before the duck is done.  This duck fat is delicious to fry potatoes with, collard or mustard greens, broccoli rabe or anything that you may want to cook with bacon fat. It can be frozen and stored for months or kept in the refrigerator for several weeks. This fat will also have a subtle flavor of cardamom.

When the skin becomes dark mahogany-colored and the meat appear to have cooked almost halfway up the side of the breast, then turn over the breasts and finish frying them in a few minutes. If you like your duck breast rare, let it only seem to begin to cook up the sides (you can tell by the change in color of meat from dark red to a brownish white) and then sear meat side down for only a couple of minutes.

Eat the lean slices of duck breast together with the layer of crisp fragrant fat, which tastes and smells a lot like an elevated type of bacon. The combination of the meat and cardamom used as a savory spice is quite compelling with Lingua Franca Estate Pinot Noir, The Plow, or Mimi's Mind. Enjoy!

Photo Credit: 1859 Oregon Magazine

Jun 29, 2020 at 2:15 PM Permalink

Poulet Gaston Gerard Recipe

"My favorite dish to pair with the 2017 Bunker Hill Chardonnay is Poulet Gaston Gerard — a classic Burgundian chicken dish served in a sauce of white wine, Dijon mustard, crème fraîche and grated comté." - Thomas Savre, Winemaker

Poulet Gaston Gerard

Ingredients (Serves 4):

• 4 Boneless Chicken Breasts

• 4 Tablespoon Olive Oil

• 1 Medium White Onion, Halved and Sliced into Ribbons

• ½ Teaspoon Paprika

• 1 Cup of Dry White Wine

• 1 Tablespoon Dijon Mustard

• 8 Ounces Crème fraîche or Sour Cream

• 6 Ounces Grated Comté or Gruyère Cheese

• Salt and Pepper (to taste)

• 1 Sprig of Thyme (optional)

• Sliced, Warm Baguette

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 400° F

2. Pat the chicken breasts with a paper towel to remove surface liquid, and then season both sides of the breast generously with salt and pepper

3. Heat 3 tablespoons of the olive oil in a skillet until simmering, then add the chicken breasts and brown on both sides, about 3 to 4 minutes per side

4. Remove chicken from the skillet and place in a baking dish

5. In the same pan, add the rest of the olive oil and the onion slices and sauté until slightly translucent

6. Add the white wine, crème fraîche, mustard, thyme and paprika, stir until combined and slightly bubbling

7. Pour over the sauce over the chicken breasts in the baking dish and top with the grated cheese

8. Bake for 30 minutes or until the chicken reaches 165° F

9. Serve immediately with a basket of baguette slices

Photo credit: The Good Life France

May 29, 2020 at 11:00 AM Permalink