Recipes from Flying Trout and Tero Estates

Ashley Trout has sent me these recipes which pair beautifully with Flying Trout and Tero Estates wines.

Pizza with Caramelized Onions, Figs, Bacon and Gorgonzola cheese

Prepare pizza dough and let rise until ready to use. For the toppings, use one large Walla Walla Sweet onio, 2 tsp. fresh thyme, two bay leaves, kosher salt, four thick bacon slices cut into 1/4 in batons. Saute the onions, thyme and bay leaves in butter intil golden brown, about 25 minutes. Remove bay leaf, and put onions in a bowl. Add the bacon to the pan, stirring until brown. Form dough into a round on a floured surface, then add toppings plus quartered Mission figs and 3/4 cup crumbled gorgonzola and drizzled olive oil. Place pizza on baking stone, sliding back and forth quickly to keep dough from sticking. Bake at 350 degrees until brown, drizzle with more olive oil and dust with cracked pepper.

Pair with 2009 Flying Trout "Cutthroat" Red Blend, Columbia Valley

Roasted Chicken with Plum Sauce

Rinse one whole chicken and cut away excess fat. Pat dry. Place in shallow baking dish and rub with softened butter. Season inside with salt and pepper outside and inside. Stuff with garlic and lemon. Tie legs together and set breast side down, then let sit 30 minutes.

Prepare plum sauce from 3/4 cup good quality plum jam, 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice, 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar, 2 teaspoons minced ginger, 1 tablespoon honey, one teaspoon finely chopped garlic.

Roast chicken 20 minutes. Brush plum sauce all over chicken. Turn breast side up return to oven at 375 degrees. Continue to roast 60-65 minutes, brushing with additional sauce and basting with pan juices every 15 minutes. Chicken is done when juices run clear when knife tip is inserted. Temperature at thigh without touching bone should register 160-170 degrees. Let rest 10 minutes, serve with side of plum sauce.

Pair with 2009 Flying Trout Old Vines Malbec, Konnowack Vineyard

Amanda's Pork Tenderloin

Take a pork tenderloin and butterfly it by slicing lengthwise almost all the way throug, then open the meat up like a book. Season with salt and freshly cracked pepper. Evenly distribute a mixture of 1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese, four fresh figs, small diced, leaving about 1/2 inch of space on the edges. Roll the tenderloin back up, encasing the stuffing with the meat. Using 5 or 6 toothpicks, secure the meat back together at the edges. Wrap evenly with 3-6 slices of bacon, secured if needed with toothpicks. Place on preheated grill for about 20 to 25 minutes, until there is just a trace of pink. Watch throughout the cooking process as flareups may occur, and rotate the meat to crisp the bacon and tenderloin evenly. Let rest 10 minutes when done. Serve with pomegranate vinagrette.

Pair with 2008 Tero Estates Windrow Red Blend, Walla Walla Valley

Blueberry-Blackberry Pie

Bake a pie made with 4 cups fresh blueberries and 1 1/2 cups fresh blackberries, sugar and cinnamon, topped with lemon juice in a crust made from scratch.

Pair with 2008 Tero Estates Cabernet Franc, Walla Walla Valley, Windrow Vineyard

More Wine and Food Pairings

Here are some pairings I have found to work well.

Grilled Flank Steak

I use a marinade of 1 tablespoon olive oil, 2 tablespoons soy sauce, 1/2 teaspoon each of coriander and cumin and 2 tablespoons finely chopped ginger. Marinate for 2-3 hours and then grill.

Pairs with:

2009 Hollywood Hill Vineyards Dist. 83 Red, Horse Heaven Hills

2009 DeLille Cellars Doyenne "Aix" Red, Red Mountain

2008 Helix by Reininger "SoRho" Red Blend, Columbia Valley

Grilled Lamb Chops

2009 JM Cellars Estate Red, Walla Walla Valley, Margaret's Vineyard

2009 Obelisco Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Red Mountain

2009 Convergence Zone "Squall Line" Cabernet Sauvignon, Red Mountain

Grilled Ahi Tuna

I use the same marinate as for the flank steak above, but omitting the ginger.

2009 Hollywood Hills Grenache, Horse Heaven Hills

2009 Castillo de Feliciana Tempranillo, Wahluke Slope, Rosebud Vineyard