Northwest Recipes
for Shea Wine Cellars Pinot noirs
By Michael Sherwood
Avalon Food & Wine Writer

Main Course
Pork Loin
W/Onion Compote

Savory
Onion, Raisin &
Garlic Compote

Main Course
Pepper Crusted
Beff Tenderloin

Salad
Sauteed Bibb Salad with
Gorgonzola
and Hazelnuts

Pork Loin with Onion, Raisin and Garlic Compote

Brining results in moist, tender meat. Be sure to use a large center-cut loin, which cooks more evenly than two smaller pieces tied together. Begin this recipe one day ahead.

pork loin with onion, Raisin & Garlic Compote

Here's what you need:

8 cups water (or apple cider)
1/2 cup coarse salt
1/2 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
1 tablespoon fennel seeds
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
1 tablespoon whole black peppercorns
3 bay leaves
1 center-cut boneless pork loin roast (about 4 pounds)
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons chopped fresh sage
2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
2 teaspoons chopped fresh marjoram

Here's what you do:

1. Combine first 7 ingredients in heavy large pot. Bring to simmer over medium heat, stirring to dissolve salt and sugar. Remove from heat. Cool to room temperature. Transfer brine to very large bowl.

2. Add pork (weight pork with plate to keep below surface). Cover; refrigerate over-night. Drain pork. Return pork to bowl; cover with water (weight pork with plate). Soak at room temperature 2 hours.

3. Position rack in top third of oven and preheat to 350°F. Drain pork. Pat dry. Transfer to rack set in large roasting pan.

4. Rub pork all over with oil. Sprinkle with fresh herbs, pressing to adhere. Sprinkle with pepper.

5. Roast until thermometer inserted into center of pork registers 150°F, about 1 hour 40 minutes. Transfer pork to cutting board; tent with foil. Let stand 10 minutes.

Cut pork into 1/4- to 1/2-inch-thick slices. Serve with compote.

Makes 8 servings.

Adapted from Bon Appétit - March 2002

Onion, Raisin, & Garlic Compote

Here's what you need:

1 pound sweet onions
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
24 garlic cloves, peeled
1 bay leaf
1 1/2 cups Pinot Noir
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
4 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup raisins
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme

Here's what you do:

1. Bring large saucepan of water to boil. Add onions. Boil 2 minutes. Drain. Rinse under cold water.

2. Peel onions. Slice and chop coarsely.

3. Melt butter in heavy medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Add garlic and bay leaf. Sauté until garlic is golden brown, about 6 minutes.

4. Add Pinot Noir, vinegar, sugar, and salt. Simmer 8 minutes. Add onions and raisins. Simmer until onions are tender, stirring occasionally, about 9 minutes. Remove from heat.

5. Stir in thyme. Discard bay leaf. Season with salt and pepper. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Rewarm over medium heat before serving.) Serve warm.

Pepper Crusted Beef Tenderloin

The cracked pepper coating brings a spicy edge to this dish. The mild acidity in the Pinot Noir sauce cuts through the richness of the meal and ties in beautifully with the Shea Pinot Noir.

Here's what you need:

3 tablespoons butter, room temperature, divided
1 tablespoon flour
1 cup finely chopped onion
1 cup finely chopped carrot
1 cup finely chopped celery
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 1/4 cups Oregon Pinot Noir
1 1/4 cups low-salt chicken broth
1 1/4 cups beef broth
Salt and pepper to taste
1 (3- to 4-pound) beef tenderloin roast
2 Tbs. heavy cream
2 - 6 tablespoons coarsely ground black pepper

Here's what you do:

1. In a small bowl, mix together 2 tablespoons butter and flour; set aside.

2. In a large frying pan over low heat, melt remaining 1 tablespoon butter. Add onion, carrot, and celery; sauté approximately 10 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Add tomato paste and stir until vegetables are coated.

3. Add wine and boil approximately 3 minutes or until liquid is reduced by half. Add chicken and beef broths; boil approximately 5 minutes or until liquid is reduced to 1 1/4 cups. Remove from heat and strain liquid, discarding solids. Return liquid to pan; add butter/flour mixture and whisk over medium heat about 1 minute or until sauce thickens.

4. Add heavy cream at the very end. Do not overheat the cream. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Sauce can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.

5. Preheat oven to 500°F. Trim fat off roast. Pat the beef dry with paper towels. Lightly oil outside of roast and roll in coarsely ground cracked pepper.

6. Heat a large cast-iron frying pan over high heat. Without adding any cooking fat, brown the roast on all sides (approximately 10 minutes). When browned, remove from heat. Place the browned roast and cast-iron pan in the oven and bake, uncovered, until a meat thermometer registers desired temperature (see below).

Rare - 120°F
Medium Rare - 125°F
Medium - 130°F

7. Remove from oven and transfer onto a cutting board; cover with a tent of aluminum foil and let stand 15 minutes before carving (meat temperature will rise 5 to 10 degrees after it is removed from the oven).

8. In the cast-iron frying pan over medium heat, rewarm Pinot Noir Sauce over low heat; mix in any juices from roast.

9. Cut the roast into 1/2-inch slices and place them on a warm serving platter. To serve, spoon some Pinot Noir Sauce over the meat; pass remaining sauce separately. Serve immediately.

Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Sauteed Bibb Salad with Gorgonzola and Hazelnuts

biib lettuce salad A warm salad usually consists of either a warm dressing tossed with the cold greens to slightly wilt them, or a cold salad with a warmer hot component such as grilled meat, fish or vegetables.

The cooking process for this Boston salad is a bit different; you quickly sauté the wedges of lettuce to wilt the outside and keep a bit of crunch on the inside. This gives the Boston lettuce an almost sweet and rich taste, which beautifully plays off the saltiness of the Gorgonzola. The slight bitterness of the toasted hazelnuts adds roundness and a needed counter play for the taste buds

The only drawback with this salad is that it has to be made at the last minute and served immediately. However with such easy preparation, that should be a snap.

Here's what you need:

2 heads Bibb lettuce (cleaned and cut into quarters)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/4 cup light oil (grape seed, peanut or canola oil)
1/4 cup walnut oil or some other nut oil
8 ounces Gorgonzola cheese
1/2 cup Hazelnut, roasted, coarsely crushed
1/4 cup sherry vinegar

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Here's what you do:
1. Heat large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Season lettuce with salt and pepper.
2. Mix grape seed oil and walnut oil and add 1/2 of the mixture to pan. Add lettuce and sauté 1 to 2 minutes per side (until half wilted).
3. Remove and divide lettuce among 4 oven-proof plates. Place 2 ounces of Gorgonzola on each plate next to lettuce.
4. Place plates in oven 2 minutes until cheese is soft but not melting. Remove plates from oven. Add remaining oil to same pan and sauté hazelnuts 1 minute. Season hazelnuts with salt and pepper. Remove pan from heat and add sherry vinegar. Divide walnuts and dressing over lettuce and serve warm.
Makes 4 servings.
Inspired by: Sandy D'Amato of Sanford Restaurant and Linda Lausmann of Sub Rosa

About Michael Sherwood

Michael Sherwood is an Oregon original - your modern day Renaissance man. He’s done more interesting jobs than most of us – FM radio personality, commercial logger, commercial fisherman, rock band promoter, neighborhood advocate, energy conservation expert, arts festival coordinator, software developer, non-profit executive, beer and wine guy and land use planner.

After 10 years developing software in Seattle, Mike moved back to Portland and was soon drafted to be the first Executive Director of the Oregon Brewers Guild, a fledgling non-profit trade organization, which he helped turn into one of the most dynamic small brewer associations in North America.

All the while he was managing the affairs of the states craft brewers, he was not so secretly a wine lover and worked providing marketing assistance to a local winery. Beverages are 'in his blood' as his family owned a beer and wine distributorship in the 60’s and 70’s in Roseburg.

Today Mike runs a wine sales, marketing and technology consulting business called Arbre which provides branding and sales support for wineries large and small. He has also created the Internets first truly virtual stealth restaurant and underground wine bar called Sub Rosa. We liked his mix of wine savvy and irreverent humor so much, we hired him to write for Avalon.