Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Slice unpeeled russet potatoes into 1/2 inch slices and then cut each slice into 4 quarters. Place potatoes on a sheet pan, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and fresh ground pepper and toss. Set aside.

In a 12 in oven-proof skillet, add 1 tbs olive oil and the bacon. Place on a burner over medium heat. Cook until lightly browned about 6-8 minutes. Once browned, transfer bacon to a plate with a slotted spoon. Remove pan from heat reserving the fat in the pan.

Pat dry and salt and pepper chicken on both sides. Return the pan back to the burner over medium high heat. Once the pan is hot and reserved bacon fat is about to smoke, add chicken skin side down and brown without moving for about 5 minutes. Flip and brown bottom side for 5 minutes. Remove chicken and place it skin side up on the plate with the bacon.

Turn down the heat to medium. Dump off the fat in the pan into a bowl then add 1/4 cup of the fat back into the pan. Add the carrots, leeks, mushrooms, garlic slices, 3/4 tsp salt, and 1/2 tsp pepper and saute stirring occasionally for 8 minutes. Once the vegetables have begun to soften and the mushrooms have cooked down, deglaze the pan by adding the Riesling, Cognac and chicken broth scraping up any brown bits at the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Bring the liquid back up to a gentle simmer.

Return the chicken to the pan skin side up with the bacon and any juices that have collected on the plate. The meat should be mostly submerged but the skin should not be submerged. Put pan with the chicken in the middle rack of the oven. Place the sheet pan of potatoes in the oven on the top rack.

Bake the chicken for 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes. When the chicken is done, remove skillet from the oven and transfer chicken to a serving platter and tent with foil. Leave the potatoes in the oven and turn the oven temperature up to 425 degrees. In a small bowl mix 2 tbs melted butter and 1 tbs flour. Return the skillet to the stove top over medium high heat and bring to a simmer. Stir the butter and flour mixture into the sauce. Continue to simmer until the sauce thickens and becomes rich – about 6 minutes. Taste for salt and add up to an additional 1/2 tsp to taste. When the sauce is done, remove potatoes from the oven.

Serve sauce over chicken sprinkled with fresh tarragon. Serve with roasted potatoes.

Remove steaks from the refrigerator, drizzle with olive oil and rub the oil in on all sides of the steak.  Sprinkle each side of the steak generously with kosher salt.  Grind fresh black pepper on each side of the steak until it is nearly covered.  Cover steaks and let them sit for 20-30 minutes to come up to room temperature.  Grilling the steaks at room temperature will allow them to cook more evenly.

Meanwhile, light grill and set the temperature setting to high heat with the lid closed.  Allow the grill to pre-heat.

Once the grill has pre-heated, open grill lid and turn the heat setting down to medium.  Place the steaks on the grill and close the lid.  

TIP: My secret to super juicy steak is to only touch the steaks 3 times.  Once when you place the steaks on the grill, once to flip the steaks, and once to remove the steak.  Each time you touch the steak it loses moisture – so resist that urge to keep flipping and forget those cross hatch grill marks!  

Depending on the temperature you like your steak cooked and the thickness of your steak, grill the steaks to your liking.  A general rule of thumb for thick cut steaks and a grill set to medium heat is to cook it from 4-5 minutes per side for rare, 6-7 minutes a side for medium, and 8-10 minutes for well done.

When the steaks have finished cooking, transfer them to a platter and cover immediately with foil.  Allow the steaks to rest for 8-10 minutes so that the juices redistribute back into the meat.

Once the steaks have rested, take the foil off, add a dollop of black truffle butter to the top of each steak, and as you walk to the table the butter will melt on top of the steak creating an over the top amazing sauce.

Trim any remaining fat or silverskin from the pork tenderloins. Cut into 1 1/2 inch thick medallions and press with the palm of your hand to flatten slightly. Dry off pork medallions with a paper towel and season with salt and pepper on both sides. Set aside.

Add 2 tbs butter and 2 tbs olive oil to a large saute pan over medium heat. Once the oil and butter are shimmering, add the sage leaves and stir fry for 2-3 minutes until the leaves are just turning light brown but are still mostly green. Remove the sage leaves with a slotted spoon and place them on a paper towel to drain. Set aside.

Add the pork medallions to the pan and sear on each side for 3-4 minutes over medium-high heat without moving until the pork is nicely browned. Flip and repeat on the other side. When the pork is browned on both sides, transfer it to a plate and cover with foil.

Add the shallots and apple slices to the pan. Add 1/4 cup Riesling, scaping up any brown bits with a wooden spoon.  Saute for 6-8 minutes until the shallot are caramelized and the apples have browned and softened. Add the remaining 3/4 cup Riesling. Allow the wine to cook for 2-3 minutes until the liquid has reduced slightly. Turn off the heat and swirl in 1 tbs of butter. Add the pork medallions and any pork juices back to the pan and stir until just warmed through – about 1 minute. Taste the sauce and add salt and fresh ground pepper to taste.

Serve the pork family style on a platter and top with the apples, shallots and sauce. Garnish with the crispy sage leaves.

Peel garlic cloves, mince, then mash with 1 tsp kosher salt on a cutting board. Set aside. Place chicken breasts in a large ZipLoc bag and add in the cumin, olive oil, lemon juice, and crushed garlic/salt mixture. Seal the bag and mix well. Marinate for 1 hour to overnight.

Slice onion and peppers and add to a warm skillet. Drizzle with olive oil, salt, and pepper, and sauté to your liking.

After marinating, grill the chicken for 5-7 minutes per side over medium heat until done. Cover and let rest for 5 minutes. 

Warm your tortillas by wrapping in foil and placing in a 200-degree oven for 5-10 minutes until warmed through.

Slice the chicken into half inch strips. Lightly drizzle with a few spoonfuls of the Texas Butter Sauce (recipe below) over the chicken. Cover and keep warm in a 200-degree oven.

When ready to serve, toss down your flour tortilla and build your fajita beginning with chicken, onion and peppers. Add additional toppings like cheddar cheese, sour cream, fresh pico de gallo, and drizzle more Texas Butter Sauce over the fajita. Pour a glass of Brys Estate Riesling/Gris and enjoy! 

Texas Butter Sauce
1 stick UNSALTED butter, cubed (make sure to use unsalted butter – otherwise your sauce will be too salty)
1/2 tsp chicken bouillon seasoning
1/4 tsp garlic powder
2 tbs. Brys Estate Riesling/Gris

Microwave for 90 seconds, then stir.  Be sure to drizzle sauce over the grilled chicken after it is sliced, and of course, add to the top of the fajitas before enjoying.

Place chicken breast on a piece of parchment paper and cover with a piece of plastic wrap. Using a tenderizer or wooden rolling pin, pound the chicken until the breast has flattened evenly to about 1/4 – 1/2″ thick.

Prepare three dishes (a low bowl or high-lipped plate is ideal) with flour, whisked eggs, and panko breadcrumbs. Set the chicken first in the flour lightly coating the breast, shaking off any excess. Then move the chicken to the egg wash, coating, and removing any excess. Finally, move the chicken into the panko breadcrumbs and press to adhere the crumbs to the chicken. Salt and pepper on both sides.

Over medium-high heat, drizzle olive oil into a frying pan. When the oil begins to shimmer, place the chicken into the pan and cook for 3-4 minutes until golden brown (turning down the heat slightly if the crumb begins to darken too fast). Flip and finish cooking on the other side, for another 3-4 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 165℉. Set aside. (Optional: if preparing multiple chicken breasts, place the cooked chicken in a preheated 250℉ oven on a sheet tray with a wire rack to keep warm until ready to serve.)

Prepare the salad by combining arugula, basil, tomatoes, shredded parmesan, salt, pepper, olive oil, and lemon juice – tossing until coated. (Ingredients for the salad are to taste. Add more or less of whatever you’d like!)

Plate the chicken and top with the salad. Sprinkle more parmesan if you’d like and garnish with a couple of lemon wedges – which can be squeezed onto the chicken for extra lemony flavor. Pour a glass of Pinot Grigio Reserve and enjoy!

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. 

Rip 4 sheets of parchment paper each approximately 2 feet long.  Fold each in half crosswise.

Wash fingerling potatoes then cut in half lengthwise.  In a bowl, toss with olive oil, salt & pepper.  Set aside.  Wash asparagus.  Cut off or break off the woody ends.  In another bowl, toss asparagus with olive oil, salt & pepper.  Set aside.  Cut the ends of each lemon, then cut each lemon into six 1/4in slices.  You should have a total of 12 lemon slices.  Set aside.

Wash chicken and pat dry.  Season both sides with salt and pepper.

Take 1 sheet of parchment paper and open it up so it looks like you are reading a book.  On one side of the crease in the middle of the paper, place 6-8 fingerling potato slices with the cut side facing up.  This will become the bed for the other layers.  Next layer on some asparagus; 8-10 pieces or whatever looks good.  Next place a chicken breast on top of the asparagus.  Top each chicken breast with 3 slices of lemon, 2 sprigs of thyme, and 1/2 tbs of butter.  Add a splash of Pinot Grigio on top of the chicken.

Fold the parchment paper on top of the chicken like you are closing a book.  Starting on one side, fold the paper over in a triangle shape and crease.  Then keep folding the paper, over and over itself and around the chicken.  When you get to the end, tuck the corner under the packet to lock everything in place.  Repeat steps above for the other 3 packets.

Once your chicken presents are wrapped, place all 4 on a sheet tray and bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes until the internal temperature of the chicken registers 165 with an instant read thermometer.

Place one packet on each plate and let your guests unwrap their presents!  Serve with a generous glass of Brys Estate Pinot Grigio and raise a glass to Spring!

Note: after opening packets, the lemon slices and thyme sprigs can be placed on the side and are not intended for consumption

In a saute pan, over medium-high heat, add olive oil and butter. Season chicken breasts on each side with salt and pepper. When the butter begins to foam add chicken breasts. Cook 3-5 minutes per side until browned and cooked through. Remove chicken from the pan, and set aside.

In the same saute pan over medium heat add onion and garlic and cook 2-3 minutes until fragrant. Add the white mushrooms and cook 3-4 minutes until mushrooms have cooked down. Add Naked Chardonnay, scraping up any brown bits at the bottom of the pan. Continue to cook and allow the wine to reduce by half.

Add heavy cream, spinach, 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper. Stir and continue to reduce  3-5 minutes until the sauce has thickened. Add chicken and any accumulated juices back to the pan, turning the chicken breasts to coat with sauce. Remove from heat. 

Serve with a glass of Naked Chardonnay and enjoy!