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

Trim off any excess fat from the short ribs.  Salt and pepper both sides.  In a large dutch oven over medium high heat, add the olive oil and heat until shimmering.  Add the short ribs and sear for 1-2 minutes per side working in batches if necessary.  Transfer short ribs to a bowl.

Add the leeks and garlic to the pot and sauté for 3-4 minutes until the leeks have softened.   Add the red wine and using a wooden spoon, scrape up any brown bits from the bottom of the pan.  Bring the wine to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes or until the wine has reduced by half.

Add the beef broth, rosemary and thyme to the pot.  Add the short ribs back to the pot along with any juices from the bowl.  Bring to a simmer, then cover and transfer to a 300 degree oven for 2 to 2½ hours or until the meat is tender and falling off the bone.

During the cooking process, on a sheet tray, add the sliced mushrooms then drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper.  Toss to combine.

When the ribs have finished cooking, remove the dutch oven from the oven and increase heat to 425 degrees.  Add the sheet tray of mushrooms to the oven and roast for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown.

Meanwhile, transfer ribs to a bowl, and cover with foil.   Place the dutch oven on the stove top over medium heat.  Cook uncovered for about 5 minutes.  Once the liquid has reduced slightly, add the Dijon mustard and cream and continue to cook until the sauce thickens slightly – about 5 more minutes.  Taste and add salt and pepper if necessary.

Transfer the ribs back to the pot and coat with the sauce.  Remove mushrooms from the oven.

Serve the ribs over a bed of roasted wild mushrooms, drizzle the cream sauce on top and garnish with a fresh sprig of rosemary.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375.

In a large saute pan over medium heat, add the bacon and cook about 8-10 minutes until the bacon is crisp and has rendered it’s fat.  Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and transfer it to a plate lined with paper towels.

Dump the rendered bacon fat from the pan into a bowl, then add 1/3 cup of the bacon fat back into the pan.  Over medium heat, add the shallot and the mushrooms and saute about 3 minutes till the mushrooms have browned and the shallots have softened.  Add the box of spinach and continue to cook until the spinach has just wilted, about 1-2 minutes.  Turn off the heat, then stir in the cooked bacon. 

Add half of filling mixture to each pie shell.  Sprinkle gruyere into each pie shell, reserving about 1 cup of cheese for later.

In a mixing bowl, add the eggs, cream, salt and pepper.  Whisk to combine.  Pour half of the egg and cream mixture into each pie shell.  With a small spoon or your fingers, stir the mixture in each quiche to mix things around a bit.  Finally, top each quiche with the remaining gruyere – about 1/2 cup per quiche.

Put both quiche on a cookie sheet and bake at 375 until the tops are golden brown and puffed, about 35 minutes.  Remove from the oven and let stand 5 minutes before serving.

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!

Directions:

1. Preheat grill over medium high heat. Preheat oven to 200 degrees.
2. Prepare ingredients for the sauce.  In one small bowl add the chopped shallot and garlic. In a second small bowl add the white wine, lemon juice, 1/2 tsp. kosher salt and 1/4 tsp. fresh ground black pepper. In a third bowl add the diced butter and basil. Set aside.
3. Pat chicken breasts dry with a paper towel. Drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper.
4. Grill chicken for 6-7 minutes on each side, until the breasts are golden brown and cooked through. Grill times will vary depending on your grill settings.
5. When the chicken is done, remove chicken from the grill and transfer to a platter. Top each chicken breast with the crumbled goat cheese and sun dried tomato slices. Cover platter with foil and place in the oven to keep warm.
6. To make the basil butter sauce, add 1 tbsp. of olive oil to a small sauce pan over medium heat. Add the shallots and garlic to the pan and saute for 2-3 minutes until they begin to soften. Add the white wine, lemon juice, salt and pepper and simmer uncovered until the liquid has reduced by half – about 2-3 minutes. Add the basil and butter and stir just until the butter has melted. Remove sauce from heat.
7. To serve, plate the chicken then top with the basil butter sauce.  Serve with pasta marinara or smashed redskin potatoes and your favorite green vegetable.