Corked by Cabernet

by Michele Scott

  Add 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese to butter and flour mixture just before adding buttermilk. Drained, minced pickled jalapeño peppers may be added at this point as well. Proceed as directed.

  CHICKEN-FRIED STEAK

  salt, pepper, and garlic salt to taste

  1 (6-ounce) round steak cutlet, tenderized

  1 cup all-purpose flour (more if needed)

  4 eggs

  1 can flat beer

  1 tbsp Adolph’s Meat Tenderizer

  cream gravy (see recipe below)

  Sprinkle salt, pepper, and garlic salt on both sides of tenderized steak to taste. (To tenderize: place cutlet between wax paper sheets; pound steak with meat mallet till ¼-inch thick.)

  Place steak into a tray of flour, then pound it with stiff fingers, working from the center out, until it reaches the size of a dinner plate or an old LP record. Flip several times and repeat pounding.

  Mix eggs, beer, 1 tsp salt, and Adolph’s Meat Tenderizer in a shallow bowl. Add enough flour to make a thin, watery batter. Beat till smooth.

  Dip meat into batter, then back into the flour tray and cover with flour. Pound again with fingertips until moisture is absorbed.

  Cook in a cast-iron skillet in deep fat at 350° until golden brown.

  CREAM GRAVY

  3-4 tbsp flour

  1 cup heavy cream, half-and-half, or milk, more if needed

  salt and pepper

  Pour off most of fat from skillet, reserving 3-4 tbsp in skillet.

  Add flour to skillet and stir till lightly browned, scraping up all bits of steak coating crumbs.

  Remove skillet from heat, slowly add heavy cream, half-and-half, or milk, stirring constantly until mix begins to thicken.

  Return skillet to medium heat, continue stirring till gravy is of desired consistency. Correct seasoning and serve.

  RECIPE INDEX

  Pork Loin with Pearl Onions and Grapes

  with Tablas Creek Vineyard Côtes de Tablas

  15

  Butter-Sautéed Chicken Breasts

  in a Creamy Walnut Cilantro Sauce

  with Nickel and Nickel Chardonnay

  30

  Serrano Lime Grilled Prawns

  with Duckhorn Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc

  49

  Cheese Ravioli with Sweet Italian Sausage

  and Bracco Chianti Classico

  144

  Partygoer Chili with Hahn Estate Merlot

  207

  Chicken-Fried Steak, Biscuits, and Gravy

  with Luna Pinot Grigio

  257