It’s that time of year when we all want to do is hunker down and cozy up with our favorite cowgirl or cowboy. Well, rest easy. Purple Cowboy has some classic winter recipes for those chilly days and nights. Naturally, these favorites all pair perfectly with our Tenacious Red and Trail Boss Cabernet.
Steakhouse Flavors—At Home
The classic flavor combination of top-quality beef, blue cheese, and dark greens is sure to warm you up!
Start with a simple and tasty steak recipe, like bacon-wrapped filet mignon from one of our favorite cowgirls: the Pioneer Woman, Ree Drummond. With just five ingredients: filet mignon, bacon, salt, pepper, and butter, there is no more you need to do to dress up a tender steak than wrapping it with strips of bacon.
Serve yours with some of these tangy bleu-cheese twice-baked potatoes from Gimme Some Oven. Cut your prep time by microwaving the potatoes for the first step and filling them with the bleu cheese and potato mixture as directed. Then just pop ‘em in the oven to finish them off.
Round out your steakhouse-at-home experience with a delicious, easy creamed spinach. We love this one from Boy Meets Bowl, which calls for fresh spinach and a basic cream sauce to deliver the flavor.
Sip, Sauce, Slurp
“I cook with wine. Sometimes I even add it to the food.” –W.C Fields
W.C. Fields must have known that adding wine to a slow oven braise results in a succulent and saucy meal. Like these Red Wine-Braised Pork Chops that will fill your house with delicious aromas. This recipe calls for red wine and port in the sauce. Make sure your chops are tender by first brining the chops, then trim the fat and connective tissue and brown them in a dutch oven.
Add spices, wine, and broth to create the sauce, and transfer straight into the oven. You may need to reduce the sauce at the end of the oven cooking time; if so, remove the chops first before heating the sauce further. Serve these chops with something hearty that will soak up the sauce like mashed potatoes, egg noodles, or rice. Add some garlic-sauteed greens such as these Pan-Browned Brussels Sprouts, and you’ve got yourself a meal. Time to open the wine!
Central Coast Celebration
If you’re in a warm-weather locale, then this one is for you! Get outside and (wo)man the grill with Bobby Flay’s Santa Maria-Style BBQ Tri Tip. Tri Tip is a favorite in California’s Central Coast region, which is also the region where the Purple Cowboy grapes are sourced.
Bobby Flay serves his Tri Tip with Santa Maria Pinquito Bean Relish, Cherry Tomato Relish— cooked on the grill in a basket, and Grilled French Bread (all recipes are included in the link above). He emphasizes the importance of letting the meat cook on an area of the grill that has low or indirect heat for a real barbequed effect. You can even use a smoker if you’re so inclined. For city-slickers and those in colder climates, try these oven-roasting instructions from the folks over at the New York Times.
All-In-One Comfort Food
For a real comfort-food favorite, build a Shepherd’s Pie with ground beef, lamb, or turkey. Start with a basic recipe like this one from Country Living, and brown your meat with spices and onions or whatever fresh or frozen vegetables you have on hand. Carrots, peas, green beans or corn do the trick.
One thing that makes this dish so easy is that you can cook your veggies right in the mix—you don’t need to make a separate vegetable dish. Add a bit of liquid, such as broth, wine, or beer, allow to cook briefly, and top with mashed potatoes before baking. Use leftover mashed potatoes if you have some on hand or whip some up especially for the pie. You can even Tex-Mexify your Shepherd’s Pie by adding red peppers and taco seasoning to the ground meat saute and topping with Monterey Jack cheese.
Go Bananas for Dessert!
What could be better than a great meal? A great dessert! Try Bananas Foster and this Alton Brown’s recipe that yields rich and delicious results. Saute butter, brown sugar, spices, banana liqueur, and slightly green bananas, then flame with dark rum. Serve with vanilla ice cream for a memorable finish to any of the recipes we’ve shared!
Let us know your favorite winter recipes in the comments section below or on our Facebook Page.
