Sometimes you pick the wine to go with the food you've chosen, but sometimes you pick a meal to go with a specific wine. Tonight's menu planning fell into the latter category. I had a well-aged Ridge zinfandel I was dying to try, so I went looking for a rich and silky meal that would match up with what I expected would be a well-rounded and soft wine. I settled on Venison Medallions in Port/Porcini sauce.
4 venison medallions (each about 3 ounces and 1/2-inch thick)
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
1.5 ounces dried porcini mushrooms (reconstituted in hot water for at least 30 minutes then chopped roughly)
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 green onions diced (separate the green and white parts)
1 cup chicken demi-glace
1/2 cup Tawny Port
3 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
Italian herbs (dried) to taste
Salt and pepper, to taste
Season the venison with salt and pepper. Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in a large saute pan over medium high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Don't let the butter brown! As soon as the butter foams, saute the venison medallions for about 3 minutes a side, which should be medium-rare. You don't want the venison done past medium. Remove the venison to a warm plate and tent loosely with foil. Sop up the remaining fat with a paper towel, but don't wipe up the sticky brown bits. Add the remaining butter and oil to the pan over medium heat. Again, as soon as the buitter foams, add the mushrooms, the garlic, and the white parts of the green onion. Season with salt, pepper, and herbs. After 5 minutes, deglaze with the port. Add the demi-glace and Worcestershire. Bring to the boil then reduce to a slow simmer. Reduce for about 15 minutes. (You want to end up with about 2/3 cup liquid.) With about 3 minutes to go, add the venison to warm through. A pat of butter at the very end to enrich the sauce wouldn't be remiss. Garnish with the green part of the onions.
I served it with wild mushroom risotto and puree of winter squash. Fabulous and a great match for the Geyserville.
4 venison medallions (each about 3 ounces and 1/2-inch thick)
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
1.5 ounces dried porcini mushrooms (reconstituted in hot water for at least 30 minutes then chopped roughly)
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 green onions diced (separate the green and white parts)
1 cup chicken demi-glace
1/2 cup Tawny Port
3 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
Italian herbs (dried) to taste
Salt and pepper, to taste
Season the venison with salt and pepper. Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in a large saute pan over medium high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Don't let the butter brown! As soon as the butter foams, saute the venison medallions for about 3 minutes a side, which should be medium-rare. You don't want the venison done past medium. Remove the venison to a warm plate and tent loosely with foil. Sop up the remaining fat with a paper towel, but don't wipe up the sticky brown bits. Add the remaining butter and oil to the pan over medium heat. Again, as soon as the buitter foams, add the mushrooms, the garlic, and the white parts of the green onion. Season with salt, pepper, and herbs. After 5 minutes, deglaze with the port. Add the demi-glace and Worcestershire. Bring to the boil then reduce to a slow simmer. Reduce for about 15 minutes. (You want to end up with about 2/3 cup liquid.) With about 3 minutes to go, add the venison to warm through. A pat of butter at the very end to enrich the sauce wouldn't be remiss. Garnish with the green part of the onions.
I served it with wild mushroom risotto and puree of winter squash. Fabulous and a great match for the Geyserville.
