Holiday Recipes

Welcome to the Yamhill Valley Vineyards blog! It’s been a while since we’ve been active on our blog but with so many things to share, we decided it’s time to jump back into it.  In 2023 we will be celebrating our 40^th anniversary (woo hoo!) and have events planned for each month of the year.  But before we get to that, we have this holiday season to celebrate first!

To kick things off, Debbie Chapman, Tasting Room and Wine Club Manager, created these delicious recipes that each feature one of our favorite wines.  She even put them to the test for our harvest crew and they were a huge success. Stop into the Tasting Room to pick up the wines along with the recipe cards! We hope you will enjoy these recipes (and the wines, too) with friends and family this holiday season.

Cheers and bon appetit!

Pinot Noir Spiked Cranberry Sauce       

Ingredients: 

2/3 cup of sugar  

¾ cup of 2018 Pinot Noir Estate

½ cinnamon stick 

12oz fresh cranberries

4 long strips of orange zest 

Directions:

In a sauce pan over medium heat, combine the sugar, wine, and cinnamon, bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the sugar dissolves and the wine is reduced slightly, about 4 minutes.  Add the cranberries and the zest.  Simmer until the cranberries soften and the sauce thickens, about 10 – 12 minutes.  Remove from the heat; remove and discard the cinnamon stick.  Set aside to cool.  Serve warm or at room temperature.

 Wholegrain Champagne Mustard & YVV 2015 Riesling Glaze

Ingredients:

1 cup 2015 Riesling

2 Tbsp unsalted butter

¼ cup finely chopped shallots

3 sprigs of thyme plus 2 tsp fresh leaves

½ cup of YVV Wholegrain Champagne Mustard

1 Tbsp local honey

Salt & pepper

Directions:

Melt butter in a medium skillet over medium heat.  Add shallots and thyme sprigs; cook, stirring often, until shallots are very soft, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the Riesling.  Return to stove and increase the heat to medium-high, bring to a simmer, cook until reduced to ¼ cup. Remove thyme sprigs and transfer to a food processor.  Add thyme leaves, mustard, honey, salt & pepper.  Process until well blended.

 Cream of Three Mushroom Soup

Ingredients:

5 ounces each of Shitake, Portobello & Cremini mushrooms

1Tbsp good olive oil

1 stick of unsalted butter

4 cups of your favorite stock

1 tsp minced thyme leaves

2 cups chopped leeks, white & light green parts (~2 leeks)

¼ cup all-purpose flour

1 ¼ cups 2019 Chardonnay

1 ¼ cups half-and-half

1 cup heavy cream

1 tsp each of salt & pepper

Directions:

Clean the mushrooms by wiping them with a dry paper towel. Trim the stems and slice the mushroom about a ¼ inch thick and, if big, cut them into bite- size pieces. Set aside. In a large pot, heat the stick of butter then add the leeks. Cook over low heat for 15 – 20 minutes, until the leeks begin to brown. Add the mushrooms and cook 10 minutes until they are brown and tender. Add the flour and cook for about 1 – 2 minutes. Add the Chardonnay and stir for another minute or so, scraping up the brown bits on the bottom of the pot. Add the stock, thyme leaves salt & pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Add the half-and half and cream, taste for seasonings and if needed salt & pepper to taste.

I love this soup for a traditional green bean casserole, it’s so much better than a bunch of cans. You can buy frozen green beans and either fry up some sliced shallots or just get the store bought.