Main Courses

Beef Burgundy

Beef takes on new flavors with mushrooms, onions and cherries.

• 2-1/2 pounds boneless beef round steak
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 2 cups Burgundy or other dry red wine
• 1 (10-3/4-ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
• 1-1/2 cups Michelle’s Miracle dried tart cherries
• 2 (4-1/2-ounce) jars button mushrooms, drained
• 1 cup pearl onions (fresh, frozen or canned)
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 (12-ounce) package medium egg noodles, cooked and well drained

Trim fat from steak; cut steak into 1-inch cubes. Coat a large, oven-proof Dutch oven or stockpot with non-stick cooking spray; place over medium heat until hot. Add steak; cook, stirring occasionally, 8 to 10 minutes, or until meat is browned. Drain well; set aside.

Recoat pan with cooking spray; place over medium heat. Add garlic and chopped onion; sauté 1 minute. Add wine and mushroom soup; mix well. Bring mixture to a boil. Return steak to pan; stir in cherries, mushrooms and pearl onions.

Combine flour and water in a small bowl, blending until smooth with a wire whisk. Gradually stir flour mixture into steak mixture; mix well. Bake, covered, in a preheated 350° oven 1-1/2 hours, or until steak is tender and mixture is thickened. Serve over cooked noodles. Makes 8 servings.

Cherry Blues Steak Pizza

(Yield: 1 (12-inch) pizza)

• 1 (12-inch)  Pre-baked pizza crust
• ½ cup (3 ounces) Michelle’s Miracle Dried tart cherries
• 1-1/2 cups (6 ounces) Butter Onion, sliced thin
• 2-1/2 cups (8 ounces) Baby portobello mushrooms, sliced thin
• 1 tablespoon (1 fluid ounce) Olive oil
• 1-1/2 cups (6 ounces) Beef (any tender cut), cooked medium-rare and sliced thin
• 1-1/2 cups (6 ounces) Blue cheese, crumbled

Sauté onions in butter until caramelized; let cool. Sauté portobello mushrooms in butter until tender; let cool. Brush olive oil evenly over pre-baked pizza crust. Spread onions and mushrooms over pizza crust. Arrange slices of beef and cherries over onions and mushrooms. Sprinkle blue cheese over all. Bake at 450°F in a standard oven 7 to 9 minutes, or until cheese has melted. Serve as an appetizer or main course.

Pork Chops with Cherry Sauce

Cherries add flavor to pork chops.

• 2 (boneless or bone-in) pork loin chops, about 1-inch thick, (1 to 1 1/2 pounds)
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1 cup (more or less) reduced sodium chicken broth
• 1/3 to 1/2 cup Michelle’s Miracle dried tart cherries
• 2 tablespoons orange marmalade
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• Dried red pepper flakes, to taste

Season pork chops with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a large skillet on high heat. Add pork chops; brown well, about 3 minutes per side. Remove to plate. Add onions to skillet; cook until tender, 3 to 5 minutes. Add chicken broth, dried cherries, orange marmalade, vinegar and red pepper flakes. Bring to a boil; boil rapidly on medium heat until broth is reduced by half. Reduce heat. Add pork chops to pan to heat through, 5 to 6 minutes. (Cook pork chops longer on lower heat, if pork chops are very thick or if they have a bone in them). Internal temperature of the pork should be about 160 degrees. Add chicken broth or water, if needed. Serve pork chops with cherry sauce spooned over them. - Makes 2 servings.

Note: Recipe can easily be doubled.

Roast Loin of Pork with Cherry Stuffing and Cherry Pan Gravy

Cherries add flavor to pork chops.

• 1 (2 ½ pounds) boneless pork loin, butterflied
• 1 cup Michelle’s Miracle dried tart cherries, chopped
• ½ cup dry white wine
• 2 tablespoons butter or margarine
• 1 cup chopped green onions (including both white and green parts)
• 1 cup finely chopped celery
• ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
• ½ teaspoon dried thyme plus additional thyme for top of roast
• 1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 3 cups dried bread cubes
• 1 egg, slightly beaten
• 1 ½ cups chicken broth
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch

In a small bowl, combine dried tart cherries and wine; allow cherries to marinate while getting rest of ingredients together.

In a large skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Add green onions and celery; cook 7 to 8 minutes, or until vegetables are tender. Remove from heat; add ½ cup marinated cherries without the liquid, parsley, thyme and allspice to onion mixture; mix well. Season with salt and pepper; allow mixture to cool. When cool, add bread cubes and egg to onion mixture. If stuffing appears dry, moisten with a little chicken broth or water.

On a flat board, lay out pork, fat side down. Spread stuffing evenly over pork. Roll up carefully; tie with butcher’s twine. Season surface of pork with salt, pepper and thyme to taste. Place rolled pork roast, fat side down. In roasting pan.

Roast in preheated 425-degree oven 10 minutes. Turn meat over; roast 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees; roast 1 hour 15 minutes, or until an internal temperature of 165 degrees is reached. Transfer roast to carving board and allow to sit 15 minutes before carving. Meanwhile, prepare pan gravy by adding 1 cup chicken broth to remaining marinated cherries; pour cherry mixture into roasting pan. Bring to a boil, stirring to loosen pan drippings. Dissolve cornstarch in remaining ½ cup chicken broth; add cherry mixture in pan, stirring constantly until gravy returns to the boil. Cook 2 minutes. Serve over sliced pork loin. Makes 6-8 servings.

Smoked Chicken Salad with Dried Cherries and Onions

• 4-1/2 cups diced smoked chicken
• 1-1/2 cups diced celery, diced
• 1/4 inch 2-1/4 cups diced sweet onions, diced
• 1/4 inch 2-1/4 cups Michelle’s Miracle dried tart cherries - chopped
• 1-1/2 cups toasted pecan pieces
• 1/2 cup minced fresh basil
• 2 cups mayonnaise
• 3 tablespoons fresh orange juice
• 1 teaspoon fresh orange peel
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 teaspoon black pepper, ground

Dice or chop chicken, celery, onion and cherries to about 1/4 inch. Combine chicken, celery, onion, cherries, pecans, basil, mayonnaise, orange juice, orange peel, salt and pepper in a large mixing bowl; stir gently until combined. Refrigerate until ready to use.

To prepare sandwiches:

• Chicken Salad
• 24 slices rustic bread
• 3/4 cup mayonnaise
• 48 leaves bibb lettuce

Place bread on work surface, spread 12 slices of bread with 1 tablespoon mayonnaise each. Spread other 12 slices with 3/4 cup(about 6 ounces) chicken salad per slice. Top chicken salad with bibb lettuce, close sandwiches; slice in half diagonally and serve. Makes 12 sandwiches; 9 cups (72 ounces) chicken salad.