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Pork Chops Stuffed with Cherries & Mushrooms, Grilled Salad on the Side
If there ever was a meal constructed for Pinot Noir, this would be it!  The combination of cherries and mushrooms echo the main aromas and flavors of the wine.  The pork is a nice medium body, not too heavy, not too light, also reflected in the medium body of the wine.  All in all, a very nice combination.

Cherries, shiitake mushrooms, and pork chops are perfect with Pinot Noir

Anthill Farms Anderson Valley Pinot Noir 2010 ($34)
Eye: Translucent garnet red, but cloudy, clearly unfiltered.  Also, plenty of sediment in the bottle.  I love unfiltered wines, as I know essential aromas and flavors haven’t been removed in the name of sterile filtering and crystal clarity.
Nose: Initially cherry pure and simple.  Gains some depth with air although still dominated by cherry/red fruit.
Mouth: Nice body, not too thin, very good acidity.  Not tart, but mouthwatering.  Low tannin, but there is some there. A very nice wine for food.

Anthill Farms is three friends in Healdsburg who have jobs in bigger wineries as they build their own brand.  They don’t even have a tasting room!  Jon Bonné wrote a nice story about them in the San Francisco Chronicle a few years ago.  They concentrate on Syrah and Pinot Noir. Their wines are sold via their mailing list, and there is a waiting list.  If you like food friendly wines, you might want to put your name on their list!

Anthill Farms produces Pinot Noir in the restrained, less extraction vein

This combination works

Pork Chops Stuffed with Cherries and Mushrooms – serves 4

• 1 cup basmati rice
• 1.75 cups water
• 6 oz. shiitake mushrooms
• 1/2 red onion
• 36 fresh cherries
• 3 sprigs rosemary
• 1 sprig of fresh thyme
• 2 sage leaves
• 4 pork chops (we get ours from Sunshine Harvest Farms)

The stuffing could be a meal by itself

Directions

1. Prepare the rice to the package directions
2. Remove stems and slice the shiitake mushrooms
3. Pit and slice the cherries
4. Chop the red onion
5. Finely chop the herbs
6. Mix the ingredients into the rice
7. Stuff the chops, you will only get small portion into the chops themselves
8. Put the remaining stuffing into a foil packet
9. Cook the pork chops on the grill, approx. 3-4 minutes per side
10. Put the packet of stuffing on the grill, and turn with the chops

You use hearty ingredients in a grilled salad

Grilled Salad

• 1 bunch Kale, or a mixture of Kale and Collards.  You will want hearty greens
• 16 cherry tomatoes
• 1 red onion, sliced
• 1 red pepper, sliced
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Red wine vinegar

A grill basket is key to grilled salad success

Directions

1. Lightly coat the vegetables and lettuces with about 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2. Roast the onions & red pepper in the grill basket about 5 minutes
3. Add tomatoes and roast another 2 minutes
4. Add greens and roast for a final 3-4 minutes
5. We find the oil on the greens at the start is all we need, and we just dress with some red wine vinegar.  Use your favorite vinaigrette if you prefer.

The finished dish is a riot of color

Anthill Farms: so small, there is no tasting room, only a website