‘Recipes’ from Latah Creek pairs food, wine

‘Recipes By Ellena, Vol. 3’

By Ellena Conway (Latah Creek Wine Cellars, $25)

Quick Look: The latest in a series of recipe books by Ellena Conway, co-owner and wife of the winemaker at Latah Creek Wine Cellars, contains more than 100 of her favorite recipes. Each comes with a suggested Latah Creek wine pairing as well as author’s notes.

What’s Inside: There’s a little bit of everything in this cookbook, which features 10 sections: appetizers and beverages, soups and stews, salads, main dishes, seafood, pastas and pizzas, breads and rolls, vegetables and side dishes, breakfast and desserts. Many of the recipes seem relatively easy to follow. The Southern-Style Bacon, for example, features only two ingredients: bacon and brown sugar. Cheese Eggs have three: eggs, American cheese and a splash of milk. Steak au Poivre has four: New York steak strips, cracked peppercorns, extra-virgin olive oil, and unsalted butter.

Some – Pork Chops with Apples and Shallots, Natalie’s Nectar Cream Sauce, Mushroom Merlot Sauce, Red Wine Reduction (starring Latah Creek Monarch Red) – feature Latah Creek wines as key ingredients. Many recipes are gluten-free; if they’re not, they include notes on how to make them that way. Five come from the winery’s 2012 summer sangria taste-off.

For cooks short on time, here’s some good news: Many recipes include or recommend particular pre-packaged foods or ingredients so you’re only making part of certain dishes from scratch. There’s Knorr Vegetable Recipe Mix in the Spinach Drip, Robert Rothschild Farm Raspberry Salsa in the Easy Slow-Cooker Chili and Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix in the Cornbread Pudding, for example. Buitoni’s Herb Chicken Tortellini is suggested for the Ravioli or Tortellini with Brown Butter and Balsamic Vinegar.

Conway tells you what she loves about each recipe. Her tone is casual and friendly, like she’s confiding in an old friend. Some of her favorites are: Mussels/Clams with a Sweet Chili Twist, Ellena’s Roasted Tomatoes, Ellena’s Huevos Rancheros and Wine-Soaked Grape Cake.

What’s Not: While sections in this three-ring binder are tabbed, making it easy to flip through, there’s no index or table of contents.