Wine & Country Living

Broadway in Waitsburg? Yes, and an art colony thrives! I was fortunate to have a front-row seat in the historical Waitsburg Plaza Theatre Saturday night for the Markeeta Little Wolf concert, "The Bitch is Back!" The house was sold-out and what a show it was. Markeeta, the former mayor of Waitsburg, gave all who attended, a musical review to be remembered. I walked away thinking Markeeta's job will never be done in Waitsburg. This woman has such community spirit and has now successfully opened the door to all who only dream of hitting the stage, showing them not only how to do it right, but that age is not a consideration.

If you know Markeeta, she has the most infectious sense of humor and it showed throughout her concert in light banter and song, hitting notes even Shirley Basses couldn't hit and out-shining Janis Joplin's; "Oh Lord," to the audience's joy. Three costumes and 90-minutes later, the packed house wouldn't let her go, encore after encore and like the Unsinkable Molly Brown, she'd ripped off another and still another song for her beloved audience; she was smashing!

After the concert, I celebrated another community success, opening a bottle of Buty, '09 Merlot-Cabernet Franc, a $21 bottle of creative winemaking like only Caleb Foster, Buty Winemaker, can create. My staunch opinion about Caleb's winemaking is correct; Food and Wine Magazine voted Foster, this year's, Winemaker of The Year. This limited-quantity wine has a rosy nose, oaken profile flushing the cheeks in truffle nuance and a long tongue wrapped in cherries and sassafras. I attributed the deliciousness of this wine to the 100 percent winemaking, 100 percent vineyard and the 100 percent terroir. Caleb, when I taste your wines I think of the Orson Wells saying, "No wine before its time," and because of this timely attribute you attain, yours truly, Judith Henderson of Wine and Country Living, gives you 98 points for the estate-grown 2009 Merlot Cabernet Franc wine. Congratulations Buty Winery! Until next week, "Eat Art Drink Imagination!"

Cranberry Ketchup

1-pound cranberries

½-cup honey

½-cup white sugar

1-cinnamon stick

4-whole cloves

1-bay leaf

1-tablespoon curry powder

1-cup Buty Winery Merlot-Cabernet Franc wine

In a sauce pot, cook all down until thick and glossy, stirring regularly: about 40-minutes. Remove, bay, cloves and cinnamon stick, cool and serve with roast turkey, duck, goose, chicken or sausages.

Watch for Judith's new Wine and Country Living Web Page coming soon; sustainable commentary, photos recipes and the new, Wine and Country Living Collection of condiments, spice blends and Chef's autographed cookbooks at www.chefjudithhenderson.com