Gauby Calcinaires Blanc with Gruyere and Roast Chicken – Yum!

Gauby Calcinaires Blanc with Gruyere and Roast Chicken – Yum!

Lori and I just had a wonderful white wine from Domaine Gauby with dinner. It was an excellent pairing with the gruyere cheese we nibbled on while finishing dinner, as well as with a simple roast chicken (with sweet potatoes and broccoli on the side). This Gauby Blanc is in the “Rich Whites” section of our store (organized by style). It is indeed rich, but without the need for oak treatment (the wine sees a little neutral oak, as I recall from our visit to the Domaine). We were surprised at how apt the description we’d written a couple years ago (see below) still is. As the wine warmed up, the pineapple notes became more prominent, while lime and pistachio filled in nicely. We discerned honey flavors, and the wine indeed became more luscious as the wine opened up. Nice!

Details on the wine: Domaine Gauby Calcinaires Blanc, Muscat, Chardonnay, Macabeu, and Grenache Gris, Roussillon, FR, 2007  Nose of pineapple, lime, mint, and pistachio. Silken and subtly oily in texture, yet bright and refreshing, tinged with honey, mint, citrus zest, pistachio, and white pepper, leading to a luscious finish

Tags: Gauby, Gruyere, Roast Chicken

Coq au Vin

This Coq au Vin, with nods to Ina Garten, is the best we’ve had.

Wine Pairing Suggestion: This was delicious with a line-up of Red Burgundies.

Ingredients

• 4 oz bacon, dices
• 2-3 lbs chicken pieces of your choice
• ½ pound carrots, cut in small pieces (less than 1”)
• 1 medium yellow onion chopped
• 1 tsp garlic
• ¼ cp brandy
• ½ bottle (375mL) red Burgundy (or other Pinot Noir)
• 1 cp chicken stock
• 10 fresh thyme sprigs
• 2 tbs unsalted butter, at room temperature, divided
• 1 ½ Tbsp all-purpose flour
• ½ lb frozen small white onions
• ½ lb of mushrooms of your choice
• Salt and pepper

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 250^oF
2. Heat (to medium) Olive Oil in a large Dutch Oven.
3. Add bacon and cook for 8-10 min until lightly browned and remove bacon to a plate
4. Meanwhile, pat dry chicken and sprinkle with salt and pepper
5. Brown the chicken in batches so that the pieces don’t touch, removing to the plate
6. Add the carrots, onions, about 2 tsp salt and 1tsp pepper and cook at medium heat for about 12 min until the onions are brown.
7. Add the garlic and cook for another minute
8. Add the brandy, wine and chicken stock, scraping the bottom of the Dutch Oven.
9. Add the thyme, chicken, bacon and any juices that have accumulated and bring to a simmer.
10. Cover and cook about 45 min
11. Heat 1 tbs butter to medium in a sauté pan and cook mushrooms until soft and liquid has been released
12. Mash 1 tbs butter with the flour together and stir into the stew along with the onions
13. Add the mushrooms to the stew and cook another 15 min or more
14. Season to taste and serve hot

Tags: Coq au Vin; Burgundy

Burgundian Spice Bread (Pain D’epices)

Burgundian Spice Bread (Pain D’epices)

Based on an 18^th century spice bread made in Dijon, a city where spices were transported on the way north. It’s on the dense side, not too savory and not too sweet.

Wine Pairing Suggestion: It paired well with both a white Burgundy an Italian Soave Recioto dessert wine.

Ingredients

• ¼  cup milk
• ½  cup dark brown sugar
• ¾ cup honey
• Zest from an orange
• Juice from the orange
• 1 egg yolk
• 2 cups flour (1/2 of the cup was whole wheat flour)
• ¾   tsp ground aniseed
• ¾ tsp ground cinnamon
• ¼ tsp ground cloves
• 1 tsp baking soda

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 300^oF
2. Heat milk, honey and sugar in a saucepan until combined
3. Add egg yolk, orange juice and zest and let cool while:
4. Combine flour, spices and baking soda
5. Combine liquid and dry mixture (should be stiff)
6. Spray or coat the inside of medium (9×4) loaf pan
7. Cook for about 50 min (until a tooth pick comes out clean)
8. Cool for about 15 min on a rack and remove from the pan

Tags: Burgundy, spice bread

Parsnip “Oven Fries” & Chicken with Spicy Vinegar Sauce

This easy and delicious recipe helped with an ongoing challenge to use all the vegetables delivered to us weekly by the local CSA.

Wine Pairing Suggestion: A soft white (e.g. Riesling), fresh red (e.g. Dolcetto) or dry sparkling (e.g. Cava), will contrast nicely with the sharp spiciness of the sauce.

Ingredients

• 1 pkg (1pound) parsnips
• About ¾ lb of boneless chicken of your choice
• Salt and pepper
• Olive Oil
• ¼ cup white vinegar
• 1/8 tsp of hot pepper flakes

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 450^oF
2. Peel the parsnips and cut into “French fry” sized pieces
3. In a shallow baking pan toss the parsnips with about 1 tbs of olive oil, ½ tsp salt and ¼ tsp pepper
4. Roast in the oven (about 10-15 min) while doing the next 2 steps
5. Heat 1 tsp of olive oil in a skillet
6. Pat the chicken dry and sprinkle with salt and pepper
7. Brown both sides of the chicken
8. Transfer the chicken to the pan with the parsnips and continue roasting until the parsnips are well browned (another 15 min or so)
9. Add another Tbs of olive oil to the pan and heat
10.  Add the white vinegar and hot pepper flakes and stir briefly (no more than 30 secs)
11. Pour into a cup and keep warm
12. Serve chicken and “fries” drizzled with the spicy vinegar (or use for dipping)

Tags: chicken, parsnip, recipe, spicy

Porcini Savory Bread Pudding

Porcini Savory Bread Pudding

For anyone who like porcini’s (like me) this is bread pudding delicious. Use as appetizer or side dish.

Wine Pairing Suggestion: Pick your favorite bold red…I’d go with a nebbiolo or syrah, depending on the other foods. It paired well with a shiraz at one of our Saturday Pairings.

Ingredients

• Slices of ciabatta crusts removed (enough to cover bottom of oven dish (about 9”x9”)
• Butter for greasing
• 1 small shallot finely sliced
• 3 eggs
• 2fl oz heavy cream
• 1oz dried porcini rehydrated in hot water and finely chopped
• 2oz Perorino sliced
• 2 tsp chopped fresh thyme

Instructions

1.      Preheat the oven to 400^oF

2.      Layer the bread in a small oven dish, greased with butter.

3.      Mix the shallot, eggs, cream and porcini in a bowl. Pour the mixture over the bread.

4.      Place the Pecorino on top of the bread and place into the oven to bake for about 12 minutes until the cheese is fully melted.

5.      Remove from the oven and serve garnished with the chopped thyme

Tags: bold red wine, bread pudding, porcini, savory

A Great Respite in Newport

Lori and I wanted to get away for a couple of days, and chose Newport, RI as somewhere we hadn’t been together, is within easy driving distance (of Lexington, MA), is walking friendly, known for having some excellent restaurants and has a couple of wineries, one of which we hadn’t visited before. Indeed, we had wonderful food (Bouchard and Tallulah), did a lot of walking (Cliff Walk, the Mansions along Bellevue Ave, Fort Adams Bay Walk, etc.) and visited both local wineries (Greenvale and Newport Vineyards)….but this isn’t a travelogue. We had a fine meal along the lines of Classic French food (with a twist) that more than met expectations, with superlative service, but the highlight was dinner at:

Tallulah on Thames is exceptional. If you want fresh local ingredients made into innovative and delicious food, you will love Tallulah. The picture shows  the Schartner Farms Roasted Spring Beets, from their first set of selections, “Farms and Fields”. In additions to the beets, the plate has small wedges of goat cheese, pickled ramps, fennel crisps, tarragon vinaigrette and little splashes of delicious sauces. This paired well with a Clairette from France, which had nice aromatics, stone fruit on the palate, with both a creamy texture and nice acid to blend with the acid in the dressing.

Every course was a wonderful combination of delicious freshness (it’s hard not to be repetitious). The Taste of Spring was just that, English peas, favas, fiddlehead ferns, spring onion, teenie carrots, purple and orange mini-cauliflower, micro-broccoli, etc. on pappardelle pasta made at the restaurant. This dish was a work of art to look at (another constant theme at Tallulah). A Pignoletto from Italy was a classic great pairing in that the wine by itself was just OK, but with the food it blossomed into a delicious and complex wine.

The Hopkins Farm Lamb, 3 ways (neck stuffed in a red pepper, belly and loin), with couscous, veggies and a touch of Tzatziki cucumber sauce was another winner, with The Prisoner from Orin Swift, a big Zinfandel blend a surprisingly good pairing.

Marcona almond panna cotta was presented in a shallow dish, with fennel chips, spots of apple compote, dabs of cucumber gelee, and pieces of crystallized pecans sprinkled along the surface….amazing.  The creaminess of the panna cota was offset brilliantly by the freshness of the cucumber gelee.

Earlier in the day we revisited Greenvale Vineyards (we’d visited a couple years ago) and were hosted by Nancy Parker Wilson, the General Manager. We carry their Vidal Blanc at Pairings, the best of that varietal we’ve had and at a reasonable price. Their wines continue to improve, and we’re looking forward to Nancy presenting Greenvale wines at Pairings in the near future (probably the Vidal Blanc, Chardonnay and Cabernet Franc). We’re wondering if there isn’t a secret ingredient in their wines…. see (in the picture) a bull grazing among the vines.…just kidding, of course. It’s a friendly place to visit, with the tasting room in a barn in a majestic setting looking out over the vines and to the water below.

Tags: Bouchard, Greenvale, Tallulah, Thames

Red Cabbage Slaw

Red Cabbage Slaw

This recipe came about from a desire to make something for a Saturday Pairing that uses ingredients from the store’s farm share from a Community Shared Agriculture (CSA). Unlike most slaws, this one has no vinegar, so it’s more versatile for pairing with wine. We paired this red cabbage slaw with the Maximo viura (the grape) from Spain. I wasn’t sure about the pairing, since the flavor of the slaw is assertive and the wine is light, bright and crisp. However, tasting the wine, then the slaw and then the wine again, the taste sensation of the wine increased with the second sip.

Wine Pairing Suggestion: A Crisp White (such as Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio, the Viura that we paired it with, etc.)

This slaw is easy to make. Everything goes into a food processor, resulting in a nice consistency that works for small or large portions.

Ingredients

• 1 small head of red cabbage – outer leaves removed, cored and cut into a few pieces
• 2 small-medium carrots peeled and cut into a few pieces
• 1 apple peeled, cored and cut into a few pieces
• ¼-1/2 red onion
• 1-2 tsp fennel seed to taste
• salt and black pepper to taste
• ½-1 tsp sugar to taste
• ¼-1/3 cup of olive oil
• 1-2 tsp mayonnaise

Instructions

1. Using a food processor with the chopping blade, add small amounts of the first four ingredients until well chopped. (If you don’t have a food processor, chop by hand into small pieces)
2. Begin adding the other ingredients checking the taste and consistency until you’re happy with the taste.
3. Cool in the refrigerator for an hour or more and serve.

Tags: cabbage, recipe, slaw