Winner Winner Chicken Dinner

chicken dinnerIt’s always good to have a go-to chicken recipe, something that can be prepped quickly and shoved into the oven, something that will cook while you sit and unwind with a glass of wine, possibly watching old episodes of Sherlock or Doctor Who. Possibly. Insert geek love of your choice and swirl, sniff, and sip that lovely liquid while you immerse yourself in someone else’s imagination.

navarro rieslingAs far as the wine goes, you can’t go wrong with a glass of anything Navarro Vineyards and Winery has to offer. It was the very first wine club I ever belonged to, and I will continue to belong until the end of time or they retire, whichever comes first — hopefully, the end of time. Anderson Valley, one of my favorite places in the entire world, one of the places that truly feels like home, is the location of their vineyards. The region grows outstanding Alsace wines, and it’s beautiful, besides. (We belong to three other wine clubs whose homes are in the Anderson Valley. I can pretty much guarantee you’ll see an image of the other wines at some point or another.) The Riesling I paired with the chicken is a dry style and is perfect with the lemon and sage I used to flavor the dish, but it’s wonderful enough to drink alone, staring at Benedict Cumberbatch’s cheekbones or what have you.

Lemon Sage Chicken

1 whole, organic chicken
1 lemon
1 onion
2 teaspoons dried sage
1 teaspoon of salt
1 tablespoon butter
a pinch or two of red pepper flakes

Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
Place chicken on a cooking rack set into a casserole dish.
Mix the seasonings and butter together. Roll the lemon on the counter, using your hand and a little bit of pressure, until it feels slightly squishy. Cut the lemon in half and squeeze the juice inside the chicken cavity. Rub some of the butter mixture inside the cavity. Carefully loosen the skin on the outside of the chicken, using your fingers to create pockets around the breast and thighs, then rub the rest of the butter mixture under the skin. Rub the outside of the chicken, ridding your fingers of any leftover butter mixture.
Insert the two halves of lemon inside the cavity. Cut onion into quarters and try to fit as much of it in the cavity as possible. Scatter any remaining onion pieces around the chicken, inside the dish.
Cook, breast side down, for an hour and 45 minutes. Flip the bird over and cook another 45 minutes.
Remove from oven and flip chicken back over, breast side down, and let rest for 15 minutes. Carve and serve.

by Mellisa on September 21, 2013  •  Permalink
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Posted by Mellisa on September 21, 2013

https://sapidcellardoor.com/2013/09/21/winner-winner-chicken-dinner/

Prosciutto Wrapped Figs

wrapped figsThere’s something so satisfying about the pop of fig seeds between the teeth. While the fruit cooked into cookies has become a household staple, the fig in its whole form still seems slightly exotic, even though it was one of the first plants to be cultivated by humans. Eating the whole fruit conjures images of the Roman aristocracy, being fanned as they reclined, popping ripe grapes and figs dripping in honey into their mouths.

When one adds the sensory satisfaction with the images of the toga-wearing rich, it’s no wonder that figs seem like a very decadent treat. While it’s all kinds of amazing in the mouth, making a sweet and savory fig finish is easy peasy, and is a lovely end to a dinner of wine, cheese, crackers, and tapenade.

sherryStuffed Figs Wrapped in Prosciutto

9 brown figs
3-4 tablespoons of crumbled blue cheese
9 pieces of prosciutto
drizzle of fig balsamic vinegar
drizzle of honey

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Cut the stem off of each fig and slice each fig in half. Grab a teaspoon or two of blue cheese, depending on the size of the fig, and put on the inside of one half of a cut fig. Take the other half and lightly smoosh the cheese inside. While holding the fig together, wrap in a piece of prosciutto. Place on a cookie sheet lined in parchment paper and repeat the stuffing/wrapping steps until all figs are on the sheet. Drizzle the figs with the balsamic vinegar and then follow with a drizzle of honey.
Place in the oven and cook 5-8 minutes, until prosciutto is slightly browned.

The only pairing that I found to work with the multiple levels of flavor was a sherry, specifically a beautiful cream sherry, Gonzalez Byass “Solera 1847.” We have really enjoyed this bottle, and while it may not be easy to see in the photo, there’s just enough left to pair with the figs. I guess it’s time to stop by the wine department.

by Mellisa on September 14, 2013  •  Permalink
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Posted by Mellisa on September 14, 2013

https://sapidcellardoor.com/2013/09/14/prosciutto-wrapped-figs/

One Pan Meal

One Pan MealMeals that can be created with a minimum of dishes dirtied are always good things. They tend to be simple, filling meals that are satisfying to consume.

One of my favorites is not only simple, it’s also incredibly inexpensive. It involves three, yes three, ingredients — potatoes, sausage, and sauerkraut. I try to have at least two meals a day that contain fermented foods. Lunch is easy, as I always have a fruit smoothie blended with yogurt. It should be somewhat obvious at this point that I’m a fan of pairing fermented grapes with dinner. Sometimes, a bit more of those helpful, little organisms that exist within fermented foods are desired. Not only can they give a dish more of a tang, more of a flavor profile, they can also make your gut happier. That’s when a good sauerkraut, kimchi, pickle, etc. is needed.

beerSince I’ve been suggesting perfect pairings to go with my weekly dish-of-choice, I thought I’d share what I drink with my humble — though incredibly satisfying — one pan meal. Beer, specifically Lost Coast’s Great White, my all-time favorite brew, is a perfect choice. It’s citrus-y with a spicy finish, pairs well with all of the flavors of the dish, and is light enough to not bog down the stomach.

Just as I’ve found that I can eat fermented bread, I’ve found that I have no issues with beer. Here’s where you’d hear both a big, relieved sigh and a mighty, “Yahoo!” if I was hanging out with you irl.

 

A Super Simple One Pan Meal

serves 3-4 people

2 large Yukon Gold potatoes, cubed
2 bratwurst or other sausage of your choice
16 fl oz sauerkraut

Heat up a skillet over medium-high heat. Cook bratwurst until they’re beginning to brown slightly. Add potatoes and cook until potatoes are soft, up to 30 minutes. (If you purchased pre-cooked brats, cook potatoes first, then add sausage and brown.) Once potatoes are cooked, lower heat to how, add sauerkraut and keep in pan just long enough for it to warm. Serve right away.

by Mellisa on September 7, 2013  •  Permalink
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Posted by Mellisa on September 7, 2013

https://sapidcellardoor.com/2013/09/07/one-pan-meal/

Time For Dessert

dessertI have a killer sweet tooth. Honestly. It’s killer on my waistline. But I was at a wine event a couple of years ago that saved my sweets-lovin’ life.

It was one of those five course meals where every course had a different wine. For dessert, we were served blue cheese, almonds, and tawny port. The sweet course would never be the same for me again.

tawny-portNow that I’ve eschewed pastries for the savory-salty-sweet that a handful of raw almonds and some perfect cheese provide (last night, it was the amazing Boonter’s Blue from Penny Royal Farmstead), the choice of port is important. For the final course of the day to be fully satisfying, you need a dessert wine that will do justice to the craftsmanship of the marbled, aged creation of sheep and goat’s milk. The Graziano Syrah Tawny Port was an exquisite option. The complex, nectarous flavors made me yearn for colder nights spent snuggling by the fire. It was a toothsome treat, and a good way to punctuate a day. Honestly, who needs cake when there are endings such as these?

by Mellisa on August 31, 2013  •  Permalink
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Posted by Mellisa on August 31, 2013

https://sapidcellardoor.com/2013/08/31/time-for-dessert/

Salad Days

nectarine saladThere’s just something about the tender-green of baby kale coupled with the sweet tang of nectarines that I’ve been finding extremely satisfying of late. This crisp salad is a mouthful of summer and delicious enough to tempt me away from evening writing projects.

bellafinaDinner arranged, the challenge of pairing was presented — the sparkle of the dish was heightened with a Prosecco, perfect for a balmy twilight.

My choice of the Bellafina Prosecco was a happy accident, an impulse purchase that had then been absentmindedly shoved into the back of the refrigerator. Maybe it was actually kismet, as the flavors of stone fruits, lemon cream, and almonds were harmonious with the varying sweet and lush flavors of the salad. The wine’s orange bitter finish was paradisiacal with the kale. Isn’t it marvelous how good food and great wine always seem to find each other?

Nectarines & Baby Kale Salad

two handfuls of baby kale
1 nectarine, sliced into thin wedges
1/2 avocado, cubed
a sprinkling of tamari pumpkin seeds
a sprinkling of shredded coconut (Leftover, perhaps, from your coconut shrimp?)
drizzle of poppy seed dressing

Toss everything together and serve right away, appreciating the crisp, refreshing qualities of both the salad and the Prosecco.

by Mellisa on August 24, 2013  •  Permalink
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Posted by Mellisa on August 24, 2013

https://sapidcellardoor.com/2013/08/24/salad-days/

Smoky Times Call for Smoky Measures

prawnsSmoke. Fumé. Humo. Rauchen. Deatach. Ysmygu. We’re surrounded by smoke in my neck of the woods from two separate fires. It’s all we’ve talked about at work this week. It’s at the forefront of our thoughts, as our lungs won’t allow us to forget.

Since playing with words is one of my pastimes, and wine is my passion, it’s no surprise that the constant swirling of my atmosphere made me think of Fumé Blanc.

Robert Mondavi invented the term for his Sauvignon Blanc styled after the Pouilly-Fumé wine of the Loire Valley. Choosing the new moniker helped to differentiate his drier style from the sweeter Sauvignon Blancs of the late 1960s. And the rest, as you well know, is history.

Those aren't clouds in the background. It's smoke.

Those aren’t clouds in the background. It’s smoke.

I landed on Murphy-Goode’s The Fumé. It was staring out at me from the shelf in quite an alluring fashion. I then read the label’s pairing suggestions and decided that coconut prawns would be the correct choice of cuisine.

It was a delightful decision. The tropical notes of mango in the wine married nicely to the coconut batter of the prawns. The creaminess of the Fumé went hand-in-hand with the richness of the shrimp, and the sprinkling of lime that the dish received after cooking brought out key lime pie characteristics in the glass. Smoky, silky, with hints of melon — to sum up the wine succinctly, well, it was yummy, and it made for a damn good(e) dinner.

Coconut Prawns

Organic canola oil for frying
1/4 cup Kinnikinnick gluten-free bread crumbs
1/2 teaspoon salt
drizzle of sriracha
1 lime
1 cup shredded coconut
2 egg whites
1 pound prawns, deveined and peeled

Heat two inches of oil over medium high heat.
Combine bread crumbs with coconut and mix thoroughly.
Salt prawns. Add sriracha and mix until coated.
Lightly beat the egg whites. Dip prawns in the egg, coat with the coconut mixture, and drop into the hot oil.
Flip prawns over when the batter has turned a dark, golden brown.
Serve with lime wedges and the ever-so-awesome Murphy-Goode The Fumé.

by Mellisa on August 17, 2013  •  Permalink
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Posted by Mellisa on August 17, 2013

https://sapidcellardoor.com/2013/08/17/smoky-times-call-for-smoky-measures/

A Pretty Pairing

fettuccineYou know how sometimes you hit upon a wine and food pairing so good the Heavens open and you can hear the angels serenading? I had one of those pairings last night.

It all started with a gluten-free pasta I’d been introduced to last week. A garlic fettuccine created in an allergen-free environment, it was worth trying. It ended up being well worth trying. I tossed it with butter, sage, and garlic, and it was fantastic. So fantastic, I had to have it again.

fettuccine-ingredientsWith this meal, I wanted to create something bright, fun, and satisfying – the same way you feel when you witness the weekend welcoming you in. The personalities for my plate included Cypress Grove Chevre’s PsycheDillic, raw pistachios, the aforementioned amazing Maninis pasta, a splash of cream, a tablespoon of salted butter, a drizzle of olive oil, and the true star of the show, Kendall-Jackson’s AVANT Chardonnay.

Since the pasta is fresh, the cooking time is only three minutes. While the noodles drained in the colander, I sacrificed a splash of the AVANT, along with the butter and cream, to create a sauce. Whisking quickly to avoid curdling, I cooked it just long enough on low heat for it to thicken slightly. I then tossed the noodles in a bit of olive oil to keep the noodles separated and added them to the sauce. The sauced-up fettuccine was then placed ever-so-lovingly on a plate, sprinkled with Chevre and pistachios and was ready to be served with the delightful glass of Chard.

Here’s where the chorus of Heavenly voices came into play. The green apple qualities of the wine were vibrantly lovely when paired with the bright flavors of goat cheese and dill. The light creaminess of the AVANT complimented the round, nutty flavors of the pistachios, and a truly synergistic dinner was enjoyed.

I have a friend who’s a winemaker in Napa, and she told me once that Chardonnay is the favorite of winemakers, as they get to create exactly the wine they want with the grapes. In Chardonnay, you see the character of its creator. As dinner was cleared and a second glass was enjoyed as my digestif, I appreciated the artistry that went into the AVANT. Crisp and light, it teased the nose with early autumn sunrises, flowed into the glass with pears and green apples and a delicately creamy mouthfeel. It was a beautiful wine to enjoy as the cool breeze tossed the oak trees outside. I savored the final drops as frogs began to sing their evening melody and was grateful for a delicious finale for my Friday.

by Mellisa on August 10, 2013  •  Permalink
Posted in food, wine

Posted by Mellisa on August 10, 2013

https://sapidcellardoor.com/2013/08/10/a-pretty-pairing/

An Origin Story

Obviously, my family has always been into food. (l-r, my sister, me, my brother.)

Obviously, my family has always been into food. (l-r, my sister, me, my brother.)

One of my earliest memories is set in my grandma’s kitchen. I stood on a stool so I could reach the counter and helped arrange leftover pie crust dough on a cookie sheet, liberally sprinkling the arrangement with cinnamon and sugar. I was fascinated by the process — one dough, two very distinct results. This simple medium would become a savory shell for a pie as well as sweet, crispy “cookies.” It was chemistry. It was magic.

As I got older, but before the stool was no longer required, I progressed to more complicated baking. Cookies were elementary. Sheet cakes were simple. I won blue ribbons for my double chocolate pound cake each year at the fair, but still I marveled at the seeming miracle that was a wet mass of a handful of ingredients transforming into a fluffy treat.

From baking came meal planning, from full-course dinners came canning and pickling. That’s the thing about the kitchen — there are always things to learn. The education never ends. After enough practice, trials, and experimentation, one can graduate to self-tutelage, but there’s always room for growth. My grandma recently turned 87, and she’s still trying out new recipes, new experiments, in the kitchen. Creating nourishing meals is true alchemy, gilding the dining table in a glorious sheen.

I have my grandma to thank for my food passion. She started it all with the simple act of having me help transform scraps into cinnamon-flavored glory, in the blurry, warm-toned past.

What are your food origin stories? How did you get interested in cooking and baking?

by Mellisa on July 27, 2013  •  Permalink
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Posted by Mellisa on July 27, 2013

https://sapidcellardoor.com/2013/07/27/an-origin-story/

Hello Sourdough My Old Friend

sourdough starter

The air section of “Cooked” covered bread baking. I love bread, and used to love making it, but when I began having what appeared to be immune system reactions to wheat, I thought my days of eating real bread were over.

But then Michael Pollan’s passage discussed sourdough fermentation. Introducing fermentation changes the characteristics of the wheat in the bread. I won’t go into detail. He, of course, did tons of research and explains it thoroughly in the book. Read it.

Again, I don’t have celiac, so using myself as a human guinea pig wasn’t that risky. While I might experience joint pain and inflammation, I most likely wasn’t going to do damage to my gut. I really wanted to find out how sourdough would react with my body, and the easiest way to do that was to indulge in some fluffy, baked goodness.

Over the next three weeks, I ate sourdough and didn’t have any reaction. I could eat a sandwich and not only enjoy the flavor, I would be pain-free while it was digesting! It’s a wonderful discovery, and it’s all thanks to “Cooked.”

I plan on baking my own sourdough bread soon — you know, when the 100 degree heat is at an end. While Pollan “captured” his wild yeasts to create his starter, I’m going to begin with a packaged version, something that I can regulate a bit more at the start. Until I walk you through the process of creating a complex loaf of sourdough bread (it’s really not that difficult), I thought it would be nice to at least share my recent experiences with all of you. Who knows? Maybe sourdough will be an option for you, too.

by Mellisa on July 20, 2013  •  Permalink
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Posted by Mellisa on July 20, 2013

https://sapidcellardoor.com/2013/07/20/hello-sourdough-my-old-friend/

A Review of Cooked

photo from Michael Pollan's website press kit

photo from Michael Pollan’s website press kit

I think Michael Pollan is great. Since I am a person with a journalism degree who also happens to work in the natural food world, Pollan’s writing represents a lot of the good things from both of the fields in which I toil.

Because of this, it may come as no surprise that I thoroughly enjoyed his new book, “Cooked: A Natural History of Transformation.” I thought it was wonderful, in fact.

In it, Pollan takes us on a journey of the four elements, exploring fire, water, air, and earth through food. He finds masters in the trade for each element and takes us along with him as he learns how to barbecue a whole hog or create a wheel of cheese.

I think what I found most captivating about the book was the sense of wonder that Pollan so easily conveyed to the reader. He was inspired by every cook, chef, or brewer, and that awe and excitement to create traditional foodstuffs made me want to stop reading and start cooking. Except I couldn’t put the book down.

As someone who already makes most meals, knows how to bake bread and brew beer, and tries to find ways to incorporate fermented foods into many dishes, there wasn’t much explained that I didn’t already know. But that was part of the beauty! The way that Pollan spun the tale, it all felt new to me, too, and it deepened my love of all things traditional and whole.

There is magic in making food. It’s so much more than sustenance, and “Cooked” did a glorious job of reminding me of that.

by Mellisa on July 13, 2013  •  Permalink
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Posted by Mellisa on July 13, 2013

https://sapidcellardoor.com/2013/07/13/a-review-of-cooked/

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