So while I was at the wine festival last week I had the opportunity to taste at least a hundred wines. Yummy! What better way to spend an afternoon then walking around wine glass in hand and having people pour you wine. Hmm a few appies may have been nice.....
Well I have always been a fan of a wine called Conundrum out of California but it is close to $30 so not an everyday drinking wine. While tasting and splitting my girlfriend Jasmine recommended that I try this wine by Sokol Blosser out of Oregon called "Evolution". It was fantastic, so close to Conundrum, a blend of 9 different varietals and so yummy. The price is a bit better situated as well at $23.99. This would be fantastic paired with any ethnic or spicy foods with its flavours and aromas of allspice, green apple and honeysuckle. I have added their website as well.
http://www.sokolblosser.com/
Well I have a bottle chilled in the fridge and I just pulled some Thai inspired chicken wings out of the oven with a peanut sauce and some paneang curry.
For those of you who may be looking for a new wing recipe to try....
Thai Wings with a Peanut Dipping Sauce
2lbs chicken drummettes
2tbsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp turmeric
2 tbsp madras curry paste, I really like the Patak's
1tbsp brown sugar
2 cloves of crushed garlic
2 tbsp chopped cilantro
Mix oil and spices into a paste. Coat chicken wings and marinate for minimum 2 hours, overnight is best. Bake at 425'F for 20-25 mins until chicken is done. Top with cilantro prior to serving.
Peanut Sauce
1 can coconut milk
1 tbsp chopped ginger
2tbsp red Thai curry paste
1 cup peanut butter, unsweetened
2 limes, juice of
1 tbsp brown sugar
Bring coconut milk to a boil and then whisk in curry paste and peanut butter. Remove from heat and add lime juice and brown sugar. Sauce will last up to 2 weeks in the fridge
yield 1 1/2 cups
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Chicken with 40 cloves of garlic
This week is wine fest in Vancouver which is always a treat. On Thursday night I was on the Dave Brindle show on AM1410 and we were chatting all about cooking with wine, some of our favorite recipes and more. Here is the article that I had written for an event a few years back with one of my favorite recipes. Please pour yourself a glass of wine and enjoy!
Cooking with Wine
By Tracy Rowand, Taste to Savour Catering Inc., http://www.tastetosavour.com/
Wine brings many benefits to cooking -- my favourite being the glass you drink while cooking. In addition, wine intensifies and enhances the flavour of food. When used in a marinade, wine also helps tenderize meat.
While it is not necessary to use expensive bottles of wine when cooking, it is important that you like the taste of the wine. If you don’t, the wine will have an adverse affect on your palate when you taste the food later. It is also important to note that the strongest characteristic of the wine will be intensified during the cooking process, such as fruitiness, sourness, etc., so take this into consideration when choosing the wine. Pouring yourself a glass first and tasting it before you add the wine to the sauce or marinade you are preparing is always a good idea.
To achieve the best results when cooking with wine, add the wine at the beginning of the cooking process rather than then end, as this will allow the wine to blend with the food and intensify the flavour. Adding wine at the end will create an acidic flavour.
Here is one of my favourite recipes that is best with a nice citrusy white either a NZ Sauvignon Blanc or a BC Pinot Gris would be great here. I usually pair with wild greens with a shallot vinaigrette, mashed potatoes, roasted tomatoes and French beans. You can serve the same white with dinner or, if you prefer red, choose a lighter bodied wine from Spain or a Pinot noir.
Chicken with Forty Cloves of Garlic
40 cloves of garlic, peeled (about 3 heads)
5 lbs of boneless skinless thighs or breast
Sea salt
Black pepper
1 tbsp unsalted butter
2 tbsp olive oil (doesn’t need to be extra virgin)
¼ cup cognac
1½ cup dry white wine (my preference is a BC Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Blanc) plus 5 oz in a wine glass
1 tbsp fresh tarragon (thyme can be used if you are not a tarragon fan)
¼ cup heavy cream (33 or 36%, also called whipping cream)
Preheat oven to 350⁰F. Pour yourself a glass of wine and taste. Peel the garlic. Season the chicken on both sides with salt and pepper.
Heat the butter and oil in a heavy pan that has a lid and can go in the oven. On medium high heat, in batches, brown both sides of the chicken, removing from the pan and setting aside when done. Lower the heat to medium when done and sauté the garlic until it starts to brown, about 5-10 mins. Deglaze with the cognac and then add the white wine. Scrape any of the yummy brown bits up as you do this. Add the chicken back to the pan, put on the lid, and bake in the oven for about 30 minutes until the chicken is cooked through and tender. Don’t forget to have another taste of wine.
Remove the chicken and garlic from the pan and set aside. Place the pan back on medium high heat and reduce the sauce by ½. Add ¼ cup of heavy cream and reduce to desired consistency. Finish with fresh tarragon and be sure to check your seasoning (salt and pepper) -- a sip of wine won’t hurt either.
Place the chicken on a platter and ladle sauce on top. Garnish with a twig of tarragon. Enjoy!
Serves 4-6 people depending on appetites.
Cooking with Wine
By Tracy Rowand, Taste to Savour Catering Inc., http://www.tastetosavour.com/
Wine brings many benefits to cooking -- my favourite being the glass you drink while cooking. In addition, wine intensifies and enhances the flavour of food. When used in a marinade, wine also helps tenderize meat.
While it is not necessary to use expensive bottles of wine when cooking, it is important that you like the taste of the wine. If you don’t, the wine will have an adverse affect on your palate when you taste the food later. It is also important to note that the strongest characteristic of the wine will be intensified during the cooking process, such as fruitiness, sourness, etc., so take this into consideration when choosing the wine. Pouring yourself a glass first and tasting it before you add the wine to the sauce or marinade you are preparing is always a good idea.
To achieve the best results when cooking with wine, add the wine at the beginning of the cooking process rather than then end, as this will allow the wine to blend with the food and intensify the flavour. Adding wine at the end will create an acidic flavour.
Here is one of my favourite recipes that is best with a nice citrusy white either a NZ Sauvignon Blanc or a BC Pinot Gris would be great here. I usually pair with wild greens with a shallot vinaigrette, mashed potatoes, roasted tomatoes and French beans. You can serve the same white with dinner or, if you prefer red, choose a lighter bodied wine from Spain or a Pinot noir.
Chicken with Forty Cloves of Garlic
40 cloves of garlic, peeled (about 3 heads)
5 lbs of boneless skinless thighs or breast
Sea salt
Black pepper
1 tbsp unsalted butter
2 tbsp olive oil (doesn’t need to be extra virgin)
¼ cup cognac
1½ cup dry white wine (my preference is a BC Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Blanc) plus 5 oz in a wine glass
1 tbsp fresh tarragon (thyme can be used if you are not a tarragon fan)
¼ cup heavy cream (33 or 36%, also called whipping cream)
Preheat oven to 350⁰F. Pour yourself a glass of wine and taste. Peel the garlic. Season the chicken on both sides with salt and pepper.
Heat the butter and oil in a heavy pan that has a lid and can go in the oven. On medium high heat, in batches, brown both sides of the chicken, removing from the pan and setting aside when done. Lower the heat to medium when done and sauté the garlic until it starts to brown, about 5-10 mins. Deglaze with the cognac and then add the white wine. Scrape any of the yummy brown bits up as you do this. Add the chicken back to the pan, put on the lid, and bake in the oven for about 30 minutes until the chicken is cooked through and tender. Don’t forget to have another taste of wine.
Remove the chicken and garlic from the pan and set aside. Place the pan back on medium high heat and reduce the sauce by ½. Add ¼ cup of heavy cream and reduce to desired consistency. Finish with fresh tarragon and be sure to check your seasoning (salt and pepper) -- a sip of wine won’t hurt either.
Place the chicken on a platter and ladle sauce on top. Garnish with a twig of tarragon. Enjoy!
Serves 4-6 people depending on appetites.
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