Chicken & Leeks

We had leeks the other night. They were good. We had this recipe the first time many years ago. It is one of the simplest recipes out there. Cook chicken. Cook leeks. Dump wine. Simmer. Done.

Chicken & Leeks

Start with some leeks. I like to cut them into 1/2 moon shapes. Give them a super wash in a bowl of water, then lift them out to drain them. After washing all the sand out of and off of them, you don't want to dump the dirty, sandy water back on them.

Cook your chicken. Usually you can use whatever chicken bits you have. Last night I had chicken tenderloins. Chicken breast are fine. I'm going to say chicken thighs are even better. Give whatever a quick saute to brown and start the cooking. When browned on both sides remove to a plate, don't worry about being cooked through it will finish cooking later.

A pause. What to serve this with? I think rice is the best option. You want something starchy/grainy to give the final sauce a place to go. You could use a pasta. Couscous. A steamed green veggie would be fine too. This time I used a hearty whole grain style rice that had all sorts of crunchy bits in it. It was good. Nutty.

Here we go. After the chicken was browned, I tossed the leeks into the pan and stirred them around for a minute or two. You want them to just start to sweat. Then, dump in a dry white wine. Add the chicken back in. Add wine to just cover the chicken. Bring to a low simmer, cover and walk about for 10-20 minutes. Do something else! But don't forget about it though.

Spoon the chicken and leeks, with sauce over your rice. Garnish with some chopped parsley if you like. Enjoy!

Chicken & Wine

You really can't go wrong here. Chicken thighs, seasoned and seared, then braised in white wine. Add some aromatics if you have them--herbs, carrots, onions, etc. You can skim off some of the fat at the end and make a quick sauce for more succulent deliciousness!

Meatballs and Ziti

Last night's dinner was meatballs and spaghetti...except I didn't have enough spaghetti...so it was meatballs and ziti. The meatballs were great. The sauce was alright. Combined, all good. Let's get started. I roughly followed this recipe.


Ew, gross. Raw meat. Sorry veggie friends. But to make meatballs, you need some meat. I used a pound of "meatloaf" mix from the store...ground beef, veal and pork. This provides the best flavor, over straight beef or pork. I'm not fond of veal, so let's pretend it's not there. To the ground meat, I added one egg, a small handful of chopped parsley, a piece of sandwich bread that had been soaked in milk and one small/medium onion, finely diced and sauted in olive oil until caramelized, with basil and oregano (dried). Not pictured, is 1/4-1/2 cup of grated parm. Squige this all together until very well combined. Scoop the mixture out and shape into hearty ping pong sized balls. One thing I tried last night and may not be necessary...I then dredged the uncooked meatballs in seasoned flour, I was hoping for an extra crusty meatball. I don't think it made a difference, except in the mess that had to be cleaned up afterwards.

Saute the meatballs in olive oil until dark and crispy on the outside. Don't worry if the don't cook through. They will simmer in sauce later. So, pull the meatballs to a pull and start a sauce. You can make any red sauce you like. For this meal, I did one 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes, one 14 oz can of diced tomatoes, salt, pepper, and some more dried herbs. Oh, and a few smashed cloves of garlic. Add the meatballs back to the pan and simmer over low heat for an hour or so.

Toss cooked pasta with the sauce and plate up with a few meatballs per person. This batch made 22-24 meatballs. If you want, you can freeze the leftover meatballs and sauce for a later meal. We just packaged the leftovers up for lunch.

With dinner last night, we had a glass of the Biltmore Estate's Pinot Noir. Very tasty! We must have liked it at the tasting we attended in Asheville, NC in December, since we bought two bottles. We forgot how much we enjoyed it. A great spicy, jammy flavor with a light body. It paired nicely with meatballs and sauce.

Cozy Braised Chicken

The other night the Fabulous Becca & Mia from Red Letter Days in San Diego rolled into town on a cross country drive. As I continue to lobby the creation of Red Letter Days East Coast, I thought I'd try seducing the ladies with some braised chicken and plenty of sparkling wine!

It might take some time, but I'm pretty sure it worked!

Start with the recipe here.

Braised Chicken with Shallots, Fennel and Bacon

Get some of your ingredients ready. Fennel. Shallots. Carrots. Bacon.


Season the chicken thighs with salt and pepper. Sear until the skin is crispy in the reserved bacon fat! Don't worry, the chicken doesn't cook through, just get the skin crisp and some of the fat is rendered out.


Pour out the fat from the pan, reserving one to two tablespoons. Start sauting the vegetables.


Carrots, Fennel, Shallots with an herb blend of thyme, sage, rosemary and parsley.


Snuggle the chicken into the vegetables and add some dry white wine and chicken broth, bring to a simmer, cover and place in the oven for an hour.


Remove the chicken from the braising liquid and scoop the veggies out to the side. Boil the liquid until it's reduced down to about one to two cups. Stir in a tablespoon or two of butter. In the last minute or two of simmering, add the bacon. Pour over the chicken.


Serve steaming hot.

Catch Up & Wine Tasting

Let's play catch-up...again...?!!?? Sorry I haven't been blogging as much lately. It's one of the few things I feel guilty about. I've committed so much time to Eat With Me, that when I let days slide by without posting, I feel like a neglectful baby. Well, such is life and other ongoing projects. I'll keep trucking along and ask that you bear with me...

This week has been about not spending extra money and using what we have at home. To that end, we had some bratwurst in the freezer and those became Sunday night's dinner.

I wasn't up for firing up the grill, so I par-boiled the brats to cook them through. Then they were give a quick fry up in a pan, followed my a nice bath in beer, onions and butter. Heaven on a bun! Oh, we didn't have buns, we had a left over loaf of Italian bread that was purchased over the weekend. All was good.


Monday night I took some frozen chicken thighs out of the freezer and prepped them for a warm, slightly spicy/smoky braise. First, I cooked up a few slices of bacon that was cut into 1/2 pieces. With the fat rendered, I seared the chicken after seasoning it with salt, pepper and a blend of sweet paprika, smoky paprika, dried mustard and oregano. After the chicken was seared, I sauted some onions, red peppers and two medium tomatoes that I had seeded and diced. To that I added about 1 cup of chicken broth. When brought to a simmer, I returned the chicken to the pan, covered and placed in a 300 degree oven for about 15-20 minutes. Tender, juicy and flavorful chicken. Just prior to serving, I removed the chicken to a plate and simmered the braising liquid down to create a sauce. I returned the cooked bacon bits to the sauce and served over the chicken with some steamed rice and green beans. A very satisfying dinner. I'll make this again.


I felt I needed to get away and get lost this weekend so I took a great drive to the Shenandoah National Park and drove about half of Skyline Drive. What a beautiful day! I got lost in thoughts and reflection on things that have been happening over the past years and just let myself absorb all Mother Nature had to offer. It was a great experience.


On my way back from the Shenandoah National Park, I stopped at three different wineries and participated in their tastings. There was Rappahannock Cellars, Fox Meadow Winery and Philip Carter Winery. Rappahannock was the first stop and best for tasting, they seemed to really know the business of the tasting experience, great service and a nice atmosphere. The thing I think I appreciated the most; the bottle of water included with the tasting fee!!!! You know how often I've had to ask for water at a tasting? I loved it. The wines were all interesting and the guy who helped me out seemed to know what he was talking about and was genuinely interested in what my thoughts where. I left with a bottle of Meritage. Fox Meadow offered a tasting with food pairings. The pairings were tiny pieces of nibbles...I'm talking small, but you got enough to notice the differences with the wines. The most interest was Pinot Gris with rice krispie treats! It was a lovely pairing. I left here with a bottle of Merlot. The last visit was a terrifying experience for me, considering how mellow of a day I had been having. Philip Carter had some sort of special event going on and there were LOUD stinky children running around and screaming...and LOUD drunk adults screaming everywhere. I considered leaving, but I was curious about the wine. Finally, I got someone to help me out and I enjoyed several wines, they were good, but the most interesting here was the Chardonnay, which was oaked and not something I usually like, but the oak wasn't in your face monster oak, I really appreciated it, so I brought a bottle of that home with me! Good times...except for all the loud people!

Alsatian Pork and Dijon Mashed Potatoes

I sort of threw Monday night's dinner together, no real recipe and I'm just making up the name. But dang it was good. Needed a vegetable though. Perfect for a rainy, dreary day.

Alsatian Pork Roast
with a Wine & Cider Pan Sauce
and Dijon Mashed Potatoes

The roast is the first part. I bought a 3-4 pound pork butt roast, bone-in. Pat the roast dry with paper towels and season liberally with your choice of mild seasoning. I used a blend from Penzeys, plus some salt and pepper. In a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat, add 3-4 TB of olive oil; sear both sides of the roast until well browned and with a developed crust.

While the roast is searing, peel 2-3 carrots and cut into large chunks. Peel one onion and chop into large pieces. Peel and smash 3 cloves of garlic and set aside one medium bunch of fresh thyme.

After the second side of the roast has been seared, pour in about one cup of a crisp white wine. Preferably a Riesling if you have it. With a wooden spoon, scrap up what bits you can from the bottom of the pan. As the wine reduces add one cup of unfiltered apple cider or juice, the darker, the better. None of the clear, yellow stuff, you want the brown, thick cider!

Add the carrots, onions, garlic and thyme. Cover and place in a 350 degree oven for one hour. At the one hour mark, turn the heat to 300 and check the roast, spoon some of the cooking liquid over the top. Cover and cook another hour. Check the roast again. Cook one final hour. This should be the point at which the bone slips out of the meat. If not, cook longer, checking at 30 minute intervals. When it's done, remove from the oven and let rest for an hour, in the pot.

After the hour of resting time, remove the roast and prep for serving or storage. Remove the bone and clean up any remaining fat and nasty bits. Break the roast into large pieces. Reserve the cooking liquid. Strain to remove the vegetables and other bits. Pour the juice over the roast, cover and store in the fridge...or continue for dinner!

If you are making mashed potatoes, here's the steps, in case you haven't done this before, it's a little different than cooking most vegetables.

1) peel the potatoes (if you want, if the peels are thin, you can leave them on, just scrub the spud).
2) cut the potatoes into about 1-inch pieces.
3) put the potatoes into a large pot and cover with cold water.
4) season the pot of water/potatoes with a hefty tablespoon of salt.
5) bring to a boil.
6) cook until a knife or fork easily slides into the potato, and out of the potato.
7) drain and return to the cooking pot.
8) add butter first, mash, add the cream or milk, mash more. season with salt and pepper, mash and mix more. Taste. Adjust butter, cream, salt and/or pepper.
9) for Dijon Mashed Potatoes, depending on your mustard preference, add 1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon of a grainy Dijon. Stir in. If you happen to have some fresh parsley, chop finely and stir in. Serve warm!

Now the pan sauce.
In a medium to large skillet, saute one large shallot with butter and/or reserved, rendered pork fat. **see note at the bottom of this post. When the shallots are soft, add about 2 tablespoons of flour. Stir until the flour is coated and starts to smell nutty. Add 1/2 - 1 cup of the same white wine you used earlier with the roast. Stir until combined. Add about 1 cup of reserved cooking liquid. Bring to a simmer. Add the large pieces of cooked roast. Simmer over low heat until ready to serve.

The pork and the sauce.

Potatoes ready to mash.

All served up. This was an incredibly rich and really delicious meal. My grandparents would be proud. The Dijon flavors played really well with the cider/wine flavors in the pork and sauce.

**Note on the cooking liquid and fat. After you strain the bits out of the cooking liquid, you will start to see a lot of fat rise to the top. You'll want to separate that fat, so you have the option to use it. If you have a fat separator, you're good. If not, chill the liquid in the freezer or fridge. The fat will solidify and can easily be removed. Alternatively, you can carefully spoon the fat off, bit by bit. When you go to make the pan sauce, we're making a roux, so you do need some fat and the flour. I used about 1 TB of pork fat and 1 TB of butter. This was a nice flavor combo, but not necessary. After you add the wine to the butter/flour combo, make sure to add the remaining cooking liquid. Lots of amazing flavors in there, wine, cider, seasonings, thyme...all very good.

Wine Gift Box

Sorry folks...I haven't been very good with sharing wine reviews lately. It seems I've been more concerned with drinking the bottle, than I am of reviewing it and taking notes. Oops. That hasn't stopped me from trying several types of wine over the past month.

This was a gift. Not bad for a Chardonnay. Not too oaky.


For under $9 this is ok. I'm not going to run out to buy another bottle.


We've had this twice. The first time we had it, I really enjoyed it. The second bottle...wasn't chilled as much and the mellow fruit notes were to strong for my liking...very floral and ripe melon. This is one I prefer super chilled.


Not so much. This bottle was hot with alcohol. Too much. Burning. I did have a few notes saved from this bottle. Take what you will from these:

*Tannins gave me goosebumps
*Flavors start with resin, tar, smoke and tobacco, followed by strawberries and spices
*After sitting for awhile, the flavors mellow to dark chocolate covered dried cherries
*The alcohol is hot


We enjoyed two bottles of this at a restaurant. Very nice. I'll look for this again.


Not a great summer wine. To big and fat for a hot day. Save this for a cold winter night.


I really enjoyed this organic, "green" Sauvignon Blanc. Will give this one another shot, when I see it again.


We bought this one when we were on vacation at the beach earlier this summer. I have to admit...I don't remember a thing about...guess that's all I need to remember...

Black Ankle Vineyards

How can a beautiful Sunday be improved by a visit to a local winery? By visiting a local winery that makes really good European-style wines! And by local, I mean the mid-Atlantic region and specifically, Maryland. Not a region that one typically thinks of when you talk about great wines. When you hear of Gruner Veltliner, you normally think of Austria. Albarino to Spain. Chardonnay, California or France. All three of these wines are grown and produced at Black Ankle Vineyards in Mt. Airy and all three provide exciting, high-quality interpretations of these iconic grapes.

Black Ankle Vineyards
14463 Black Ankle Road
Mt. Airy, MD 21771

A simple sign on a simple, curvy country road. Blink and you'll miss it.


Thanks to Jason for the following photos.

The tasting room is brand new. Constructed and opened in 2008, the tasting room is open and airy. The structure was constructed using sustainable materials and includes sections of green, living roofs.

A close up shot of the green roof and part of the patio.

We took advantage of a guided tour into the vineyards & winery. Here's some Viognier.

Ahh, the humble grape blossoms, soon to be Syrah grapes.

And a lovely pastoral scene. After the tasting, which included 6 wines, purchase a glass of your favorite, sit down and let the world stop around you.

Of the 6 wines we tasted, here are the 4 that I was really drawn to:

(notes are from the winery's own descriptions)

Albarino 2008
The 2008 Albarino offers up classic aromas of citrus and lemon/lime. This Black Ankle Vineyards version of the classic white from Galicia, Spain shows considerable more richness and depth than most Spanish Albarinos, with a creamy texture and a lengthy finish, while still remaining a true Albarino to its core. Scott's Note: I've never had, or even heard of Albarino before. This wine was a nice, light wine. Something that could easily be introduced to new wine drinkers. No flavors were overly dominating. All mellow. Hello Sunday afternoons!

Chardonnay 2008
Blend: 88% Chardonnay, 6% Muscat, 6% Viognier
A ripe, classically built barrel-fermented Chardonnay with hints of orange peel, honeysuckle and lavender on the nose. A fully body reveals a smooth wine with excellent richness on the palate and a long, minerally finish. Scott's Note: I'm not a Chardonnay fan, but this was a very nice version of the classic white. There was no Oak/Butter Monster smashing you down. The blending of the Muscat and Viognier creates a very balanced wine that begs to be sipped in the sun.

Gruner Veltliner 2008
The 2008 Gruner Veltliner reveals the classic GV aroma of pink grapefruit, white pepper and fresh herbs. On the palate the wine displays crispness, balance and substantial body along with flavors of grapefruit and lemon. Scott's Note: We've had plenty of Austrian GV in the past. Mostly from Anton Bauer. This is nothing like that. But this is very fun. When they talk about pink grapefruit, they are not kidding. This is all grapefruit and I loved it! Reminiscent of a dry, tart Sauvignon Blanc.

Syrah 2006
Blend: 90% Syrah, 10% Pinot Noir
The dark ruby colored 2006 Syrah has aromas of white pepper, cinnamon and tapenade, with notes of vanilla. The smooth, sweet, silky tannins frame the abundant red fruits and give way to a long, spicy finish. Scott's Note: For a Syrah, this was a giant glass of Juicy Fruit. Crazy amounts of berry! I'll give the Pinot Noir a big fat kiss for that!



Take some time, check out Black Ankle Vineyards. Visit them in person, or look for their wines in a shop or restaurant near you.

You had me at hello

SeaGlass Sauvignon Blanc
Santa Barbara County, California
2007

One of the things I love about wine is the label art. Wine labels can be trendy and arty, or swirly and classical, over done or simplistic. I try not to be enticed to purchase a wine by the label, but this is one that I couldn’t help myself. And I'm thrilled that my common sense lost out! The label perfectly evokes the mellow, calm mood I want to enjoy while sipping cool vino on a warm summer day. I love this wine and I hope I can continue to find it. Refreshing and crisp, this wine has a small nose to it, but the aromas that come through are solidly green veggies (asparagus, green beans) and grass with hints of seductive flowers; a little orchid, a soft rose, maybe even a lemony iris. The palate is clean and light with a strong zippy gooseberry approach and soft tropical fruits on the backend. After enjoying a glass or two with dinner, we finished the bottle with some freshly picked strawberries. I was amazed how the tart citrus/green grapefruit notes that I love in a Sauvignon Blanc were tamed into submission, allowing the background flavors of sweet melons, mango and pineapple to come forward and dominate. Wonderful. I can’t wait to buy this wine again!

A perfect sunday

That's a bold statement I know, but it was a lovely Sunday, and a perfect cap to 10 days away from work!

Let's get started.

Some fresh peas from the farmer's market. Sweet, tasty. Pleasant.


With less than two minutes of heat, a small bit of butter, mint, salt, pepper, lemon juice. Taste: ok. Smell: awful. They smelled like canned peas with less than two minutes of cooking. Blah. Well, we've tried them. Moving on.


Strawberry Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette. Divine! The strawberries and romaine lettuce are from the farmer's market. I toasted the pecans for a quick bit on the stove top. The dressing includes one small, finely diced shallot, salt, pepper, a little sugar, balsamic vinegar and olive oil. WOW. This was a great salad. The flavors worked so well together. Sweet, tangy, crunchy, perfect. Maybe a new favorite salad.

Course two! Grilled Mango-Ginger Chicken. Chicken thighs that were brined for the afternoon (soaked in a salt water solution for a few hours). The chicken was then tossed onto a very hot grill and allowed to char. Once the outside was starting to get crispy, I started coating the chicken with Mango-Ginger jam from the farmer's market. The flavors are wonderful. Slightly sweet, caramelized, crunchy. We'll be enjoying this more over the summer.


*If anyone is interested in the jam and is unable to get it from the Cheverly Community Market, I have the email address of the neighbor who makes the jam. It's great!


Stay tuned for the wines we enjoyed!

Problem solved

Pretty much since January, we've been running on low reserves at Eat With Me headquarters. One or two bottles at a time is all we've had. If we were able to get more than that, they were for specific purposes. We just couldn't fill the tank. Thanks to a fun trip to a tax-free, discount liquor store in Rehoboth, we were able to load up on some goodies! There's a whole lot of fun stuff going on, including several new Sauvignon Blancs (woo hoo! include two in the fridge, ready at a moments notice), a wide variety of reds (Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec) and even a little pink for giggles. I don't need to be so stressed now. All but one bottle was purchased between $9-$12. The big spender was a $25 bottle of 2005 Napa Cabernet Sauvignon--not sure about the particular wine I bought, but 2005 has been projected to be "one of Napa's best vintages." Hopefully that statement transfers to a moderately priced bottle.

Los Vascos

Los Vascos
2008 Sauvignon Blanc
Chile

From the second the cork was popped, the crisp aroma was surrounding the table with its exciting allusions to cedar boughs, flowers and perfume. Although the bouquet tickled the nose quickly, it didn't last long. And funny, once the refreshing flavors step in, you barely notice the aroma. On the palette, we’re treated to the requisite gooseberry and citrus flavors most common in the Sauvignon Blanc, followed by a drop of sweet berry juice and further down the road we’re licking rocks, eating banana peppers and grass. At the very end, there is even a touch of mango.

This was a very satisfying Sauvignon Blanc for $11.99. I'd buy it again. And with the Rothschild/Lafite lineage listed on the label, I can only hope they will continue to produce beautiful wines in future vintages.

More Red Truck

Photo Credit: Jon Rochetti, The DC Traveler


I want to thank Jon for sharing his photo of THE Red Truck from Cline Cellars, home of Red Truck wines.

One of these day's I'll make my way to Napa/Sonoma for an abundance of over indulgences, including a trip to the Red Truck!

Truckin'

I received some wine as a gift on Wednesday. I love wine as a gift...it is perfect!

We opened the Red Truck Pinot Noir for dinner and out of gate, it paired very lovely with the Steak Diane. We've had a lot of Red Truck in the past. Their red table wine, a blend of grapes, is very easy to drink, for all sorts of occasions. We've had the Red Truck white table wine and pink. I'm not as fond of either of those. At least I wasn't, I'd always be willing to re-try them.



This Pinot Noir is jam-packed with juicy berries, black cherries and overly-ripe strawberries. I also was towed in by some bell pepper, raisin and spices notes. On the nose, I mostly noticed some floral and more of the spices. I felt there were some raisins and cedar planks floating in there as well. The most interesting characteristic I noticed; when paired with dinner, the finish was very mild and velvety. But without the food; it was short, acidic and reminiscent of copper pennies.

I think this is a good value (usually around $10) wine and I look forward to another glass or two with Thursday's dinner.



From the bottle:

Red Truck
Pinot Noir, 2007

Our award winning Pinot Noir is medium bodied with aromas of dark berries blending with spice and Bing cherry for a rich finish.

Red Truck Winery, Sonoma, CA

Getting the most of your restaurant wine experience!

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More great tips from Karen MacNeil.

RULES OF THE RESTAURANT
Here are four tips on how to order from a restaurant wine list:

1. Relax. Most people sit down and think they need to know immediately what to do about the wine. Buy yourself some time by first ordering a glass (or bottle!) of Champagne. It’s a classic, elegant way to begin, and it will give you time to mull over the wine list.

2. Ask for help. A wine steward’s job is to know about the restaurant’s wine list. It makes no sense not to take advantage of that expertise.

3. Be specific. Name a wine that you’d like to try and say how much you plan on spending. Example: “I would like to try a zinfandel, and I want to spend around $30. What do you suggest?”

4. Get excited about learning. Every so often, resolve to spend more than you’re used to on a bottle and just randomly choose something you don’t know. Ask your wine steward for information about your random selection. After a year of this, you’ll be over the fear of not knowing—and you’ll have learned a ton!

**MORE "Ask Karen" Tips & Notes here.

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