Layer Up, It's Cold Out There!

This final installment of the holiday favorites comes from the man in shadows, InShadows. He has a propensity towards whites, and this meal seemed to want a white, and there was only one wine we had in common in our cellars. Lucky for me, it was the one I wanted anyway!

Wine: 2007 Wellington Vineyards Marsanne Estate Bottled
Meal: Chicken Enchilada Casserole

Color: (5/5)
Pale lemony yellow, like pure lemon juice. Clear, very nice color.

Nose: (12/15)
Vanilla dominates with soft herbal and floral background. Musty oak barrels, like when you walk into a winery's barrel room, a smell I wish I could bottle up and take home. Pretty nose. Not super complex, but pretty.

Taste: (8/10)
Grapefruit and canteloupe are the first things to hit. There is a slightly sweet taste to this, although I believe it is considered dry. Nice summery fruitiness to it. I was a little worried there would be a lot of oak on the palate given the nose, but it really isn't there. Good acidity, crisp and clean. Slightly hot, though.

Finish: (8/10)
Ah, there's the oak. Very subtle though. A nice vanilla finish that stretches on. There's a touch of minerality in the finish as well, and way on the back end, a little vegetal.

Aging: (2/5)
This wine may not have peaked yet - seems like there's still a little integration that could happen in here. Will probably hold up well for another couple of years.

Overall: (5/5)
I must admit, I liked this more than I thought I would. I absolutely adore the combination of smelling that old-musty-barrels and tasting the fruits together more than I anticipated. Really pretty wine, worthy of the Wellington label.

Total: 90pts

I wanted something with a little sweetness and acidity combined together to go with this cheesy dish. For some reason I thought it was going to be spicier than it is, so I wanted a little sweet to counterbalance. Not sure why I thought the Marsanne was a semi-dry, but it works out pretty well. The heavy cheese is balanced out by the acidity, and the flavors complement each other really nicely.

Want to make this meal?

Chicken Enchilada Casserole

1 can (10 3/4 oz.) cream of chicken soup
1 can (10 oz.) tomatoes with green chilies
1 can (10 oz.) enchilada sauce
3 chicken breasts, cooked (approximately 1 lb.) Pulled or cut into bite size pieces after it has cooled a bit.
1 pkg corn tortillas
long horn* cheese (approximately .82 to 1 lb), grated
1 medium to large onion, chopped

Mix soup, tomatoes and cooked chicken together. Pour a bit of enchilada sauce in a 9" x 13" pan sprayed with Pam. Then a layer of tortillas. Next a layer of chicken soup, breasts and tomatoes with green chilies (about half the mixture). Next a layer of cheese and chopped onions (again, about half). Repeat layers. Top with remainder of enchilada sauce on top. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes.

Please note that it is absolutely critical that you allow this to sit for at least 5 minutes before cutting or you will have goopy mess all over.

*Long horn cheese is mild cheddar, but it has to be firm.

Enjoy!

Chicken a la Sparky

Tonight begins the December special event! This recipe comes to us from MarkDaSpark, affectionately called Sparky. His grandmother used to make this for special events, and the recipe was deciphered by his aunts. When he passed it on to me, we realized there were a few pieces missing. So we figured it out, and here's what happened! The selected wine was chosen from Sparky's cellar. I just happened to have a bottle in my own.

Wine: 2007 Epiphany Grenache Rosé Rodney's Vineyard
Meal: Chicken Fricassee

Color: (5/5)
Salmon pink with good clarity. Seems to have sat on the skins just long enough to impart this beautiful shade.

Nose: (11/15)
Strawberries right off the bat, a touch of citrus and mineral. Grapefruit becomes distinct after a bit.

Taste: (8/10)
Strawberry and raspberry up front with a little creaminess. It has a good rich mouthfeel. Plum follows, turning into Jolly Rancher watermelon. No heat - really easy drinking. Bright, almost crisp, with good acidity.

Finish: (8/10)
Vanilla and cherries, melting away to a little woodiness. Fades away to some green herbs (parsley in particular) then dissipates.

Aging: (2/5)
2 years and holding well, but would recommend drinking sooner rather than later. This is its peak, for sure.

Overall: (4/5)
Really tasty. I'm enjoying this quite a bit. Make sure it gets a good chill before drinking it.

Total: 88pts

The wine really complements this meal by cleansing the palate so that each bite has a nice fresh taste. The recipe yields 4 servings of fall off the bone chicken with enough sauce to drown the noodles. "I remember I used to love drowning the rice or noodles in the sauce," says Sparky. I can see why. I went with egg noodles tonight.

Want to make this meal?

Chicken Fricassee, courtesy of MarkDaSpark
1 fryer, cut in pieces
1 bunch chopped parsley
1 white onion
2 small cloves of garlic
1 cup white wine (your choice, I used leftover Muller-Thurgau)
1 can button mushrooms, drained
1 can pitted kalamata olives, drained
2 bay leaves, whole
1 can chicken broth, 14oz
1/2 stick butter, divided

Chop parsley and garlic together finely. Chop onion separately and brown in 2 Tbsp butter until golden in color, then add parsley and garlic with a shot of olive oil for moisture. Cook together for 5 minutes.

Sauté chicken pieces in 2 Tbsp butter over medium-high heat until the skin is golden brown. Transfer chicken and liquid into a dutch oven or a 4-qt stock pot and deglaze pan with chicken broth. Add parsley mixture and bay leaves to chicken, cover and simmer for 30 minutes.

Add broth, mushrooms, olives and wine to the stock pot, simmering for 10 minutes or so. Serve over a bed of steamed rice/noodles. It doesn't hurt to simmer longer.

Enjoy!

A Rose By Any Other Name...

Wine: 2007 Super Hero Wines One Last Kiss Grenache Rose
Meal: Salsa Butter Chicken with Spinach Macaroni

Tasting notes on the wine:

Color: 5/5
Really pale pink. Just a hint of a red tint to it. Really pretty.

Nose: 11/15
A little difficult to pull out distinctive scents. A little on the generic side. Citrus with a touch of strawberry. Some orange peel and watermelon.

Taste: 8/10
Smooth vanilla, with cherry as the predominant fruit. Honeydew and pineapple follow with a faint bit of lemon. There's some herbaceousness to it as well. Excellent acidity with good balance.

Finish: 7/10
The cherry carries through to the finish, along with watermelon. Clean and enjoyable, mid-length.

Aging: 1/5
If you have it, drink it now. Doesn't seem like it was made to age (as most roses are not). It's ready to go, but it's probably peaking right now.

Overall: 4/5
Solid effort. Fun to drink. Good rose, especially for the price.

Total: 86 pts

Super Hero Wine Company is owned by winemaker Scott Harvey, who produces wine under this label along with "Scott Harvey" and a label named for his wife, "Jana Winery". I've had the privilege to meet this man, and he is just amazing to talk with. This particular wine is identical to the Jana Winery Grenache Rose, so if you have that one, consider the tasting notes and recommendations to be exactly the same.

I was very pleasantly surprised by how well the meal went with the wine. I think that the pairing could have benefited by a rose where the grapes were left on the skins a little longer, but this worked quite well.

Want to make this meal?

Salsa Butter Chicken

4 Tbsp butter, melted
1/4 cup milk
15oz jar mild salsa, drained w/liquid reserved
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp fennel seeds
1/4 tsp prepared horseradish
1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbsp fresh chopped parsley
2 chicken breast halves
1 sprig rosemary

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Combine butter, milk, salsa solids, cumin, cinnamon, ginger, fennel seeds, horseradish, Worcestershire and parsley with 1/2 cup of the reserved salsa liquid. Microwave on high for 30 seconds, and then blend with a stick blender until smooth.

Spray 8x8 baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. Dip chicken into remaining salsa liquid and place in dish. Discard remaining salsa liquid. Cover the chicken with the salsa and spice blend. Place 1/2 sprig of rosemary on each chicken breast half, and bake for 1 hour.

Spinach Macaroni
Prepare your favorite boxed macaroni and cheese shells according to package directions, along with a box of frozen spinach. When both have been cooked, combine in a bowl.

Another Strange Wine

I received a sample of Ile de France Brie. Tonight's dinner incorporated this lovely cheese, and I had some leftover for dessert. I pulled out another unusual Italian wine to go with dinner. It paired beautifully with the meal and the cheese, but I don't think I'd drink this one alone. Grapes involved: Fiano and Greco.

The brie is lovely (I said that already, didn't I) - exactly what you would expect of a brie. Slightly bitter rind, creamy texture, excellent meltability. A lot of brie, I tend to discard the rind because it's too bitter. This one is just right and the flavor of the rind actually enhances the cheese itself. And it goes beautifully with the wine.


Wine: 2006 A Mano Fiano - Greco Puglia IGT
Meal: Brie-baked Chicken with pasta

Tasting notes on the wine:
Color: 5/5
Pale honey, almost straw-like. Fantastic clarity.

Nose: 11/15
Minerally, with a hint of honeysuckle and vanilla. Nice, but not complex.

Taste: 7/10
No heat, really smooth. Crisp, with good acidity. Melon and pear notes dominating. Again, very simple, but nice.

Finish: 6/10
Smooth finish, again minerally and clean. Apples show themselves here, but once again, no complexity to speak of.

Aging: 2/5
Will possibly hold up another year, but I wouldn't risk it. Drink it now if you've got it.

Overall: 3/5
I'm neutral about this one. It's nice. I don't know that I'd buy it again. Decent wine.

Total: 84pts

Hey, it's all about the experience, right? I couldn't pass up the chance to try two unusual grapes.

Want to make this meal?
2 chicken breast halves
1 cup wine
4 oz brie, sliced about 1/4" thick, rind on
salt & pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400. Season chicken with salt and pepper, and place in 8x8 dish. Pour in the wine and bake for 35 minutes. Pull out the dish and top chicken with cheese, then return to oven for 3 to 5 minutes, until the cheese has melted.

The pasta dish was just a pre-packaged pasta dish with sundried tomatoes.

Enjoy!

Usual Dinner, Unusual Wine

Being lazy tonight and having ended up going out for lunch during the day, I ended up making the lunch I had brought to work, dinner. Spruced up a little. It was a very simple baked chicken Lean Cuisine. I plated it and drizzled a little balsamic vinegar over the chicken and added a side of cheesy broccoli, and went for the most unusual bottle of wine that I could think of in my cellar, to give dinner a special twist.

Wine: 2005 Airlie Winery Müller-Thurgau Estate
Meal: Lean Cuisine Baked Chicken with cornbread stuffing, mashed potatoes, and cheesy broccoli

Tasting notes on the wine:

Color: 5/5
Very pale yellow, almost clear. Perfect clarity, with just the slightest bit of a clear meniscus.

Nose: 12/15
Complex nose, combining elements of herbal greens and minerals, with a touch of floral. Very much like a Gewurtztraminer or a Riesling. The herbal component comes out in the form of fresh cut grass after a spring rain, and the mineral component reminds me of well water. Lavender is the chief floral scent.

Taste: 8/10
Tart and acidic on the attack, mellowing out to fresh, crisp, bright fruit on the mid-palate. There are tones of citrus and apple with a shock of pear. There's a little bit of a bite to it - not alcohol heat... I can't quite describe it, might just be the tartness causing me to pucker my cheeks a little. If summer had a taste, this would be it. The balance is really nice on this - even though this wine is semi-sweet with a residual sugar of 2%, there's enough acidity to round it out.

Finish: 7/10
A good finish on this one - the flavors linger for quite a while. There's a lot of granny smith apple, very prominent, with ginger ale. The feel is a little oily, but it's smooth and clean.

Aging: 3/5
From what I can find of the little there is out there about the Müller-Thurgau grape, it's not meant to age much. I think no one has given this grape a chance to. Clearly it's still holding up strong 4 years after the vintage, and I don't sense any deterioration going on. Perhaps this is a white that requires a little time in the bottle to fully develop into what this wine has obviously become, and I think it will continue to age for at least a few more years. Not too shabby for what seems to be the "reject" grape of Germany.

Overall: 4/5
I had no idea what to expect going into this wine, and I've got to say, I'm pretty impressed by it. It came from a bin end, let's-get-rid-of-it sale, and it was a grape I'd never heard of before so I thought to give it a shot. I'm really glad I did. I don't generally go for sweet wines, so it's really nice that the acidity of this balances out the sweetness and makes it just enjoyable. It's well crafted, and a good solid effort. With only 10% ABV, it's pretty easy to sit and sip on this one. If you're into Rieslings, you'll probably really like this one. Go find it and try it out!

Total: 89pts

This is somewhat of an elegant offering - pair this with elegant meals. The mashed potatoes and cornbread stuffing were a little heavy with it, but the chicken tenderloins and broccoli were perfect. This would go really well with seafood as well, and salads with a light dressing on it. This would also make a lovely brunch wine, seated outside with the sun shining, a light breeze blowing, good friends and fabulous brunch food!

Enjoy!

Wings for the Superbowl

In honor of the Superbowl, I decided to make some wings tonight. After all, that's the only real reason to watch, right? An excuse for wings! I'm finishing off the bottle of de Bortoli Petite Sirah tonight with them, so you can check out the rating on that from the previous post. It's holding up really well and works quite nicely with the wings.

About halfway through cooking the wings, I realized I had forgotten to get bleu cheese dressing for them - so I improvised! Glad I did, too. So here's the lovelies:

Want to make this meal?

Teriyaki Wings with Guacamole-Hummus Dip
For wings:
1 dozen chicken wings, tips cut off and split into drummettes and wings
2 tsp granulated garlic
2 tsp paprika
1 tsp salt
1/2 stick butter
4 Tbsp worcestershire sauce
2 Tbsp teriyaki sauce
1 Tbsp white wine vinegar
1 tsp cayenne pepper

Combine garlic, salt, and paprika. Toss wings and drummettes with the salt mixture, cover, and marinate for an hour.

Heat deep fryer to 375. Deep-fry wings until golden brown - about 7 minutes. Remove and drain.

In a saucepan, melt butter over medium heat, then stir in remaining ingredients and mix well. Remove from heat. Toss wings with the sauce until thoroughly coated.

For dip:
Combine equal parts of your favorite hummus and guacamole until completely combined. Simple as that!

Serve with celery.

Enjoy!

Malbec, Take 2

Wine: 2006 Bodega Catena Zapata Malbec Alamos Selección
Meal: Pan-fried Panko Breaded Chicken with broccolini

Not much difference in the flavor of the wine today, after 5 days in the fridge. Still quite good, and I stand by my previous notes and scoring. The only real noticeable change is that I'm now getting black cherry flavor coming through on the palate and the finish, and the tannins are completely calmed down at this point. It's much easier to drink by itself this time.

So without further ado, the recipe!

Pan-fried Panko Breaded Chicken
1/2 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast
1/4 cup panko
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cumin
1 Tbsp paprika
2 tsp dried sage
1 egg
1 tsp milk
1 tsp water
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp unsalted butter

In a shallow dish, combine panko, salt, cumin, paprika, and sage. In a small bowl, combine egg, milk, and water.

Using a meat mallet, pound out the chicken until it is approximately 1/4" thick throughout. Dip the chicken in the egg mixture, then into the panko mixture, tossing to coat.

Heat oil and butter in a skillet until the butter has melted and begins to smell nutty. Place breaded chicken in skillet, and cook for about 6 minutes on each side, or until the chicken has cooked through.

I cooked up the broccolini in a similar method to the previous veggies (garlic and olive oil), except that that I simply placed the broccolini in the pan and then covered it, and let it cook until tender-crisp.

Enjoy!

Leftover Luck

No picture tonight, sorry folks. Didn't plan on posting this one. However, I realize that I'm not the only unlucky soul out there that's unable to finish up a bottle of wine in a single night (let alone TWO), and so it might be of interest to post about how a wine is holding up two or three nights later in the fridge.

The Havens Albariño has been in the fridge now for three nights. This morning I looked in my fridge and saw I had a half dozen chicken wings that had been thawed for a couple days, and knew it had to be cooked up. So I pulled out the crock pot, placed them in there, poured in about a cup of my many-weeks-old leftover 2006 Mandolina Pinot Grigio, and about a cup and a half of leftover marinara sauce. Topped it off with a few sprigs of parsley, put it on low for 10 hours and tottered off to work.

When I got home, the smell was just incredible - this chicken was ready to go. I originally thought about putting it over angel hair pasta, but it turned out I ran out of that. So I just ate them as-is, with a freshly poured glass of the well-chilled Albariño. Let me tell you, not only has it held up, but I feel it is much better tonight than it was on Monday.

The limey-lemonade flavor is still there, but it's much subdued. There's a greater complexity of flavor to it, and one thing I pulled out was this raw snack-tray vegetables flavor. Like cauliflower, broccoli, and carrots, raw. Take a bite of each, and that's the flavor you get. The nose has improved as well, now bringing with it cantaloupe and honeydew. There's also a touch of new-leather scent, but the citrus scent is still predominant.

I think now, after being opened for a few days and being well chilled, this one bumps up to an 89-90 point wine for me. Chill this wine. It deserves to be well chilled.

On a side note, I mentioned I had the 2006 Mandolina Pinot Grigio leftover in my fridge for many weeks. I honestly don't remember when I opened it, but it may have been close to a month ago now. This one is a white that I know and trust, and don't mind sipping at it slowly and working on other bottles while it just sits there. It holds strong in the fridge for weeks, fantastically. It's still drinkable, although it's declining and is better for cooking with at this point.

Twofer For You!

There's a little bit of Spain in the air tonight. I was originally going for just something for the Altos de Luzón, but while I was making the dish, it dawned on me that maybe a white would be called for instead. So I figured why not try both and see which goes better!

Wine: 2005 Finca Luzón Jumilla Altos de Luzón and 2005 Havens Wine Cellars Albariño
Meal: Spanish Paella

Tasting notes on the wines:

Altos de Luzón
Color: 5/5
Rich, dark berry. Clear to about 1/8" from the rim.

Nose: 13/15
Complex nose, and yet the individual scents each present themselves clearly. Spices, particularly cloves, with dark berries like mulberry and black raspberry, a little bit of tobacco, and after letting the initial touch of heat blow off, a noseful of bacon fat.

Flavor: 10/10
I may be a bit biased, but this is one of my favorite wines. Velvet smooth. Chocolate is the first thing to hit the palate, like a dark Belgian chocolate. Following on the mid-palate are plums and dark berries, with delicious raisinettes. There are beautiful tannins nicely balanced in, soft and chewy, but they definitely make their presence known. The best part about this is that you can pop and pour with little to no decanting. Perhaps a little aeration in the glass, but not much. Nice, big, leathery mouthfeel to it.

Finish: 8/10
The raisinettes carry through the finish ending with a gentle mocha flavoring, which lasts a decent 30 seconds or so.

Aging: 3/5
Plenty of fruit in this one, and it's very well balanced. Should last for quite a while in the cellar, if you can resist drinking it that long. Drink now through 2012.

Overall: 5/5
What can I say? From the very first time I tried this wine, it became a favorite of mine. I just absolutely love it. This wine drinks really well either on its own or paired with food. The chocolatey characteristics lend well to drinking it after dinner, almost as a dessert, although I would not call this a sweet wine.

Total: 95pts

Havens Albariño
Color: 5/5
Pale straw colored, clear to about 1/8" from the rim. There's some small bubbles lining the side of the glass, not sure where they came from.

Nose: 12/15
Fairly simple nose to this one - tangerines are the first thing that spring to mind, followed by watermelon and lemon. Very citrusy.

Flavor: 7/10
Not as big a fan of this, although it's still quite tasty. It reminds me very much of a limey-lemonade. Tart, and lime, lots of lime. It's like drinking an almost-flat 7-Up with its characteristic lemon-lime flavor. It's a little rough around the edges. Very summery, for sure. Would probably work really well for making some wine-based cocktails from. This may not have had enough time to properly chill before I tried it, so it might benefit from a little more time in the chill chamber before being poured.

Finish: 6/10
Short. Very short finish, almost non-existent. A little on the bitey side. Still with the lemon-lime, maybe a touch of fennel on the very back end of it.

Aging: 2/5
Drink now through 2010. Might not last much beyond that. Not a whole lot there to hold it up.

Overall: 4/5
It's a nice wine, really, if a little one-dimensional. If anything screamed for shellfish, this would be the one. Not spectacular, but not bad.

Total: 86pts

The paella consisted of four different proteins mixed in with the rice. Chicken, chorizo, mussels, and shrimp. It's precisely because of this mixed meat approach that made it so difficult to choose one wine over the other to pair with this. The chicken and shellfish called out white to me, but that chorizo with it's spicy kick just said, "I need a red with a little bit of structure to it." I'm glad I ended up going with both of these wines. They both pair equally well with it and bring complements to the dish that really ought to be experienced.

The rice turned the Havens a little on the sharp and acidic side, which I found to be quite nice. Didn't really do much for the Altos, my notes simply say "nice". The sausage, with its lovely spices, overpowered the white, while the red very nicely cut the heat of it. It also brought out the chocolate flavor even more of the Altos, and brought a new bacon flavor to it. Both the shrimp and mussels had the same effect - overpowered by the red, but the Havens became like a butter dipping sauce for them. That lemon-lime flavor of it really cut the "sea" flavor from the mussels and turned it into something beautiful. This is one of those dishes that you can just pick your favorite wine, red or white, and you shouldn't be disappointed. I ended up, unsurprisingly, going for the Altos to finish my meal.

Want to make this meal?

Spanish Paella
This is a one-pan dish, but you MUST have a large enough skillet for it! I recommend going out and getting a 16" skillet with a good-fitting lid, if you can't find an actual paella pan. Yes, they make special pans just for paella. Mine was only 14" and, well, let's just say I have a good bit of cleaning to do on the stove from overflow.

1/2 cup olive oil
4 chicken thighs, bone-in, skin removed
1 small white onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 teaspoon salt
a pinch saffron threads
1 (14 ounce) can diced tomatoes, with juice
1/2 cup peas (frozen is fine)
3 cups long grain rice
14oz can chicken broth
4 cups chicken stock
8-10 mussels
12-15 medium shrimp, peeled
1 lb chorizo, sliced into rounds
handful of fresh parsley, finely chopped
1 tsp smoked paprika
2 bay leaves
1 tsp ground cayenne
1 tsp dried sage
6 wedges lemon

Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat until it begins to smoke. Place chicken thighs into oil and sear until golden brown on both sides. Remove and set aside.

Stir in onion and garlic, and cook until the onion has softened and turned translucent, about 1 minute. Add bell peppers and cook for 2 minutes more.

Stir in salt, paprika, cayenne, sage, saffron, tomatoes, peas, rice, stock and broth until well combined. Add bay leaves. Return chicken to the pan, add chorizo, and simmer uncovered for 15 minutes over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally.

Scatter the shrimp over the top, and press the mussels into the rice. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for 12 minutes. Add parsley to the top, and simmer for an additional 3 minutes. Garnish with lemon wedges.

Serves 4-6.

Enjoy!

Twisted Oak Viogner and BBQ Chicken

So tonight's lovely pairing is this:

Wine: Twisted Oak 2006 Calaveras County Viognier

Meal: Chicken Bundles with grilled baby potatoes and steamed sugar snap peas

Tasting notes on the wine:

Color: 5/5
Clear liquid gold. Perfectly clear at the edges.

Nose: 10/15
Subdued - I really had to concentrate to be able to pull out the individual scents. Honey predominantly, with notes of melon and apricot.

Flavor: 8/10
Silky smooth. It's a little oily on its own, but bring food into the picture and that goes away. No heat on this one. The nose carries through to the palate with apricot, and adds on some peach and honeydew. Add in a bite of the chicken, and it pulls out grapefruit and mango, and a hint of vanilla. Bright but I wouldn't necessarily call it crisp.

Finish: 7/10
Lasts about 10-15 seconds with touch of oak. You get a little bit of a bite at the back of the throat, and the apricot is back. Have some potato or peas first and you'll also get some toasted sesame seed.

Aging: 2/5
I don't think this one will last for a super long time in the cellar, but should last at least another couple of years. Drink through 2010.

Overall: 4/5
I've had better stuff, but this is very nice. The cork broke while I was opening it, so that may have played a role. Not a super complex wine, but it's an easy drinker. Drinks pretty well on its own, but is much better with the food.

Total: 86pts

The BBQ sauce on the chicken was made to be a little bit on the spicy side, and the wine really cut that nicely. I could see having this with plenty of spicy Asian dishes, particularly Thai or a spicy Indian curry.

Want to make this meal?

Chicken Bundles
These are a childhood favorite of mine that my dad used to make all the time.

If you can't find a spicy BBQ sauce, you can make your own very simply by mixing together:
2 Tbsp sweet BBQ sauce
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp chili powder

For each serving:
5oz boneless skinless chicken breast
2 slices bacon
1oz cheddar cheese, cubed
2 Tbsp spicy BBQ sauce

Soak 2 bamboo skewers in water for approximately half an hour, or use metal skewers.

Using a meat mallet, pound the chicken breast until it is evenly 1/4" thick all around. Try not to pound all the way through the meat and tear it - easiest way to keep it safe is to lay it between two pieces of plastic wrap to pound.

Place the cheese cubes in the middle of the chicken, and wrap the chicken around it. Wrap the bacon slices around the chicken in a cross. Skewer the chicken, one skewer in each direction following the lines of the bacon.

Grill over medium-high heat for about 10 minutes, then flip and grill for another 5 minutes. Brush the BBQ sauce on each side of the chicken and grill for an additional 5 minutes, or until the internal temperature of the chicken is 180 degrees and the BBQ sauce has set.

Serve with grilled baby potatoes that have been skewered and placed on the grill for the duration of the chicken (turned at the same time as the chicken), and steamed sugar snap peas.

Enjoy!