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!

Surf 'n Turf

It's surf. It's turf. And they're complete opposites for pairing. So the challenge tonight was to find one wine that would appropriately pair with both the surf of lobster and the turf of NY strip steak. Seafood is traditionally paired with a white. Steak, traditionally, with a red. My immediate thought: Find a dark rose as a compromise. So I went searching through the cellar and came up with this - and it worked just as I had hoped.

Wine: 2007 Quinta da Alorna Vinho Regional Ribatejano (Rose of Touriga Nacional)
Meal: Surf 'n Turf

Color: 5/5
Deep pink, like the flesh of wild-caught Alaskan salmon

Nose: 14/15
Lovely nose of rose hips, tangerine, thyme, mint, fresh herbs and florals. A little sweet, a little tangy.

Taste: 8/10
Summery berries - raspberries, strawberries, mulberries, with earthy undertones, and just a touch of tannin. A wee bit thin on the mid-palate, but otherwise a nicely structured wine.

Finish: 7/10
A little plain - a touch of oak, perhaps like vanilla creme. Short. Pleasant, but not a whole lot there.

Aging: 2/5 - drink now - 2011

Overall: 4/5
I like this wine a lot. I first tried this one at a local wine store with a number of friends. We all walked out with a bottle or two each.

Total: 90pts

How did the pairing go? Really well. Heavy enough that the steak doesn't overpower it, light enough that it doesn't overpower the lobster. Very nice! Definitely the kind of wine you'll want when you have mixed fare like this.

Want to make this meal?

Boiled Maine Lobster

Fill a large stockpot with water and set it to boil. This may take a while. You want a good roiling boil. Pour in a few teaspoons of Old Bay seasoning. When the pot has come to a full boil, drop the lobster in head first, and let it boil for 10-13 minutes (the bigger the lobster, the longer it should cook). Afterwards, pull it out, crack the carapace and allow any liquid to drain out.

NY Strip Steak
No big surprise here - fire up the grill and toss on the steak, and cook to your tastes.

Pile it up on a plate with your favorite veggies, and enjoy! And look who found her camera!

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.