My 1986 bottle of J. Pedroncelli Cabernet Sauvignon

A few evenings ago, it finally occurred to me...why am I waiting for a special occasion to enjoy a fine wine?  Isn't life special enough to live every day to the fullest?  This bottle of wine had traveled with me from the various apartments and houses that I've lived in, for probably close to 10 years now, if not more.  Tonight was going to be "it's" night, my 1986 bottle of J. Pedroncelli Cabernet Sauvignon.  I know what pushed me in this direction - I was out of wine.  This was the only bottle of red wine that I had, and I wanted some.  I also wanted to add a splash to a chicken dish I was cooking.  I can see you wincing, but honestly, it was just a splash, and I'm a firm believer of never cooking with a wine you wouldn't drink. 


I opened the bottle, the cork started to crumble, and I thought for a minute that it might have turned.  I mean, why wouldn't it have!  This fine vintage has been housed in completely different ends of the temperature spectrum, exposed to light every day (I know, more wincing), and probably hasn't been laying to rest at the appropriate angle for all of these years.  I gently wiggled out the cork and took a whiff of probably the smoothest wine aroma I had ever inhaled.  My anticipation was growing, so I poured a small glass and sipped.  Ahhhhh....my nose was happy, my mouth was happy, and I was happy.  I immediately had to share a sip with Mark, but I honestly thought it would end there.  As most of you may know, Mark is an avid craft beer drinker. He definitely has the palate to appreciate a good bottle of wine, but normally only sticks to a couple of sips here and there.  I didn't expect he would be hooked.  He was already in "beer mode", having had a Karl Strauss Fullsuit Belgian-style Brown Ale, so I never expected what would come next.

Mark was so overwhelmed by the smoothness of this full-bodied cabernet, that he asked for his own glass.  It didn't stop there either.  His enjoyment continued on until we finished the bottle together. For dinner that night, I made a simple tomato sauce and simmered drumsticks in the sauce as it cooked down to a thicker ragu.  No pun on the word, but I did honestly use Ragu brand pasta sauce.  I had a jar of Ragu chunky tomato garlic and onion sauce, so I doctored it up with more onions, Italian seasoning and a splash of...yes...1986 J. Pedroncelli Cabernet.  The flavor turned out absolutely amazing, I served it over pasta, and everyone at it up, including the kids.


I'm so glad tonight was "it's" night.  I'm glad I didn't wait for one of those over-rated special occasions.  I couldn't have been happier enjoying the bottle with my man, eating dinner with my family, and appreciating life to it's fullest.  Hopefully I don't have to spend $100+ each time I want to have Mark partake in a bottle of wine with me, but this evening was delightful.

Let's make it a combo - Valentine's Day and Chinese New Year

Valentine's Day and Chinese New Year on the same day is quite exciting to me!  It made for an easy and fun decision on what to cook for dinner.  I really don't cook much Chinese food at all, so I went with some simple basics - Five Spice Grilled Chicken and Salt and Pepper Shrimp - from Sam the Cooking Guy.  I've mentioned Sam before in a previous post, but again I must say, he has a special place in my heart and with a little luck, maybe I'll get to meet him one day since he lives in San Diego.  He quit a job at a drug development company to pursue a passion (which originally started out as travel and not cooking) and has now become a national celebrity with 11 Emmys, a television show, and a cookbook!  Best of all, he is still a regular guy and has simple recipes that anyone can cook.  

There were only two of us, but when I think of Chinese food, I normally think of more than one dish to share.  The first one I attempted was the Five Spice Grilled Chicken.  

This was an incredibly easy marinade (soy sauce, Chinese five spice seasoning, and brown sugar) that I made up the night before so the thighs could have a good 24 hours to absorb the flavor.  They browned up beautifully on the grill and then were completed with a shower of diced green onions.  I love fresh green onions.  They add such a brightness and contrast to most dishes.  The chicken was extremely flavorful with the traditional Chinese five spice aroma, combined with the slight crunch of the fresh green onions. 

After the chicken came off the grill, I immediately started the Salt and Pepper Shrimp.  These take just minutes to cook, so I knew the chicken would still be plenty warm when it was time to eat.  

I readied everything ahead of time - garlic, ginger, green onions, and salt and pepper - so that all I had to to was toss it into the smoking skillet.  

Once the peanut oil was steaming, I threw everything in, including the shrimp.  The shrimp and seasonings stir fried for about 3 minutes, until the shrimp took on their pink, Valentine's day hue and curled gently into themselves.  The last touch is to sprinkle them with salt and pepper and stir fry until well coated.  These morsels were juicy, bright, and fun to eat.  The shells and tails are left on, so it's a messy meal of peel and eat shrimp. 

For dessert, I let the true meaning of Valentine's Day shine.  No Chinese dessert here...just a wonderfully rich and simple chocolate cake, courtesy of a fellow San Diego blogger.  Thanks, Pierre - it was decadent!

 I hope everyone had a great Valentine's day and Happy Year of the Tiger!

White Wine Coq au Vin

I'm having an internal struggle with coq au vin.  Previously, I posted the Easiest, best-tasting Coq au Vin ever, made with red wine, with the thought that I would eventually try a white wine coq au vin. Due to my love of red wine, I was fairly certain that I would prefer the red wine version.  Now, I just can't decide.  I've come to the resolution that it is okay to love both!  Different from the deep mushroom flavor of the red wine coq au vin, this white wine version got it's flavor boost from a few star spices, namely Herbs de Provence and fresh tarragon.  Also, instead of the mushroom, carrot, and Canadian bacon combination, it was lightened up with celery, carrots, and onions (and a little bit of bacon).

Before going onto the recipe, I want to share with you my love of Herbs de Provence.   It is a mixture traditionally made with thyme, savory, fennel, basil, and lavender that was invented in the 1970's.  There are recipes out there to make it yourself, but I've never ventured down that path.  Even though the predominant spice in the mixture is normally thyme, it is the subtle lavender flavor that leaves me wanting more.  I love this spice medley so much that my favorite way to enjoy it is simply stirred into cottage cheese. I encourage you to try this - it is wonderful!  Speaking of wonderful, this White Wine Coq au Vin  from Sunset Magazine is just that.  It is hearty, but light at the same time.  After cooking up a few slices of bacon, the flour and Herbs de Provence dusted chicken pieces are browned in the bacon fat.  The vegetables cook again in the same pan and then all is added back, along with the white wine and chicken broth as the liquid.  Once everything has simmered together, freshly chopped parsley and tarragon are the final touch.  I took their suggestion and served it with french bread slices which I would say is a must to sop up the flavorful sauce.  If you try both versions - red and white - please let me know which you like better!

Avocado Soup with Chicken and Lime

Ode to the avocado.  When I was young, I couldn't stand avocados (much like my son now) and my parents were thrilled since that meant more for them!  Now, I can't understand why anyone wouldn't love and appreciate this luscious, and healthy, fruit.  There are so many ways to cut an avocado and some people probably change their way depending on how its going to be served.  For perfect slices, I have found my method.  After cutting the avocado in half and removing the seed, gently run a sharp knife along the outside skin lengthwise, basically cutting the skin in half.  The skin will easily pull off in 2 pieces, as long as the avocado is ripe.  As for removing the seed, I've been told I do it dangerously, but I'll share anyway - it's the "stick the tip of the knife into the seed and twist" method.  I find it works quite well, but I've heard it's an easy way to stab yourself. The fate of this particular avocado was to become Avocado Soup with Chicken and Lime. 

 

This is the amount of peppers the recipe calls for - 4 jalapeno peppers.  Let me tell you, that makes for one spicy soup.  The flavors in this soup are wonderful, but were definitely overpowered by the peppers.  I do like spicy, but this was way too much for me.  I would recommend using only 1 or maybe 2 peppers and also removing the seeds.  The flavor base for this soup starts with sauteing garlic, onions, and the peppers in olive oil until they are lightly browned.  

Next you add chicken, chicken broth, lime juice, and diced tomatoes, simmering until the chicken is cooked.  After adding salt and pepper to your liking, the recipe calls for stirring in the avocado and cilantro.  We ended up having leftovers and I wish I hadn't put the avocado and cilantro in the soup since it didn't hold up so well when reheating the next day.  I definitely recommend to put the avocado and cilantro in the bowls first and then pour the soup over.  Also, since it was so spicy, we ended up adding a dollop of sour cream to our bowls.  The finishing touch is to top it off with crunchy tortilla strips that you've baked in the oven.  Aside from using too many peppers, this soup was divine.  I ended up adding more chicken broth to dilute the soup, and the leftovers were just as wonderful.  If you like Mexican soup, you are sure to love this.  Oh, and in addition to the taste, the colors were the perfect red and green for this time of year. 

Easiest, best-tasting Coq au Vin ever!

This is by far, the easiest Coq au Vin!  I always have a stash of boneless, skinless chicken thighs in the freezer since I load up when going to Costco.  I'm not a huge fan of white meat, but give me a thigh or a drumstick any day, and I'll be happy.

So, as I was cooking this meal, Ryan asked me what we were having and I proudly said in my terrible french accent, "Coq au Vin!".  Obviously, he proceeded to say "What?", so I was able to give him a quick french lesson, but it made me wanting more.  I looked up the history and meaning of coq au vin and found what I was looking for.  Check out this fascinating food timeline!  Translated literally, it means cock with wine.  Farmers would keep the cocks around as long as they were good breeders, which made them very old when their time was up. Cock was considered peasant food, due to the meat being extremely tough, so they had to cook it for long hours in wine or broth, just to make it edible.

Another interesting fact is that some food connoisseurs prefer to use white wine to braise with, instead of red.  The thought being that the white wine compliments the chicken without overpowering it.  I may just have to try that next!

A quick interlude about this recipe and then back to some coq au vin history.  I'm not sure how I came about this handy tip, but I wanted to share it.

This recipe calls for 1 TBL of tomato paste, like plenty of other recipes I've done in the past.  Who wants to open a new can of tomato paste for just 1 TBL?  Instead of throwing the rest of the can away, you scoop out the rest in individual tablespoons, place on a small square of wax paper, wrap up and store in the freezer.  Every time I pull one of these tomato packets out of the freezer, I feel so great for not being wasteful!

The most exciting discovery on my quest for coq au vin history was the a la carte website.  The drawings are exquisite and the passionate nature of the author is incredible. He flat out calls himself obsessive and at the current moment, is obsessed with French cookery.  After all this talk about coq, I will leave you to enjoy a few jokes around coq au vin's sexual connotation, courtesy of a la carte.