What I'm Drinking: Ognissole Primitivo di Manduria 2008

I'm just realizing as I write this that, thinking about my current short list of go-to wines, I guess I have been on a bit of an Italian and Italian-inspired wine kick.  The situation promises only to worsen (improve?) with our scheduled trip to Italy and France in June, which includes a couple of days in (swoon) Barolo.  Stay tuned for more info on that...

In the meantime, I will continue to keep stocking my wine rack with bottles of delicious wine from all over Italy, including this Pugliese red from Feudi di San Gregorio.  The Ognissole Primitivo di Manduria tends to be a crowd-pleaser, a wine that gets great reviews pretty much wherever I take it, and about which I've received the "Where did you get this wine?" text more than once post-gifting.  Given that, it's not surprising that the neighborhood wine shop can't keep it on the shelf - my friends aren't the only ones who find it irresistible!

Primitivo is a close relative of Zinfandel, and Zinfandel fans will be especially happy with this wine.  The style is surprisingly new world - this wine packs a punch in the areas of fruit flavor and % abv - but maintains enough acidity and secondary flavor to stay interesting.  The color is on the border of ruby and garnet, and is on the lighter side of medium in intensity (more pinot noir than cabernet).  Not surprisingly, some slow-moving legs form on the glass with a swirl or two of the wine.

On the nose, this wine is all about fruit.  Red cherry, raspberry, jammy strawberry, dried cranberry, and red currant are all apparent.  Beyond the fruit, there is also a hit of baking spice (cinnamon and clove), a little bit of mineral earth, and a slightly medicinal character.  Alcohol is definitely apparent on the nose as well.

Though the fruit character might suggest otherwise to some, this wine is definitely dry, with good acid, tannins on the lower side, and a healthy dose of alcohol.  It all adds up to a juicy medium-bodied wine with a solid medium finish.  The palate is relatively true to the nose, with lots of red fruit and a slight medicinal quality in the background, but black currant and a hint of savory animal characteristic are also present to keep things interesting.

Overall, this easy-drinking wine hovers around $20 retail, and is a great pick for a Friday night gathering around some thin crust pizzas, fresh out of the brick oven!

Semolina Pancakes

I can't make any promises, but these semolina pancakes just might impress your friends.  Thin, delicate, and lacy, they are more like a semolina crepe than your average buttermilk pancake stack and are absolutely beautiful on the plate.  And of course, they are delicious.  Eaten as a breakfast food (or breakfast for dinner), the sweetness of a little honey or preserves is the perfect contrast to the savory pancake.  Or, you can do what I did for a dinner party last year, and use them as a wrap for a savory filling, such as chopped grilled chicken or portobello, asparagus, and a soft cheese like taleggio.

A few notes:

Because I have a tiny food processor, I halve this recipe when I make it (Note that I do not recommend the tiny food processor as one's sole food processing device, and if it weren't for my already space-starved kitchen situation, I would have eliminated this challenge some time ago with a larger model).  The important point about this is that though some of the quantities are a bit tricky to halve and, depending upon your collection of measuring devices, may require some estimation, I have never had a problem getting good results.  I usually get about 8 medium sized crepes with this method.  Another thing that I have found is that the results are better if the pan is only oiled every third crepe or so.  The first crepe after oiling is sometimes a little more greasy and less evenly shaped, so plan to set those aside if you want perfect results for guests.  Lastly, this recipe does not take much time, but it does take a little bit of planning.  Don't miss the part about the 1 hour rise time between making the batter and cooking the pancakes when you are planning for your dinner!

You can find Paula Wolfert's Food & Wine recipe for Semolina Pancakes here.

What I'm Drinking: Brezza Dolcetto d'Alba San Lorenzo 2009

Drinking this wine right now is just a tiny bit of wishful thinking.  I was pleasantly surprised when I stopped by my local wine shop a couple of weeks ago and found a familiar face - importer Joe Miretti - pouring a few of his Italian gems.  As usual, he had some great stuff with him, including a few reds that might have been a little more appropriate for the wintery weather.  But when I tasted the 2009 Dolcetto d'Alba San Lorenzo, I just couldn't resist taking a bottle home.  And once it was home, I just couldn't resist opening it...even if I might generally think of it as something I would save for the warmer season that we are all already longing for.

This is a delicious wine, and the 2009 is a delicious vintage.   It is a beautiful, clear ruby color with slight touches of purple in the glass.  On the nose, it is definitely fruit-forward, with aromas of predominantly red fruit - cherry, red currant, red raspberry, and strawberry.  It is certainly not an overly simplistic wine, though.  There are mineral undertones and something a bit earthy and ever so slightly woodsy about it that adds depth to the nose.

On the palate, the wine is light bodied and dry, with low tannins and a healthy acidity.  As expected, the flavors are red fruit dominate - strawberry, cherry, and cranberry, with a slightly metallic and stony finish.  The wine has a solid medium length and is not overly simple, but also not too complex.  This is a light, fun, good quality wine that is versatile and also a great value.  Keep it in your cellar for casual dinners with family or friends.

Chicken Stock

So.  I promised that we would get back to talking about stock, and about chicken stock in particular.  But before you give up on the discussion because you don't think that you could possibly ever have the time (or energy, or talent, or whatever) to make your own stock, consider hearing me out.  Here's the big secret about stock - People tend to be really impressed when you tell them that you make your own stock.  Strangely, I tend to be really impressed when my friends tell me that they've started a recipe by making the stock from scratch.  But the thing is, I don't know why!  Making a basic chicken stock is really one of the easiest things you can do.  Yes, you need several hours to ignore a pot on the stove, but other than that, we're talking about 15 minutes at the beginning and maybe 15 minutes at the end.  And if you are roasting whole chickens (which you really should be, let's be honest), you are probably already throwing away the key ingredient!

The greatest thing about making a quick chicken stock is that you can get it going in the equivalent of a coffee-break (I work from home...sometimes I do).  There's not a lot of prep involved in terms of chopping or peeling.  Start by placing the bones and leftover meat from a roast chicken in a large pot.  It's important that if you are using the leftovers from a cooked chicken that there is some meat involved.  If you use only bones, the flavor will not necessarily be there.  Usually I have about 3 pounds of bones and meat leftover for the stock.

To the chicken pieces, add about 4 quarts of water.  Next, add two roughly chopped carrots.  Wash them, but don't peel.  Wash and roughly chop a stalk of celery and throw it into the pot.  Quarter an onion and throw it in (no need to peel).  Toss in a handful of rinsed flat leaf parsley, a couple of small bay leaves, and a teaspoon of salt.  Heat the whole thing until it is almost boiling.  Then, partially cover the pot with a lid and adjust the heat so just a few bubbles come up at a time.  Walk away for at least 2 hours and preferably more like 3.

Strain out the vegetables and taste the stock.  It will probably need a teaspoon or two more of salt.  Don't overdo it, though, because you will want to be able to control the salt when you use the stock for cooking.  Refrigerate the stock for at least several hours.  Skim any fat that may have formed on the surface of the stock, then store.  I usually get about 10 cups of finished stock, which I store in 2 cup containers in the freezer.  Like most cooked foods, it will keep for a few days in the fridge, but must be frozen after that.  And that's all there is to it.

(Recipe adapted from Full-Flavored Chicken Stock by Mark Bittman)

Roast Chicken

It's Jonathan Safran Foer's fault that my freezer is completely, entirely, and totally packed with meat. Which is ironic, because I am pretty darn certain that that is the exact opposite outcome that Foer would be hoping for from readers of his book Eating Animals. But...while I respect Foer's willingness to do an incredible amount of investigation into making an informed decision, and his fortitude in ultimately taking a stand for the resulting decision, I will still be eating meat.  However, what Pollan's books have done to change my thinking about food and the way I eat as a whole, Foer's book did on a more specific level.  Meaning, I think a lot more about the meat that I am eating now and where it comes from.  A lot more.

So, in an effort to severely limit my support of less-than-responsible meat sources, I signed up for a meat CSA.  Which is awesome in the way that I have a more affordable and reliable source of responsible, sustainable meat.  But, I also have meat every week.  Whether I want it or not.  And, as I've mentioned in the blog before, I am trying to not to structure my meals around meat so much.  Thus, the packed freezer.

A few weeks into the season's meat CSA, I realized that I already had several whole chickens stockpiled, and seriously waning freezer space.  And so I began roasting chickens.  I've roasted many, many chickens since then for Kevin and I, and sometimes even to give away to hungry friends.  It is such an easy thing to do, and while it takes a while from beginning to end, the hands-on time is really very minimal.  It also leads to many delicious meals, since after a more basic roast chicken dinner on the first day, the remaining meat can be pulled off the bone and used for soups, sandwiches, tacos or really any preparation that calls for shredded chicken on the second or third day.  In the end, the leftover meat and bones can be made into stock (also very easy, but I will get into that some other time).

Basic Roast Chicken

I like my chicken to be salty, garlicky, and herbaceous - this buttery rub really gets the job done.  Feel free to use whatever fresh herbs you happen to have on hand.

Whole chicken (3-4 lbs)
2 cloves garlic
3 T melted butter
1 T chopped fresh parsley
1/2 T chopped fresh sage
1/2 T fresh thyme leaves
1 1/4 tsp kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 bay leaf
4-5 small citrus (lemons, oranges, clementines, etc.)
Assorted root vegetables
1/2 cup red or white wine (optional) 
Water


Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  While the oven is preheating, prepare the chicken, clearing the cavity.  Place the chicken on the rack of a roasting pan.  


Quarter one of the lemons/oranges and thinly slice the rest.  Cut into large chunks enough root vegetables to generally cover the bottom of the roasting pan.  Place the root vegetables and sliced citrus in the bottom of the roasting pan.  Add 1/2 cup of wine (if using) and enough water to cover the bottom of the pan.


In a small dish, combine the melted butter, herbs, salt, and pepper.  Split one of the garlic cloves and rub the cut side on the outside of the chicken, and under the skin where possible.  Rub some of the herb mixture between the skin and meat on both the breast and back of the chicken.  Then rub the rest of the herb mixture over the entire outside of the bird.  Position the chicken breast side down on the rack and place the quartered citrus, garlic cloves, and bay leaves inside the cavity.


Put the roasting pan in the oven.  I roast generally smallish, naturally raised young chickens that take about 40-45 minutes per side.  A larger, grocery store chicken will likely take longer, potentially quite a bit longer.  After 40 minutes, check the chicken.  Add more water to the pan if it is totally dry, and flip the chicken if it is brown on top.  If it is not brown on top, leave it on this side until it is brown, then flip.  Roast on the second side for an equal amount of time, being sure to pay attention to the liquid in the bottom of the pan.  The key is to keep enough liquid there to prevent burning and smoking in the pan, but not too much that it prevents the chicken's skin from browning and crisping appropriately.


After the second side appears to be done, check the bird with a meat thermometer.  The thermometer should read at least 165 degrees when inserted into the thickest part of the thigh.  If it doesn't, of course, just put the chicken back in the oven, being sure to check it frequently for done-ness.

When it is done, enjoy your delicious chicken.  You can decide the fate of the root vegetables and citrus based on their condition when the chicken is done.  I find that they are sometimes salvageable, but often a bit too black, and always quite imbued with chicken drippings.  If you use a sweet citrus (think meyer lemons, clementines, etc.) and cut it thin enough, the wheels will be reduced to a caramelized round tender enough to eat, peel and all.