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)