Baby, It’s Cold Outside

So it would appear Winter has hit Atlantic Canada.  -12 with a wind chill of -22.  Yes, Winter has definitely hit.

Time for some comfort food and wine.

Last week I told you about the Chicken Carbonara my sister and I enjoyed at a restaurant.  I make a pretty good pasta dish of my own.

 

Linguine With Green Olive Paste and 4 Cheeses: 

Paste:

In a blender combine

1 cup of green olives

A good helping of Olive Oil

A splash each of Red Wine Vinegar and Lime Juice

Basil

Garlic

Blend.   It’s supposed to be a paste, but a liquidy paste.  Not solid paste.  Again I apologize for no amounts, I never measure.  Which is why I cook better than I bake.

In the mean time, cut up chicken breasts into bite size pieces and cook.  I cook them in Maple Syrup sometimes just to add a different flavor to the pasta.  Set aside.

Boil your pasta, I like using fresh Linguine.   You can use your favorite pasta.  Here’s something you must do.  When you drain your pasta, RINSE it in water.  It gets rid of that yucky taste and add about a teaspoon of olive oil and stir throughout the pasta.  Trust me.

I use the pot I cooked the pasta in and combine the chicken, paste, real bacon bits and the 4 cheeses.  You can vary on the cheeses, but I always use Parmesan and Mozzarella and Asiago as my base .  The other cheese can vary.   I use Jarlsberg or Cheddar, but you can mix it up,   Add cream.  Lots of it.  Don’t forget the bacon!!

Bake in the oven for about 25 minutes

And here are a couple of Italian wines that is heaven in a bottle for this pasta dish.

The Frescobaldi family was one of the first to introduce traditional grape varieties to Italian grapes and thus create Super Tuscan wines.  This Remole Toscana is one of those Super Tuscan’s, and is a blend of 85% Sangiovese and 15% Cabernet Sauvignon.  Medium bodied with hints of cherries and black pepper, this wine is perfect for it which pasta dish because it’s compliments, not overpowers

This Cielo 1908 Appassionatamente  it’s a fantastic wind to go with any Italian cuisine.  This wine is Merlot, Corvina, and Sangiovese.   This is the delicious Venetian wine with light spicy notes that again will make the food the star of the table.

And now for my wine of the week…

At this past year’s Festival of Wines, I got to try a real treat, and I thought I would share this treat.  Roger Trinchero is the President and CEO of the winery and says each wine is a representation of their family’s journey through seven decades of wine making in the Napa Valley.  This BRV version has been given 93 Points by both Robert Parker and James Suckling.  Personally, I give it 95 Points.  Full-bodied with rich flavour of licorice and cigar box.  It’s a treat at $105 a bottle, but everyone deserves a treat once in a while, right?

The struggle is real.  Thanks for reading, till next week Cheers

Darlene