Chicken Bowl

For those of you familiar with Noodle Bowl, this is simply not it. But it is something we make extremely often... euhr,... something Sean makes extremely often. He's better at it than I (KK).

Just like a good pretentious salad, chicken bowl's ingredients are shifty. You can switch around the spice, the carbohydrate, and even the veggie. We normally do it without veggies, but KK always tries to get in more veggies during the week.

Chicken Bowl is pan-seared and spice-coated chicken, with a simple pan sauce over rice, and often accompanied by green beans. The combination is really yummy in several varieties:

• Spices: We use different Penzey's spices, like Bangkok Blend, Shanghai Spice, Northwoods Fire, Ozark, or even just dried marjoram or italian mixed dried herbs. You could use powdered curry, or Seasoned Salt (easy on this one). This is the place to customize to your favorite whim.


• Chicken: This element is the only one that doesn't change. Just pound it out to a more-or-less uniform thickness (not thin at all). Salt it if your spice is salt-free, and sprinkle the spice on. Sear in a "stick" skillet on medium high heat, each side takes about 4-5 minutes.


• Carbohydrate: We started just using regular jasmine rice, which is still our favorite. But lately we've been more adventurous (and healthy) and used quinoa (super yummy in this, and one of the healthiest grains on the planet), or even orzo or long pasta. I'd even do polenta or buckwheat noodles. You just need something to soak up the rest of the sauce.


• Veggie: This is totally optional. We often don't use one, but green beans go really well (see the Simple Green Beans recipe from earlier in July), as do sauteed mushrooms. Just keep it a veggie you can quickly prepare while your chicken and carb are cooking.
  

The sauce is where the flavor really counts. After your chicken has cooked, put it on plate and either tent it with foil or put in the microwave to keep warm and collect extra juice. In the same pan you cooked it in, add as many minced shallots as your husband will allow and saute till a bit soft, scraping up all the bits in the pan as you go. (This is your only chance to cook out the raw shallot flavor.) Then add some dry white wine, say, 1/2 cup. After a few seconds, add about a cup of broth. Let this all reduce on high(er) heat till a bit syrupy, about 1/2 cup. It will get darker and mix with all the spices or herbs you chose earlier. Then throw in a tablespoon or two of unsalted butter and mix off the heat.

Slice your chicken and place it in a warmed bowl on top of the rice (or whatever you chose). Divide the sauce on top and add your veggie. I've simply got to tell you that this is almost as comforting and delicious as a slower processed baked chicken and rice. Make as much sauce as you like and really sop it on, or keep it fairly dry if that's your style. We often make this an embarassing 2-3 times a week, but when you change it up, it is something new every time.

The picture is Chicken Bowl with Bangkok spice, quinoa and green beans. And lots of different wines go fantastic with this.

One Perfect Meal

I'm simply here to say, last night dinner nearly killed us it was so good.

There are times when the food is good, and the wine is good, and together they're pretty good. But last night, I'm saying everything worked. The pasta might not look like much in the picture, but it was really, really yummy. And we picked a cheap red from our wine cellar to go with it, but it ended up being one of the best $10 wines we've ever had. It was like a mini mid-week vacation without the hotel bill.

So we're HIGHLY recommending this combination, or its parts.

The pasta recipe came from Giada DeLaurentiis, Giada's Family Dinners, and we made a half recipe. The trick is the frozen artichokes; they don't fall apart like the canned ones. We found Bird's Eye in the frozen section. And the sun-dried tomatoes we used were not oil-packed; I found some in a zip-bag that were super moist on their own so no extra oil was needed. However, I cut them up and tossed them with some oil and water just in case. I also used fresh olive oil to cook the sausage, and drained almost all of it off to cook the artichokes. I also could have done without the mozzarella just fine.

Penne with Sausage, Artichokes and Sun-Dried Tomatoes

¾ c drained oil-packed sun dried tomatoes, sliced, 2 T oil reserved
1 lb Italian hot sausages, casings removed
2 (8oz) pkgs frozen artichoke hearts, thawed
2 large garlic cloves, chopped
1 ¾ c reduced-sodium chicken broth
½ c dry white wine
Salt
12 oz penne
½ c freshly shredded parmesan cheese
1/3 c chopped fresh basil
¼ c chopped fresh parsley
8 oz fresh mozzarella, drained and cubed (optional)

Heat the oil reserved from the tomatoes (or not) in a large heavy frying pan over medium high heat. Add the sausage and cook until brown, breaking up the meat into bite-sized pieces, about 8 minutes. Transfer and drain the sausage to another bowl.

Cook the pasta in a large pot of salted, boiling water until al dente. Add the artichokes and garlic to the pan and sauté over medium heat till the garlic is tender, about 2 minutes. Add the broth, wine, and tomatoes. Boil over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until sauce is reduced slightly, about 8 minutes. This is also a good time to cube up the mozzarella (if using), place it on a plate in an even layer, and pop it in the freezer. It only needs about 8 minutes in there.
Drain the pasta and add it to the artichokes, along with the sausage, ½ c of the parmesan cheese, basil and parsley. Toss until the sauce is almost absorbed. Take off the heat before you stir in the mozzarella (from the freezer, remember?), season with salt and pepper and serve.

The wine was from Taurino, Salice Salentino Rosso Riserva 2001, from the heel of Italy. And no lie, it was under $10. The grapes are Negroamaro and Malvasia Nera, totally new to us. First taste was almost like cherry Kool-Aid, with such a strong berry flavor lasting till the end. The wine got even better with the pasta dish, and the food was even better with the wine. It was like a great marriage. We're really grateful God made grapes like this. The wine was purchased at http://www.sherry-lehman.com/ and they still have it, I think.

Anniversary Dinner

We had Charlie and Kay over for dinner on their anniversary last night. I wasn't crazy full when we finished, but very, very close! We owe them a lot, so we wanted to make it really special. We took no pictures so as not to freak out our guests, but I'll share the menu and recipes.

Roasted Asparagus wrapped in Proscuitto
Lemon Pasta with Parmiggiano and Basil
Peppered Filet Mignon with Green Beans

Cheese course: Delice de Bourgogne and Pagnotta
Nectarine and Blueberry Crisp with Amaretti Cookie Topping

The asparagus really impressed Sean and he'd do it again. It is an ideal starter since they should be served room temperature. Toss asparagus spears with bit of olive oil, salt and pepper, and roast at 450 degrees for about 7 minutes (for skinny stalks). Cut paper thin slices of prosciutto (paper thin cuts provided by professional meat cutter at meat counter, NOT at home) in half and wrap each stalk with half a slice of prosciutto. Done.

The Lemon Pasta I would tweak a bit differently next time, but it wasn't bad. It's nice to have a simple pasta if you're going to do a pasta course. Boil 1 lb of some long pasta (like fettuccine or linguine) and while it's cooking, in a bowl squeeze 2 lemons, grate about 3/4 c of parmesan cheese, add salt and pepper and whisk with some oil, about 1/3 cup if your calorie count can handle it. I also grated some of the lemon zest in there for added zing. Add the pasta once it's done, tossing some of the pasta boiling water in there to keep it loose. Chop some basil and sprinkle on top, adding more cheese and zest as you feel led.

Sean has a way with steaks done indoors. We are apartment dwellers with no grill, so we do them stovetop and oven. And no one complains. I do love a good char from a grill, but until we have one, this is fine with me. Let me know if you're interested and we'll pass on the rules.

The green beans have long been one of my favorites; most of my family has eaten this recipe of mine at some point. No one can turn these down. No one. (Chris). It's a nice change from the "boil 'em till they can't fight back" method we use down south. These are practically a Pretentious Salad in themselves. And no matter when you ask me, I want them right now.

Irresistable and Quick Green Beans

Handfuls of green beans (snap beans), sliced in half length-wise if you wish
Lemon zest
parsley
Olive Oil, salt, pepper

Pine nuts, toasted

Boil the beans in salted water until just tender. Toss with chopped parsley, lemon zest, a bit of olive oil, salt, pepper, and pine nuts. Devour. This can almost always be done from start to finish while the main course is cooking. Yes, it sounds simple, but something about it is so savory.


This dessert recipe is from Giada DeLaurentiis. You can use any fruit you want, but this was definitely a great combo for last night's dinner. I would sweeten the mascarpone next time or use lightly sweetened whipped cream. P.S.: I found the amaretti cookies at World Market for $2! Awesome!

Nectarine and Blueberry Crisp with Amaretti

Topping:
1 c AP flour
1/3 c brown sugar, packed
1/3 c white sugar
1/2 c (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 c crushed amaretti cookies, coarsely crushed
3/4 c sliced almonds

Filling:
butter for baking dish
2 T white sugar (granulated)
2 T AP flour
3 lbs nectarines, cut in wedges (about 4-5 huge necs)
8 oz blueberries
3 T amaretto liqueur, or 1 T almond extract
1/2 c mascarpone cheese (substitute whipping cream)

To make the topping: Stir the flour and sugars in a medium bowl to blend. Add the butter and rub between your fingers to make moist clumps, then mix in amaretti crumbs and almonds.

To make the filling: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F, and butter a 9x13x2 inch glass baking dish. Stir the sugar and flour in a large bowl. Add nectarines and blueberries and toss to combine. Stir in the liqueur.

Spoon the fruit into the prepared dish and sprinkle the cookie mixture on top. Bake until fruit is tender and top is golden and crisp, about 40-45 minutes. Cool for at least 10 minutes. Top each serving with a dollop of mascarpone cheese and serve.


We served two wines for this dinner, since there were 4 of us. We started with a Vinho Verde from Portugal (all VVs are from Portugal), which was slightly bubbly and low in alcohol content. We mentioned one earlier, the Famega, and this one (Casal Garcia) was maybe $1 more expensive at $8. It is one of KK's new favorites for summer. Next was a Pinot Noir from the Central Coast by someone I can't remember. It was nice with food, fairly smooth and refined for the steak.

Li'l Kathryn's Birthday Dinner, 2007

I must be a pretty cheap sister, since I rarely get my sister gifts for her birthday. Since we all love food, I just make her a multiple-course dinner. Anyone can get one, and most of my family has, except those who don't come near us for their birthdays. She picks out her favorite foods and we work the menu until she likes everything; she usually has to help clean up afterwards.

This year it seemed like every course she picked had cheese in it. I asked her, "You don't really want every course cheese-heavy, do you?" And she said, "What better idea for a multi-course menu than a tribute to cheese?" So, cheese, it was. Mostly.

First course: Stuffed Baby Potatoes. We had something like this for a Christmas Eve dinner one year, and Kathryn has asked for them ever since. I think I got the idea from something similar with caviar on top. I'm not a caviar girl. Basically, you boil/steam small baby potatoes. Once they cool enough, you core out the center of them (apple corers work great, so do vegetable peelers) and fill them with sour cream, top with caviar. But to dodge the caviar, I stuffed the cavity with a mixture of cheddar, cream cheese, bacon and chives and baked them in the oven. If the potatoes are all small and uniform enough, you can slice off a sliver from the bottom and they stand up. Three are enough for a first course, but eighteen are nice for a midnight snack. These potatoes were so long, we just split them length-wise and stuffed them like regular twice-baked potatoes. Still yummy, though. There's no real recipe here, just rig something you like inside.

Second course: Baby Romaine with Pears, Parmiggiano, Walnuts and Herb Vinaigrette. A Pretentious Salad classic! Remember the formula: greens+fruit+nut+cheese. It will never fail you. The pears were sliced, the cheese peeled with a veggie peeler (and actually was an aged goat cheese rather than parmiggiano), and nuts are toasted. Keep all the elements separate from the greens. Mix the dressing first and toss the greens with that, then layer everything else on top.

We literally make the basic version of this everyday. It is mis-titled, since I use lemon instead of vinegar, but you can use vinegar if you like it. Stretch the dressing as you need for as much greens as you prepare. We use 1/2 lemon for just me and Sean, but we are heavy greens consumers. And are not fans of gloppy salad dressings.

Basic Vinaigrette

Juice of one lemon
1 T dijon mustard
1-2 T olive oil

Combine lemon and mustard first, then whisk in oil with a fork. Toss with greens just at serving time or they wilt. If you need to get rid of the bowl and are not ready to serve just yet: Put the dressing in the tossing bowl, and add the greens on top but do not toss. They can stay there for about 30 minutes or so before combining. I usually mix the dressing in the serving bowl so I don't have to wash extra!

Herbed Vinaigrette: Chop any or several herbs and add just before pouring on greens. Combinations are nice, and we used Dad's fresh oregano and purple basil, plus Heidi's fresh green basil.

Sorbet course: Watermelon. As many of you know, I am a melon-hater. But I know lots of people like watermelon. We happened to have some cut-up watermelon on hand at my 'rents house, so we made a Watermelon Sorbet to serve just before the main course. Boil equal parts sugar and water in a pan until dissolved. I wanted to put mint in the syrup, but we didn't have any. However, herbs work really well in sorbet, so be adventurous. Puree fruit in a blender/food processor until smooth and add sugar syrup. If you have a sorbet or small electric ice cream maker, use the manufacturer's directions. (My parents have one.) But if your kitchen is limited (like mine), pour the fruit concoction in a pyrex dish and put it in the freezer. Every so often, scrape and stir it with a fork, keeping it fluffy. It will take about a couple of hours, but no one will care. You can serve this one on squares of watermelon rind and it looks cool, or in sake cups.

Main course: Chicken Cordon Bleu with Baby Carrots. The carrots recipe is in an earlier blog, and I added peas for color. The chicken can be made ahead and baking while you are eating the earlier courses.

Chicken Cordon Bleu (healthy version)

Pound chicken breasts to 1/4 inch thickness, and layer on slices of ham and swiss cheese, leaving a 1/2 inch border on all sides. Roll chicken up and squeeze to set, using toothpicks if necessary. In bowl #1, add 1 t. salt to 1/2 c. of flour. In bowl #2, add 1 t. water to one beaten egg (or 2 whites). In bowl #3, add 1 t. dried thyme (or fresh) and 1 t. oil to 1 c. panko bread crumbs. Dip chicken rolls in flour first, then egg, then bread crumbs. Place in a greased pyrex dish, cover and refrigerate until ready to cook. Bake at 375 degrees for about 30-45 minutes. Slice each roll into little pinwheels of chicken goodness and serve.

Dessert: Flourless Chocolate Cake. This selection arose after Kathryn rejected Dark Chocolate Creme Brulee. And the whipped cream layer on top is covering the overdone quality it seemed to pick up when Mom was in charge. It just proves you cannot ruin this. It still tasted great.

Flourless Chocolate Cake

7 oz. dark chocolate, chopped
7 oz. unsalted butter
1 c. sugar, divided
4 eggs, separated

Butter a springform pan with removable sides, or a 9 in. cake pan. Melt the chocolate in a double boiler. You don't have to own one, just rig it with bowl on top of a pan of boiling water. Don't let the water touch the bowl, though. Once it is melted, add the butter until it melts and then set off heat to cool.

In a standing mixer, beat the egg whites until frothy, then add 1/2 c. of the sugar until soft peaks form. In another bowl, whisk the yolks with the other 1/2 c. of sugar until pale. Add a bit of the chocolate into the yolks until the temperature starts to warm up (avoiding scrambled eggs with choclate- yuck!) Once it is warm, dump in all the chocolate and mix till combined. Add about 1/3 of the whites and mix vigorously. Then fold in the rest of the whites. Pour in prepared pan and bake at 350 for AROUND 35-40 minutes. A toothpick or knife should come out clean when stuck in the center. The cake will deflate, and that is normal, as it cools. Cool to room temperature, and remove from cake pan if you wish. Fresh whipped cream is nice, too.

We served an Albarino with the first courses, Martin Codax Albarino, 2006. All the female Callaways love Albarino, and we previewed it at a tasting a few weeks prior. It did not disappoint. The main course wine was a Pinot Noir which was forgettable. I still hold firm that a light red is the best choice for the chicken course, just not that particular Pinot Noir. It was something like Huntingdon, but you can forget it.

It's All Greek to Me, Part 2

A bit more about Greek wines...

We drank our other Greek wine last night, the Boutari Santorini Assyrtiko, 2006, 7.50 Euro, or around $14 domestic. It was really likeable, nice and crisp but with a fair amount of sweetness, which worked with our blackened red snapper really well. Sean liked the first one from yesterday's blog a bit better, but enjoyed both equally. The other wine was maybe a bit more like Sauvignon Blanc, but this one was plenty full-bodied and citrus. Sean pointed out that wine is supposed to be best where it is grown, not where you take it after buying it. We've had that experience before and didn't bring home any Italian wines because of it. But these 2 wines were really far and above the white wine we had while actually eating IN Greece.

No recipe needed for the snapper. Just coat it in cajun or blackening spices and sear on top of the stove in a bit of oil, then let it spend about 5 more minutes in the oven at 450 degrees.

But the warm potato salad we had with it could use a bit of recipe. I got this one from... my Dad! Dad publishes the recipes the Callaways use the most, and thankfully I remembered it while running through the grocery store yesterday. We had it warm last night, but I'll be having it cold for lunch. I also think green beans would work instead of asparagus. And, you might notice the dressing is almost identical to our daily salad dressing, just adding garlic.

New Potato and Asparagus Salad

16 small baby potatoes (red, purple or yellow), cut in bite sized pieces

1 lb. fresh asparagus, cut in bite size pieces

1 T Dijon mustard

2 T lemon juice

2 T olive oil

1 clove garlic, smashed into a paste

1/2 t salt

fresh ground pepper

herb of any kind

Boil or steam the potatoes in salted water until tender, about 10-15 minutes. While they are boiling, chop the asparagus and get it ready to cook, and make the dressing: Combine mustard and lemon until smooth, add oil, garlic and salt and whisk till smooth. Place dressing in a medium bowl and add the potatoes when they finish. Toss to combine. Cook the asparagus in salted boiling water for 1-2 minutes, until tender, then refresh under cold water. Add to the potatoes. Chop any herb, really, any herb works great, and add to the salad. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve warm or cold.

It's all Greek to Me

Please forgive me, all you Greek speaking individuals out there. I am so weak at even recognizing the Greek alphabet, as I never really even did the sorority thing well in school.

We went to a few locations in Greece this summer with our friends, Charlie and Kay, aka, our eye doctors. At least our vision was safe! We had heard about some Greek wines, and none of the reviews were raves. So we sampled some ourselves at a little cafe in Santorini and found it sort of ok. Especially with a Greek salad. Kathryn asked me, "What do they call a Greek salad in Greece?" And, of course, they call it Greek salad. It was on my list of "must eats" while travelling in Greece. It is basically some greens, black olives, sliced green pepper, tomatoes, and a thick slice of fresh feta cheese, covered by some herbed vinaigrette. I did enjoy that. And the house white wine was sort of unremarkably nice, although much better than the weather at the time.

We found a local supermarket and checked out the wines. Sean picked out two bottles, and we drank one last night. Pleasant surprise! It was really delightful. And, after much symbol selection in Microsoft Word, its title is Boutari Μοσχοφηίλερο Μηουτάρη, 2006. Oh there is lots of other stuff on the label, and I cannot read a letter of it, but I can make out the 11.5% alcohol level. That made it even better on a hot night. We had it with really simple herbed pasta. And hummus. (Here's an easy wine/food pairing: hummus goes fantastic with white wine... any white wine. And even red. It goes fantastic with wine. Period.) I'm just so proud of my symbol selection that I'm going to do it again.... Μοσχοφηίλερο Μηουτάρη! The wine title is sort of mock-handwritten on the label and therefore super-hard to make out, so it took me about 10 minutes to find the approximate blob in the Greek symbols. And then I turn the bottle around. Yep, its in regular type. All that for nothing!

We also have a wine from Santorini that is supposed to be good with seafood. And after this Μοσχοφηίλερο Μηουτάρη wine's success, I'm getting sort of excited about the Santorini one.

We actually passed a real wine store in Santorini before leaving the town and saw these two bottles that we picked up in the supermarket. Sean checked out the prices as the vendor came up to him. When he saw our bag of wine bottles, he asked "Supermarket?" As we said yes, he just shook his head and muttered in Greek and walked off. I think we got a really good deal at the supermarket.
So, to sum up: Greek wine can be really ok. Especially Μοσχοφηίλερο Μηουτάρη. (Had to get it in there one more time!)

You Only Live Twice

... and twice is the only way to eat... caprese.

We just love tomatoes, and often forget that not everyone does. That used to include me. In fact, besides melon (see July 6), there are a few things that I've hated in the past but gave a second chance at some point in my life. "They" say you should try foods after 7 years of hatred because your taste buds change every 7 years. Eggs, for example, have always been anathema to me. Some people hate them certain ways; I just hate them always. I gave them a chance around year 17, and could choke down scrambled eggs with about one solid inch of ground pepper on them, but even that ended about 1 month later. I'll be saving eggs for others from now on.

Again, "they" say it could be a texture thing, and "they" might be right. Sean hates... well, dill. And dill has no texture. So there blows their theory. But even Sean tried to expand his horizons and pretended to get it down when I made a simple side dish of baby carrots with dill...


Sauteed Baby Carrots with Dill

2 pounds baby carrots (I found super cute baby red carrots and baby parsnips as well as the orange ones, but truly, all carrots work)
1 t. kosher salt
1/4 t. freshly ground black pepper
2 T. unsalted butter
1 1/2 T chopped dill or parsley (dry or fresh)

Peel the carrots and cut them diagonally (on the bias, for added pretentious), in 1/4 inch slices. This is all so ridiculously simple but quite a taste-o-rama if you like veggies. You should have about 6 cups of carrots. Place the carrots, 1/3 c water, the salt and pepper in a large (10-12 in) saute pan and bring to a boil. Cover the pan and cook on medium-low heat for 7-8 minutes, until the carrots are just cooked through. Add the butter and saute for another minute, until the water evaporates and the carrots are coated with butter. Off heat, toss with dill/parsley and sprinkle with salt and pepper.


So, see? Carrots can be simply fantastic. Or fantastically simple. But, I digress. Ah, yes, tomatoes. I used to hate fresh tomatoes, but then I discovered there were other kinds of tomatoes. Ones that were not mealy or dried up, or black. When you eat a really good tomato, it brings you closer to God. He makes such wonderful food that it causes us to be grateful for all of it; really, truly grateful. And in such variety!

If you eat a really good tomato, like the ones from Ben Wheeler, Texas, you just might change your mind. Our tomato buddies at the Farmers Market downtown call us the Newlyweds. They think we are so crazy in love. And they're not wrong. We just "look so happy together," they say. I'm not saying go out there and fake publicly-displayed-attention, but there have been a few times we were short of cash and a bag of tomatoes was still brought home... I'm just saying, is all.

Insalata Caprese was in my first blog, and it is one of the better 4 ingredient combinations in the world. Almost as good as the Beatles. But when you can have almost the same thing, but with pasta... now, that's just beautiful. And, beware; this is 20 minutes, from cold stovetop to eating.


Caprese Pasta

Pasta for everyone (1 lb for 4 servings, 1/2 lb for 2 servings), stubby-shaped
3 ripe tomatoes, not Roma tomatoes
fresh mozzarella, as much as you want, but it must be fresh
basil, as much as you want
olive oil, as good as you can find

Boil a copious amount of water for the pasta. We like shorter, stubbier pasta for this. There are so many shapes to choose from, and pasta can never be wrong, but some work better in some dishes than others. The large conch shell pasta is great here, as is penne rigate, something to hold the juices. And, no matter what Sean says, salt the water!

If you wish, before boiling the pasta, peel the tomatoes. Cut an X in the bottom of each tomato and immerse in the boiling water for about 10-20 seconds, until you see the skin split. Take them out and run them under cold water, peeling as you go. Cut each tomato equatorially in half. Squeeze each half to remove the seeds. You can skip all the peeling if the tomato is absolutely gorgeous. We usually skip this peeling unless we are making Puttanesca (see tomorrow's blog), which uses a partly cooked sauce.

Dump in the pasta and set the timer. Dice up the mozzarella and put it in the freezer on a plate while the pasta is cooking. Chop the 'toes in medium dice and wait for the pasta timer. Once the pasta is done, drain it, and chiffonade the basil (stack the leaves, roll them up and start slicing). Divide the pasta among bowls, add tomatoes and cheese on top, swirl a fair amount of olive oil and lightly toss each bowl. (You could do this in the pasta pot, but I'm lazy). Top with basil and salt and pepper. If you like tomatoes, I guarantee you will devour it. It can be refrigerated, but hold off on the basil till right before you eat it. I'm ashamed to say, we would eat this everyday if we had all the ingredients on hand all week.

We had a little red blend with this pasta. A GSM (Grenache, Shiraz, Merlot) from Oxford Landing (2005) for about $8. We found it in a restaurant in Huntsville and had it with steak, and liked it muchly. But we split it over 2 nights, so we had it with steak the first night, and the Caprese pasta on the second night. It wasn't bad, but we'd do differently next time for the pasta; maybe a lighter red, like Beaujolais, or a Rose. This wine was very raspberry when we opened it, and was fairly delightful, but started to turn a little tannic after about 90 minutes. However, we still enjoyed it on the second night, and for $8, we'd do it again, just different food.