The Weekend of the Pig

So it's been a while. A lot has happened in the past few months. Some great meals have been created, good wines have been drank and I got a new job. I now work for a larger distributor. It's a lot of work but I like it. I have a great boss, good route and a decent book. The big plus, it pays better so my wine budget has grown. I have been going back to old world wines that I love the most, Northern Rhones, white Rhones, reds from Loire Valley, Bordeauxs, there even was an amazing Beerenauslese. It has been a great few months.

Saturday night Noel and I went out to help our good friend Jen celebrate her third 29th birthday. She got 10 people together and we had a pig roast at Franklin Southie. It was so fucking awesome!!!!!! They bring out the pig, give you a quick talk and then go back and butcher it for you. It was so overwhelming. Where do you start? I started with the cheeks and never looked back. Ribs, legs, ears, nose, eyes and the brain. YES I ATE PIG BRAINS AND I LIKE IT!!!! The brains were as soft as Foie Gras. I spread it on some bread, a pinch of sea salt and a quick squirt of lemon and I was in fucking flavor heaven!! It's is the most shockingly good thing I have ever eaten. I will never again say no to any "gross" foods!!

Thursday night I had cooked a pork tenderloin wrapped in bacon with brussel sprouts and sweet potatoes. It came out great but being for just Noel and I,we had a good amount left over. Sunday night when I was trying to figure out what to cook I thought about the leftovers from the pig roast and the tenderloin we had in our fridge. In the past I made chicken pot pie with left over chicken. So why not make pig pot pie?  I followed the basics of a chicken pot pie recipe I use from Pillsbury. I added to the onions, some celery and carrots. Instead of chicken stock I used a cup of veggie stock and 3/4 cup of cream of mushroom soup. I also replaced the steam veggies with left over veggies from both meals. It was so good!!! Both Jen and Noel agreed I had to blog about this meal!!! I usually hate leftovers, but if I could find more recipes like this I may have to chance my view on yesterday's meal.

The wine I picked was a no-brainer. I wanted something that would be full bodied, dirty barn yard, stinky ass wine. I had just bought a Northern Rhone from Brookline Liquor Mart. They have an awesome selection of wine. I especially love their French section and often drool over bottles. About a week ago I found a Saint Joseph at a good price and had to buy it. Last night I was glad I did. Cave Saint Desirat had great spice and fruit that really went well with the pot pie. I love, love, love a good Syrah and this bottle was a great Syrah!! It was another great pick for another great meal. I love when food and wine play well together.

Bubbles and Chicken Pot Pie Make a Happy Wife

Noel told me after her first bite, "This is my favorite thing you have ever made ever." This past week we almost forgot to use chicken before it went bad. I decided on it's sell by date to bake the chicken and refrigerate it to keep it good for a few more days. But what could I make? Then it hit me like a ton of bricks, make Noel a meal she will never forget. Now all I had to do is figure out what wine to serve with the meal that she would like. She's not a big fan of wine and I often have to drink a bottle to myself. As I drove from store to store today I called her and asked her what kind of wine she would like to have. After a few suggestions we both agreed on sparkling wine. I picked a bottle from Loire Valley. I love the wines from the Loire, especially the sparkling wines.

The chicken pot pie recipe I found was real easy to make.The recipe was from pillsbury.com. I liked using this recipe mostly because they suggested using their pie crust. That took out a very important, pain in the ass step!! I've used their pie crusts for apple and pumpkin pies and they taste great. Now that I had the crust all I had to do was make the tasting chicken stew. I baked the chicken breasts two days before and after they cooled I chopped the breasts into tiny bite size chunks. So I had most of it ready before I even started to cook.  Wow was this easy, I should have made this recipe years ago!

Pre-heat the oven to 450. You are going to need a medium saucepan. Chop a medium size onion (I used a red onion) and add it to 1/3 cup of butter over medium heat. After the onion has softened add 1/3 cup flour and a dash of salt and pepper. Mix all this together and gradually add 1 3/4 cup of chicken broth and 1 cup of milk. Stir often until the mixture has thickened. Add the chicken and vegetables and take off the heat. Now this is where I did something different. The recipe called for frozen vegetables. I don't have frozen veggies in my house. I chopped up half a large carrot (quickly steamed the small bite size bits for a few minutes, just enough to soften the carrots), I also chopped up brussels sprouts and asparagus. Add the chicken and veggie mixture to the bottom pie crust and cover it with the other pie crust. I also sprinkled Herbs de Provence on top of the pie before I stuck it on the oven. Bake the pie for 30-40 minutes (until crust is golden brown). 20 minutes into baking the pie cover the edge with strips of tin foil to prevent burning the edge. Why buy pre-made chicken pot pies when this is so easy and you get to pick what veggies you use?

As I drove around today trying to decide what sparkling wine to buy, I came up with either a Lorie Valley or Alsace sparkling wine. I finally got to Liquor Land on Mass. Ave in Boston. I love this place. If you were driving by the store you wouldn't think this store has the selection it has. Sure its a large store but it's kind of in a weird area of the city. It's in  more of an industrial area, but it has a parking lot and is near 93. This store is always packed. Emmett one of the wine buyers has a great palate and has been buying wine for many years. I'm sure he would not like me to tell you how many as it will make him look old, so I'll leave it at many years. He knows almost every bottle that he has in the store, so I knew he was the right person to ask for a recommendation.

He suggested I pick up a bottle of Montlouis Sur Loire Brut by Francois Chidaine. Lorie Valley, as you may know, is one of my most favorite wine regions in the world. There are so many different styles of wines (even from the same grape) so you could never get bored. I mostly drink the reds from Lorie, however the sparkling wines, especially from Chenin Blanc will always make me happy!!  Chenin Blanc is one of the top grapes grown in the Loire. Thanks to the high levels of acidity this grape can be made in several different styles from sparkling to beautiful dessert wines. This wine is fantastic and not all that pricey at $19.99. It has a deep flavor that makes you think of  the great Champagnes. The nose reeks of toast (in a very good way) and the palate is roasted pears wrapped in browned toast. What a great pairing!!