Spring, glorious Spring! The sun is shining, the birds are chirping and I'm super excited to share this delicious recipe with you that's perfect for the season: Shredded Chicken & Brussels Sprouts Salad with Toasted Sesame Vinaigrette. This salad has oodles of delicious flavor and texture and is packed with healthy ingredients including organic chicken breast, Brussels sprouts, Pink Lady apples, chiles, garlic and fresh mint. For wine lovers I also have a fabulous pairing for you to enjoy with this dish, but more on that in a minute.
The secret to making the healthy, lighter fare of Spring and Summer more appealing, in my kitchen at least, is to never compromise on flavor. Munching on bland lettuce and vegetables is just not going to leave me (or the hubs for that matter) feeling satisfied so infusing these dishes with lots of flavor is KEY. Something as simple as toasting nuts or seeds to enhance their flavor, using good olive oil or seasoning a dish adequately with salt and pepper before serving can make ALL the difference in the world in the finished dish.
This fabulous salad also features on of my favorite seasonal ingredients, the Pink Lady apple. I adore their crunchy, sweet-tart flavor not to mention their beautiful blush-pink color, often with a greenish background depending on the level of ripeness. The Pink Lady apple (aka Cripps Pink) was created in the 1970s by John Cripps of the Western Australia Department of Agriculture and is a cross between the "Lady Williams" and "Golden Delicious" varieties. While originally invented in Australia, it has thankfully been grown in the US since the 1990's and we always have them in the house when they're in season. This apple's sweet flavor really complements the spicy Fresno peppers, fresh mint and crunchy Brussels sprouts in this salad.
As for wine, I highly recommend the Claude Riffault Sancerre "Les Boucauds" from France's Loire Valley. This 100% Sauvignon Blanc is crafted from 10-50 year old, organically farmed vines planted on terres blanches soils. The wine is vinified in both stainless steel and French oak (50/50) and bottled unfiltered in order to preserve the complex aromas and flavors of the finished wine. The result is an immensely enjoyable white wine with notes of citrus, passionfruit and elderflower with a lovely minerality and zippy acidity that complements the Shredded Chicken & Brussels Sprout Salad with Toasted Sesame Vinaigrette beautifully.
I hope you enjoy this dish as much as we do! What are your favorite flavors of Spring and Summer? Please let us know - we'd love to hear from you!Bon appétit,
"Shredded Chicken & Brussels Sprout Salad with Toasted Sesame Vinaigrette + a Loire Valley Sancerre"
Author:
Serves: 4
Ingredients
Spring, glorious Spring! The sun is shining, the birds are chirping and I’m super excited to share this delicious recipe with you that’s perfect for the season: Shredded Chicken & Brussels Sprouts Salad with Toasted Sesame Vinaigrette. This salad has oodles of delicious flavor and texture and is packed with healthy ingredients including organic chicken breast, Brussels sprouts, Pink Lady... Read More
The post Shredded Chicken & Brussels Sprout Salad with Sesame Vinaigrette + a Loire Valley Sancerre appeared first on The Glamorous Gourmet.
What do you get when you combine a team of creatives, engineers and entrepreneurs who share a common passion for wine? A company that thinks outside the box - or barrel as the case may be! Barrel + Ink was conceived of in 2011 by MD/PhD student turned winemaker Corey Miller who describes this innovative upstart as a place where "wine meets design."
Based in San Francisco, Barrel + Ink provides a unique canvas on which iconic, award-winning winemakers, designers and artists can connect and produce something special. The wines produced are not bound by a vineyard, label, region or style and are intended to showcase the winemaker's artistic license. In the same manner, each featured artist is entrusted with interpreting the wine through its label art, using his or her preferred medium. Now on their fourth release, the company has already featured collaborations between such well-known winemakers as Pax Mahle (Wind Gap, Pax), Helen Keplinger (Keplinger Wines) and Aaron Pott (Pott Wine) paired with artists including Lab Partners, Erik Marinovich and Invisible Creature. Each monthly collaboration is featured on the Barrel + Ink website where it can be purchased until each limited release sells out.
I recently had the pleasure of sampling Barrel + Ink's latest release, the 2014 Interessante White Blend ($28) from California, a collaboration between winemaker Andy Erickson and lettering artist, Jessica Hische named for its complex and "interesting" aromas and flavors. Erickson is best known for his work on iconic California wines including Screaming Eagle, Harlan and Staglin in addition to consulting and producing his own wine labels, Favia and Leviathan which he co-founded with his wife, viticulturalist Annie Favia. Hische counts Director Wes Anderson and Writer Dave Eggers among her clients in addition to well-known household brands including Penguin Books, American Express, Target and Nike.
My wine shipment arrived in a smart-looking box, embellished with the Barrel + Ink logo. The stylishly packed contents included two 750mL bottles of the 2014 Interessante White Blend (respectively labeled "Cheers Now" and "Cheers Later") as well as artfully printed note cards featuring information on the winemaker, artist and wine tucked neatly into a black sleeve. Hische's vivid green label, intended to represent the natural, rustic vineyard terrain and vibrancy of the wine, beckoned from the box, featuring the wine's name elaborately illustrated in vibrant tones of green and gold with beautiful metallic accents. But while the presentation was impressive, would the wine hold up in the glass?
“The Viognier gives you that honeysuckle, beeswax character. The Sauvignon Blanc–lifted floral notes, lime zest, and citrus. The Chardonnay gives you that nuttiness, and golden character. The Roussanne gives you earthiness.” - Andy Erickson, Winemaker
I'm happy to report this bright, citrusy, complex white is delightful! Fermented in a combination of stainless steel, French oak and concrete eggs, this unique blend of 35% Viognier, 34% Sauvignon Blanc, 22% Semillon, 7% Chardonnay and 2% Roussanne displayed fragrant aromas of white flowers, honey, pear and citrus which followed through on the palate along with a lovely, lush mouthfeel, bright acidity and lengthy vanilla and spice-tinged finish. While best known for his iconic reds, Erickson's prowess with white wines is clearly evident and the synergy between winemaker and artist is also spot on. The label is a beautiful and accurate visual representation of the wine in the bottle.
Barrel + Ink represents a unique approach to enjoying wine by bringing talented winemakers and artists together and incorporating visual aesthetics as part of the vinous experience. The 2014 Interessante White Blend is a wonderful representation of this process and a thoroughly enjoyable wine. I look forward to future collaborations from this creative team and for more information on Barrel + Ink, please click here.
What do you get when you combine a team of creatives, engineers and entrepreneurs who share a common passion for wine? A company that thinks outside the box – or barrel as the case may be! Barrel + Ink was conceived of in 2011 by MD/PhD student turned winemaker Corey Miller who describes this innovative upstart as a place where... Read More
The post Thinking Outside the Box: Barrel + Ink Wines appeared first on The Glamorous Gourmet.
My favorite thing about Cinco de Mayo is undoubtedly the delicious Mexican cuisine...and cocktails! I simply adore these flavors and here on The Glamorous Gourmet we've got some delicious recipes for you to enjoy with your family and friends:1.) Chipotle Chicken Tinga Tacos (pictured above) are packed with flavor and a real crowd pleaser in addition to featuring oodles of delicious Mexican ingredients including chipotle peppers in adobo, avocados and cilantro!
2.) Shredded Chicken, Black Bean & Jalapeño Pizza is perfect for savoring this Mexican holiday! This delicious pizza features roasted red peppers, black beans, shredded chicken, Monterey Jack and cheddar cheeses, tomatoes, jalapeño peppers, black olives and whatever else suits your mood served with the sides of your choosing.
3.) To wash everything down, the perfect cocktail is the Watermelon Jalapeño Margarita with Smoked Salt from our special Cinco de Mayo installment of Cocktail Couture. Watermelon, jalapeño, lime juice, tequila and agave syrup come together to produce a delightful concoction that goes down WAY too easily!
My favorite thing about Cinco de Mayo is undoubtedly the delicious Mexican cuisine…and cocktails! I simply adore these flavors and here on The Glamorous Gourmet we’ve got some delicious recipes for you to enjoy with your family and friends: 1.) Chipotle Chicken Tinga Tacos (pictured above) are packed with flavor and a real crowd pleaser in addition to featuring oodles... Read More
The post Celebrate Cinco de Mayo with Delicious Recipes from The Glamorous Gourmet! appeared first on The Glamorous Gourmet.
If you're looking for a beautiful, delicious and healthy dish that's also quick and easy to make (yes, it checks ALL the boxes!), look no further! Our latest Fast & Fabulous recipe for Roasted Halibut with Fennel & Dill Salad features a simply roasted halibut fillet perfectly complemented by the bright acidity and crunch of pickled fennel salad as well as our featured wine selection, a delightful white wine from France's Rhone Valley. This dish is so flavorful and refreshing it's perfect for serving during the warmer months ahead.
Halibut is a fish with a mild flavor, kind of along the lines of tilapia and snapper but with a delightfully more dense texture. For those of you who are not the biggest fan of salmon's strong flavor and oily texture (like me!), halibut is definitely the fish for you. Seek it out at your local fishmonger, we love Captain Clay's Fish Market in downtown Delray Beach, and be sure to find the freshest fillet you can get your hands on. Ask them to leave the skin on which always helps the fish hold together while cooking and then you can remove it later if you prefer. It has been our experience that any uneaten halibut skin makes a delicious snack for the puppies of the house.
Regarding the pickling process, I must admit whenever I heard the term mentioned previously it always conjured images of my grandparents in their hot kitchen furiously canning pickles, a necessary production to maximize the cucumber harvest from their vegetable garden. While I've always adored the flavor, the process sounded (and looked) very labor intensive and intimidating. I'm happy to report after making this recipe, "quick pickling" couldn't be easier and I'm now looking for more recipes that implement this technique! "Pickling" is essentially just "marinating" in which you immerse your choice of vegetables or fruit in a mixture of vinegar, water, sugar, salt and spices for a period of time - easy peasy!
As for a wine to pair with this delicious dish, I highly recommend the 2014 Chateau de Saint Cosme Cotes du Rhone Blanc from France's Rhone valley. Made from a mixture of classic Rhone grapes including Viognier, Marsanne, Picpoul de Pinet and Clairette, this medium-bodied white wine matches the weight of the fish beautifully and further complements it with bright, enticing notes of lemon, green apple, ginger and a hint of fennel. For around $20 a bottle this gem is a tremendous value for the price and is definitely worth seeking out.
I hope you enjoy our latest "Fast & Fabulous" recipe and wine pairing. To view previous installments of this segment, please click here.Bon appétit, "Roasted Halibut with Fennel & Dill Salad"Serves 41 1/2 lbs. halibut fillet1 Tablespoon sugar1/2 cup unseasoned rice vinegar1/2 cup dry white wine1 teaspoon caraway seeds6 thinly sliced garlic cloves1 fennel bulb, thinly sliced lengthwise1/2 cup dill fronds1 Tablespoon grated lemon zest1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juiceGood olive oilKosher salt & freshly ground black pepperFor the fennel and dill salad:1.) In a medium sized saucepan, bring rice vinegar, white wine and 1/2 cup of water to a simmer over med-high heat. Stir in sugar, Kosher salt, caraway seeds and continue stirring until sugar and salt are dissolved.2.) Remove from heat and add the sliced garlic cloves and let sit for 20-30 minutes, until garlic is softened.3.) Add half of the sliced fennel to the mixture and toss well to coat. Let fennel marinate until it is slightly softened, 8-10 minutes.For the fish:1.) Preheat oven to 300 degrees.2.) Place halibut fillet in a glass baking dish and coat with 2 Tablespoons olive oil. Season with Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.3.) Roast fish until it is cooked through and easily flakes apart, approximately 18-20 minutes.Assemblage:4.) Drain liquid from fennel mixture and toss in a small bowl with 4 Tablespoons olive oil, lemon juice and zest. Add remaining sliced fennel and dill fronds to the mixture and season to taste with Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Stir to combine.5.) Serve fish topped with the fennel salad and a glass of the Cotes du Rhone Blanc.
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