Wednesday, May 4, 2011

#184 - TK Chicken, Kumatoes Provençal & Green Beans With '08 Turkey Flat Rosé

It's dangerous to know a little instead of a lot about HTML code.  Makes you think you can fix things or create an end-around when it's pretty obvious you can't.

So while you currently can't read these first few sentences because "TinyPic has been moved or deleted," I'll figure this out soon.  Or blow it up.  Either/or.

Quick one today.

Solid Monday night meal made better by the return of a favorite rosé, gone for about two years but inexplicably found on the shelves at Whole Foods.  And a 2008 to boot, which is just oddly odd in the oddest sort of odd way.

Food:  TK chicken, kumatoes Provençal, green beans, Dunbarton blue cheese cheddar, bread and butter 

Standard TK chicken.  Delicious with the difference this time being an almost buttery skin but the chicken became an afterthought with the compilation of great accoutrements.

Kumatoes Provençal.  A take.  Equal volumes bread crumbs, parsley and Bari giardiniera with a healthy portion of anchovies, then baked.  Deep achovy flavor, spectacular level of heat.

Green beans sautéed in the chicken pan with honey, red wine vinegar and thyme.  Felt needed and tasted delicious.  With the kumatoes Provençal and the green beans, there was enough range of flavor, depth and heartiness to feel like a meal in itself.  We gravitated toward these two elements because of that, leaving the chicken mostly as filler.  With the Tuscan bread, KerryGold butter and a beautiful Dunbarton blue cheese cheddar from Wisconsin, a cheddar that both of us thought might be the best cheddar we've ever had, this meal sans chicken could have been enough.

Good food that tasted like a place - distinct flavors that came together to feel like it was intentional, leaving an impression after just a few bites that a glowing satisfaction after the meal was guaranteed.

Wine:  2008 Turkey Flat Rosé ($19 - Whole Foods)

This has been missing for a couple years in Chicago.  A prized and loved rosé in Australia and that's probably why.  It's Mrs. Ney's favorite rosé and it might be mine as well.


Grenache (63%), Shiraz (18%), Cabernet Sauvignon (13%), Dolcetto (6%).

Though a 2008, this one's chugging along quite nicely.  Tasted a touch settled but still a wonderfully wild quality to it, tasting of the land more than polished and pretty.  A Grenache-y gnarly-ness to it with tannins still popping and a gift basket of red fruits jumping up and down with a darker edge to round it out.  Rose petal notes color the frame with a depth one doesn't see in rosés much and a great bite to it.

On various occasions, each grape separated itself out to reveal a singularity to each that was entirely welcome and delicious.

Pairing:  88  A perfect example of the wine staying right in line with the boldness of the food

Very little enhancement but we were both struck with how the structure and body of the wine played right into and stayed right with how big the food flavors were.  This one kept up with no trouble whatsoever.

At times, it seemed like the Grenache singled itself out with the kumatoes Provençal, like it pushed a button and said the Grenache needs to step up here with the heat from the giardiniera.  Same thing seemed to happen with the chicken and the Cabernet's curranty notes perking up.  Identical with the Shiraz and the green beans with a more dark fruit-juicy note.

Full and happy with the added bonus of having a wine that offers so much in, dare I say, a fun package.

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