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Few questions about wine
Lardalish
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Ok, Im in culinary school (just started, this is my first quarter) and I was going to make one of the recipes at home, a basic risotto. Now, this calls for dry white wine. I don't know anything about wine. The stuff they had in class I didnt really pay attention to because there was a white and a red, so obviously I picked the white. Do wines say if they are dry or not? If they dont, what do I look for? Plus, Im not exactly swimmin in cash, so the closer I can get to free without just getting fermented water, the better. Also, since the risotto only calls for like 4 ounces of wine, does anyone have any recipes that would use the rest of it (never really cared for drinking wine)? something that would go well with a risotto? Im thinkin chicken, but Im good with any ideas you guys have.
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I personally find peller estate's chardonnay to be good for cooking and pretty decent for drinking too, and it's not terribly expensive around here. Comes in "tetra packs" too, resealable containers
Someone mentioned Peller Chardonnay, which I think is a pretty good choice. And you're in luck, because most of the cheaper Chardonnays are quite dry.
Ok, so cheap whites will either have if they're dry written on, or its a safe bet they are dry. Cool, so now all I need is something to do with the rest of the wine. I only need 4 ounces for the risotto. I know theres lots of stuff I could do with it, but maybe you guys have some favorites?
Jordan of Elienor, Human Shaman
Failing that, steamed mussles.
If you live near a Trader Joe's you can get their Charles Shaw Sauvignon Blanc for $2-3 a bottle depending on where you are. It's not great, but fine for cooking. Also cheap enough that you could just pour the rest out when you're done.
Generally, dry white = sauvignon blanc, pinot grigio and certain French whites. I would recommend going to the bookstore or library and grabbing a straightforward book on wine that will explain the different styles and such and you'll be way ahead of the game before that 5th quarter class.
As for other recipes, you could just master the risotto by making it 3 or 4 times; it freezes well and then you would have food on hand. Or you could brown some onions in butter, sautee some chicken and then simmer the whole thing and add wine instead of water as you simmer.
Feel free to PM me about wine stuff if you have more questions later.
Chicken and Mushrooms
Take some chicken breasts and flatten them to about 1/4" thick. Season with salt and pepper and lightly coat with flour. heat 1/4 cup olive oil and a couple tablespoons butter in a large pan. Cook the chicken through and transfer to a plate. Keep warm in a low oven.
Add sliced mushrooms to pan, season with a little salt, and cook until moisture is gone. Add some white wine to deglaze pan and cook until evaporated. Add a little more oil and toss in some crushed garlic and tarragon and cook for about 30 seconds. Add more wine if pan gets too dry. Add some heavy cream to pan and heat through. Remove from heat and whisk in some butter. Return chicken to pan along with any juices from the plate. Toss to coat, adjust seasoning and then serve.
I had this over egg noodles, so I added a bit more of the cream and some of the pasta water to make more of a sauce, but it would also go really well with your risotto with a little less sauce. I didn't measure much when I made it, just kind of eyeballed it, but it is a pretty forgiving recipe so you can't really screw it up. Just add enough of everything to make it taste good.
Also, I've found that white wine can be kept in the fridge for a pretty long time and still be good enough to at least cook with. I used a glen ellen pinot grigio for this recipe that has been in my fridge for a couple weeks. A 1 liter bottle was about $7-8 and it worked really well.