French Wine Tasting - Chardonnay

We've been having so much fun tasting French wine that I couldn't wait to go pick up something different and this time went with a white wine. We prefer reds and rarely drink white wine, but if we do drink white, it's usually a Chardonnay.


Also the meal I made for Emi asked for a little bit of white wine, so I figured the wine would pair well with the food.

• Name - Macon-Villages - Louis Jadot - Chardonnay - 2009
• Cost - $15 - Central Market
• Our Take - Emi described this Chardonnay as less buttery than most Chardonnays she has tried in the past. It wasn't as overpowering for me where some Chardonnay's are sort of sour and not very pleasant with their aftertaste. Similar to the French Pinot Noir we tried earlier in the week, this wasn't as strong as we expected. It was light, sweet, and paired well with the meal.

I paired the wine with Rachel Ray's real deal caesar salad and Mark Antony's scampi topping. I think it was the first time I've ever made a caesar salad from scratch. It turned out really well, but took a lot of steps which I don't really feel like listing here. However if you are interested, pick up Rachel Ray's Top 30 - 30 minute meals - Guy Food cookbook or just look it up online.

The best part of the salad was the scampi topping. I will list that recipe.



What you'll need:

• 2 cloves garlic, minced


• a pinch crushed red pepper flakes


• 2 T EVOO
  
• 10 jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined (Central Market has a great deal going on right now)
  
• a shot of white wine

Heat the garlic and crushed red pepper in oil over med-high heat until the garlic speaks. Add shrimp and cook for a minute on each side, keeping pan moving with vigorous shakes to avoid burning the garlic. Douse with a little white wine and serve on top of the caesar.

This scampi topping goes with anything, over pasta, any type of salad, even by itself. Also it's really easy, I highly recommend it and make sure to pair it with a nice glass of Chardonnay.

- Kyle