Albariño
Now that the weather has warmed up, we’ve been able to eat our meals outdoors on the patio. The photo above isn’t my patio. It’s actually Al and Tipper Gore’s patio at their new home in Montecito, CA. If it were my patio, I would be sitting there right now.
Our patio backs up to a little canyon. Hot food is always a challenge outdoors because just about the time we sit down to eat, a cool breeze always begins to picks up.
The perfect outdoor meal? A salad or a sandwich. Chicken is great for both. I picked up a fully cooked rotisserie chicken at Costco. What a deal. A perfectly cooked, 3 pound chicken for $5.
The perfect wine to go with the meal? A Spanish Albariño.
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2007 Burgans Albariño Rias Baixas
Pale gold color. Aromas of apple, pear, honey and tangerine. Flavors of peach, apple and citrus with a hint of honey and minerals. No oak. This wine is very food friendly and great all by itself. We found it paired well with our chicken salad. Widely available. We found it at Von’s for $13
Quick Chicken Salad with Dill Recipe:
Quick Chicken Salad with Dill
1 regular rotisserie chicken from the grocery store (or Costco)
½ Tablespoons fresh lemon juice, or more, to taste
1 Tablespoon olive oil
¾ cup mayonnaise
4 to 4 1/2 Tablespoons sour cream
1 – 2 Tablespoons finely chopped fresh dill (start with 1 Tbsp. and add more to taste)
2 Tablespoons finely chopped red onion
1/3 cup chopped cashews
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
Remove chicken from bones, discarding skin. Tear chicken into chunks or large shreds; do not finely chop or shred the chicken as this makes the salad mushy. Place torn chicken pieces into a medium bowl, along with cashews.
In a small bowl, mix together mayonnaise, sour cream, olive oil and lemon juice. Stir in dill and capers. Season to taste with salt.
Add 1/2 mayonnaise mixture to chicken and gently fold to combine. Continue adding mayonnaise mixture until it liberally coats all the chicken.
Add salt, pepper or additional lemon to taste.
Great served as a salad on top of lettuce or as a filling for sandwiches.
Makes 5 to 6 servings.
