I've gotten this great idea to expand my horizons ever more regarding my love of wine. Publix features three wines every month, with suggested foods for each one, so I thought, "Hey! We'll try a new wine with it's complimentary dish every Sunday!" Brilliant...until the first Sunday I planned to do it started with a wine tasting and ended with a nap. So, Sunday's food & wine combo became Monday night's dinner. And boy, was it good! I watched Pioneer Woman on Saturday, and she made her vodka sauce with lots of cream and butter, which we don't do anymore. So this is the slimmed down version from Eating Well, and it's fab!
The alcohol cooks out of the sauce, so no worries about getting silly from dinner. Let's let the wine do that! Afer sauteeing the onion and garlic, add the vodka and let it reduce by half, then add the crushed tomatoes, fat free half & half, worchestershire and crushed red pepper. (if I forgot anything, it's in the recipe)
Rather than capicola or pancetta, I added thin strips of super lean, paper thin ham, then stirred in lots of fresh basil. It would be just as wonderful with no meat!
This is the wine I chose for tonight, Italian Chianti. It goes well with various meats, pizza or tomato-based sauces. I liked it more than Jack, but he stoically finished his glass ; ) It has a strong finish that we're not really used to, but was still very enjoyable. Again (like Debbie!), I've (almost) never met a wine I didn't like!
