While the Helix Merlot and the chicken parmesan I made did not pair well together, I'm still blogging about them together!! Helix was fantastic while I was cooking and again after I ate my meal so all is not lost!
Chicken Parmesan
This is one recipe in which I don't really use specific measurements. I have made it so many times that I can "eye ball" how much I need depending on how much I want.
You'll need three shallow bowls - one for flour, one for a beaten egg (with black pepper) and one for bread crumbs. Sometimes I put parmesan cheese in with the bread crumbs - your choice.
In this case, I had chicken tenderloins already at home so I used them. Usually I use four chicken breasts. Regardless, pound the chicken to flatten it out some and tenderize it. Then coat the chicken on both sides in flour, then egg, then bread crumbs. With a tablespoon or two of olive oil heated on medium in a skillet, sautee the chicken no more than three minutes on each side until it reaches
165 degrees. Use a paper towel to pat the cooked chicken dry.
Place the chicken on a parchment paper-lined cookie sheet with spaghetti sauce
(I use Wegmans Seasoned Tomato Sauce) and mozzarella cheese.
After baking in a 350 degree oven for about 8 minutes, the chicken will be ready!!
I usually eat it with a side of angel hair pasta and add more sauce and cheese to the pasta before enjoying!
Now to discuss the yummy wine enjoyed before and after the delicious Chicky Chicky Parm Parm.....
2010 Helix Merlot
Stillwater Creek Vineyard
Walla Walla, Washington
About four years ago, I came upon Helix out of sheer luck. To my dismay, I never found it again. I don't even remember what vintage it was but I know it wasn't this one. Last year, Helix came back to my happy place, even though it was a different label and vintage, but I grabbed a bottle anyway.
Helix wines have a label featuring an image of a snail.
Helix, the genus name for the Burgundian snail, is the creme de la creme of “escargot.”
The winemaker's grandparents also met, married and owned a farm near Helix, a rural farming community near Pendleton, Oregon. With his granddad’s approval, he sold the Helix farm in order to build a new winery and create a second label (Reininger is the first label). By naming it Helix, he feels he is honoring his grandparents and the agricultural heritage of his family.
I'm such a sucker for family and definitely for honoring grandparents! Cheers!
Upon first sniff, I sighed a very calming but vocal "mmmmmmm". This beautiful ruby-purple wine has aromas of chocolate, cinnamon, spice, dark berries and jam. I also enjoy a wine that I want to continue to smell. I was in no rush to taste the wine; savoring the lovely aroma with anticipation of its taste. My nose doesn't get this treat very often but when it does it is very appreciative.
When I tasted Helix, I had flavors of cocoa and dark fruit with a smooth tannins but a quick tartness on the finish. Perhaps decanting it would have smoothed it out even more but I didn't bother.
The 2010 Helix was nice; a very unassuming wine. I do wish I knew which vintage I had previously though because, although this was good, I still long for that one.
Well, if Helix didn't pair well with chicky chicky parm parm, what did it pair well with? Aside from Jason Mraz tunes and Alex Preston on American Idol singing "Sweater Weather", it was absolutely divine with Hershey's chocolate pudding! They even look good together!
I don't know if it was the music, the spring weather, the chocolate or the story behind the name, but this wine made me feel hopeful!
"Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul and sings the tunes without the words...
and never stops at all."
- Emily Dickinson
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