Back to Basics: Roasted Everything

I'll admit it. Sometimes dinner is not about the main course, but about the bottle of wine to go with it. We deserved a treat last night after a long weekend of yard work, so I went to the wine refrigerator (which doubles as the "cellar" where we keep the $30 and up bottles). I decided to open a bottle from Andrea Immer's A-List. A 1995 Pinot Noir from Oregon. The Firesteed Citation Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley. Not something you'll be able to find in your local wine store. It's very unusual to have an Oregon Pinot Noir with that much bottle age. And many won't stand up to that much aging. It was delicious though...more on that in a minute.

But what to have with it? Andrea suggested something that wouldn't overwhelm the wine. So I went with roast chicken. And decided I'd roast everything to go with it too. Roasted asparagus. And roasted mushrooms with thyme. And an (unroasted) crunchy butter lettuce salad dressed simply with olive oil, balsamic vinegar and salt and pepper. Here are the "recipes"...if you can call them that.

Roast Chicken
Serves four.

1 whole chicken (You can roast it whole, but I usually cut mine in half down the center of the breastbone and backbone. Cuts cooking time just a little.)
Garlic pepper
Kosher salt
Olive oil
Dried herbs (thyme, oregano, and/or rosemary)

Drizzle the chicken with olive oil and sprinkle with your favorite herbs and seasonings. (I opted to go simple with just thyme, salt and pepper last night, but you can get as creative as you want. Even squirt on some lemon juice if you have it for a zingy kick.)

Roast at 425 degrees for 1 hour. (Note: Larger chicken may take longer. For best results, use an instant-read thermometer and cook until thigh registers an internal temperature of 165.)

Roasted Asparagus
Serves 4.

1 pound asparagus spears, woody stems removed
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon diced shallots
Pinch of kosher salt

Toss all ingredients together in a baking dish and roast at 425 degrees for 20 minutes. (I just added the pan to the oven where the chicken was roasting for the last twenty minutes of its cooking time.)

Roasted Mushrooms with Thyme and Shallot
Serves four.

8 ounces shitake mushrooms, sliced thinly (You could also substitute cremini or good old button mushrooms, although the shitake add an additional layer of earthiness.)
1-2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 tablespoon diced shallots
Kosher salt
1 tablespoon butter

Toss mushrooms, thyme, olive oil, shallots and salt together in baking dish. Roast at 425 degrees for fifteen minutes, stirring once or twice during cooking. Remove from oven and stir in one tablespoon butter.

Food/Wine Pairing
So why is this a perfect meal for a good Pinot Noir? Because a good Pinot (or French Burgundy) has wonderful earthy undertones. Mushroom, earth, even bacon or beef broth sometimes. That means it brings out the earthiness of simple proteins like roast chicken. You only enhance that when you add the rusticity of shallot. The woodiness of thyme. And of course the mushrooms themselves. It all comes together with richness and silky texture. Try it. My favorite Pinot Noirs for everyday drinking are La Crema and Sebastiani, but they might be a little too fruit-forward to go perfectly with this. Splurge for a Burgundy or Pinot Noir in the $25 range and it will be worth the extra bucks. Just ask someone at your favorite wine shop for a couple of recommendations on a Pinot with a nice amount of earthiness to it. Cheers.