Yesterday Dave and I headed to the beach on what was another beautiful summer day here in New England. Once Dave hit his sun quota, we went over to Bristol to get some blogs written while we downed some white wine and munchies. This isn't a bad way to spend a Sunday if you ask me.
Dave had made a corn and crab chowder the previous weekend on the Cape and really wanted to share it with you all but needed a good white wine to suggest you pair it with. It's a tough job to research that, but someone's gotta do it. We picked up two to try, a 2010 Corvo Insolia from Sicily and a 2010 Remy Pannier Vouvray from the famed Loire Valley in France. Both of these wines were less than $20, so don't let the fancy names scare you off.
We started with the Vouvray, which is made from a grape called Chenin Blanc. Both of these wines are great summer whites, so those of you that like to sip on wine in warmer weather will likely be pleased with either, though they have very different flavor profiles. The Vouvray tastes of peach, honey, flowers and golden apples. There's some sweetness to this wine but it finishes dry and it's pale color should not lead you to believe it's too delicate to stand up to food, such is not the case! Go ahead and enjoy this with your saltier summer spreads--cheeses, meats, grilled pizzas.
The Corvo Insolia also delivered with it's smells and tastes of white peach, pear, honeysuckle, melon and green apple. The grape Inzolia is local to Sicily and Dave and I both remarked on how Sicily doesn't carry the great reputation for wine as other cities and regions in Italy so it was good to see them representing with this. This is not a citrus-y wine which can be a nice deviation from some of the "usual whites" we see in summer. It's quick on the finish and medium bodied, which means you can serve it with your seafood or poultry dishes and likely have yourself a lovely little experience.
In the end, the Vouvray won out as the best match for Dave's chowder, recipe below. The sweetness in the wine we felt would marry well with the corn in this dish, and the weight of the wine could stand up to the heartiness of a chowder. Either way, we thoroughly enjoyed both as we watched the sun start to set on the Narragansett Bay on the unofficial end to summer (I am literally crying as I write this).
Run out and get the last of the delicious summer corn to whip this up and pay a proper homage to the end of the season!
Dave's Corn and Crab Chowder:
12 ears of corn (or 2 bags frozen) boiled for a few minutes, it doesn't need to be cooked through
1+ lb. of crab (Dave wants me to make sure you know he hand harvested his on the Cape...so there you have it) dungeness, jonah or lump NO IMITATION crab meat here...or ever really
2 medium or 1 large onion, diced
4 stalks of celery, diced
3 bell peppers--color is up to you, Dave used one each green, red, yellow--he likes color
4 diced red bliss potatoes
3 strips of GOOD bacon--render this, dice it up and then throw your diced onion, celery and peppers into the bacon fat and sauté them.
2 boxes of your favorite chicken stock (or your homemade stuff)--heat this up to a quick boil then throw your potatoes in until they're tender.
A bundle of a few sprigs of fresh Thyme and 2 Bay leaves--if you have them dry and don't feel like running out to get fresh just do a healthy pinch of the thyme--put this into your stock and potatoes now.
Add in the corn and the crab
TEMPER in 1/2 pint of heavy cream--temper because you don't want it to separate and get chunky (blech)...so whisk in just a little at a time
Add 1/2 stick of butter and let this all come together...a little salt and pepper to taste or if you like it HOT feel free to add your cayenne, tobasco or whatever your weapon of choice now
For summer everywhere--Dave and Trish
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