i secondi

Tonight I have a new understanding of the purpose of the Italian secondi. Typically the i secondi - generally meats - follow, logically, i primi - the first course (paste, risotto, etc.). I swear these Italians think of everything! Well, in my dinner endeavour for tonight, I decided that I would cook up some chicken with lemon, capers, and white wine. The chicken itself was delicious, but my fatal flaw was placing it on top of pasta. Horrific! As I cut the chicken, I cut the pasta, which just seems wrong on some level.

Other than my grave mistake of chicken placement, the meal was nicely flavored. The vegetable was broccoli rabe, initially boiled in salted water and then sauteed with olive oil and garlic. If I were to go back in time, with my current insight, I would have combined the spaghetti with the broccoli rabe to make a twist on the typical Apulia dish of orecchiette e cime di rape. *Note to self: must buy anchovies (an essential ingredient in the dish that I have been living for too long without). Another change I would make would to not shave parmiggiano over the chicken. The cheese ended up sticking to the lemon slices and not mixing into the pasta. As you can see in the picture, this brilliant thought struck me midway though grating the cheese; thus, the hunk of cheese at the top of the plate.

Well, that sure is enough critiquing of myself for tonight. Moving on to bigger and better things...the wine! Typically, I choose reds over whites. However, with this terrible rainy and cool weather in June, I've been craving some summery foods; and a crisp white wine says just that to me. So I schlep over to my favorite wine store Enoteca Di Palo. The owner advises me, expertly, on the white wines (all from Italy, mind you). I'm a huge fan of Orvieto Classio (from Umbria) and Gavi (from Piemonte), but today I want to expand my palate and my knowledge, so I ask for something different. Sam, the owner, recommends his all time favorite Italian white Timorasso. Who am I to question this man? I'm certainly not going to begin now. So I take the wine (heavily discounted thanks to my charms and wits) and schlep on back to my apartment.

Lacking the proper glass (a large, bulbous one Sam recommends), I make use of my short drinking cup exclusively purchased at the near by K-Mart. The color: light straw yellow. The scents: kitchen herbs and possibly some fresh sliced apples. Persistent. The taste lingers in my mouth long after I've swallowed. All the components are there and balanced. There is a slight pucking feeling on the sides of my cheeks which I like. Crisp, clean - this is summer. Could this be my new favorite white as well? Only time can tell.

Wine:
La Colombera
Colli Tortonesi
DOC
Timorasso
2006

Food:
Chicken sauteed in olive oil, garlic, capers, lemon, white wine
Spaghetti
Broccoli Rabe with sauteed garlic
Parmiggiano cheese