Tuesday Betsy made a couple of dishes featured in the NYT a couple months ago, recipes by Suzanne Goin from the book "Sunday Suppers at Lucques." The deviled chicken thighs with braised leeks were very good, but the real winner was the kabocha salad with greens, bacon, pecorino, and pecans. Deliciously nutty squash, delightful dish.
Betsy needed a little wine for cooking, and I opened the 2004 Ch.Haut-Rian (Bordeaux AC). We had a glass as an apertif - light grassiness, clean melon and citrus fruit, good acidity. Betsy says "get more of this" when I tell her it's under $10. Very good QPR. B/B+
The devil part of the chicken recipes were chiles in the marinade, as well as a mustard coating (post-browning, pre-baking). I wasn't sure dry white Bdx was way to go with that, so opened the 2004 Meulenhof Wehlener Sonnenuhr Spatlese (screwcapped, yeah!). A little hint of sulphur on the nose initially, which quickly blew off. A real Spatlese, not an Auslese in disguise, with sweet lime and nectarine fruit, good acidity, and a nice minerally note to the finish. B+
Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent wine, B a good wine, C mediocre. Anything below C means I wouldn't drink at a party where it was only choice. Furthermore, I offer no promises of objectivity, accuracy, and certainly not of consistency.