One Fish, Two Fish, Red Wine Fish, Blue Fish

Ally: You know, I read all these recipes that call for one or two cloves of garlic. I just don't get it. I mean, why would you do that?

Josh: Some people just want a hint. An essence.

Ally: Oh. *pause* I don't think I could be friends with those people.

A few weeks ago, I started making Chicken with 40 cloves of garlic, which calls for white wine. I didn't have white wine. Which was all right, because I had red wine. And I was changing things up anyway, why not mix things up more? So I made Chicken Drumsticks in a red wine sauce. The smell, the sight -- stunning. Beautiful. I wished that I could record the scent of it cooking, it was so evocative.

The taste, on the other hand, was unimpressive.

Drumsticks continue to evade me. I can't really get them right unless they're still attached to the rest of the chicken, which is totally ridiculous. I ate the leftovers for two days with great hostility, cranky about a perfectly good idea gone bad. And on the second day, I had a breakthrough on how to fix it.


Red wine and salmon is a natural pairing -- tastier, in my humble opinion, than the chicken and red wine pairing. Plus, red wine + chicken = gray chicken, which is way gross.


High up on my list of things I wish I hadn't had to find out for myself is: don't cook with a wine you wouldn't drink. My current favorite is Old Vine Zinfandel, but any red wine will work in this dish.




Pasta with Salmon and Red Wine Cream Sauce

Feeds 4.

1 tbsp olive oil
20 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 cup white onion, chopped
1 cup fresh basil, finely chopped
3/4 cup red wine
1 lb fresh salmon, cubed
1/2 cup half & half or whipping cream
1/2 lb fettuccine, cooked
salt and pepper to taste
parmesan (optional)

*Coat the bottom of a skillet with the olive oil. Drain any excess. Add the onions and garlic and cook on medium until softened, about two minutes.

*Add the salmon, basil, and red wine. Cook until the salmon is almost opaquely pink, about four minutes. Slowly add the cream or half and half, and simmer until salmon is completely done -- another 2 minutes or so.

*Season to taste with salt and pepper. Toss with pasta and parmesan, if desired. Serve now!