Budget-Friendly Deliciousness

My wine and food budget has been a little tight recently. The need for things for around the house, fix the screens, put in new curtains, prep the garden (damn dirt is expensive), and saving for a sofa that doesn't have a metal rod sticking out of the cushion, has taken some priority. Does that mean I'm not eating well or having delicious wine? If I have to answer that than you do not know me at all. I have been eating and wine-drinking with the same gusto as ever, just with some monetary restraint. Which has been quite easy actually, I am nothing, if not resourceful.


I'm going to share three recipes I prepared recently that cost me very little money to make and were delicious and creative. Plus I'm going recommend three wines I've been enjoying - not only are they affordable, but they're incredibly tasty and perfect to drink on a warm spring day!


This first recipe I doubled to feed a crowd of us on Mother's Day, feeding 8 people on a budget can be tricky. Buying whole chickens and cutting the back bone out yourself saves you money. Rhubarb is inexpensive (especially when you just need 1-2 stalks) but its even cheaper if you know someone who has some growing, which here in VT is quite likely. The rest of the ingredients are basically pantry staples for me and if you plan accordingly you'll be using fresh ginger in this recipe as well as the clam recipe below - one ingredient, dual purposes.

Roast Chicken with Rhubarb Butter
Serves 4
*adapted from Bon Appetit

Any leftover rhubarb butter or rhubarb syrup are easily repurposed. Smear the butter on veggies or on toast and the syrup is awesome with some sparkling wine!

Ingredients:
1 large rhubarb stalk, cut into ½-inch pieces
¼ cup fresh orange juice
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 tablespoon finely grated peeled ginger
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 3½–4-pound chicken, backbone removed, chicken patted dry
1 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves

Preparation:
1. Bring rhubarb, orange juice, maple syrup, and ginger to a simmer in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until rhubarb is soft but not falling apart, about 5 minutes. Drain over a small bowl. Reserve cooking liquid and rhubarb separately; let cool.

2. Mix rhubarb and butter in a small bowl until smooth; season with salt and pepper.

3. Preheat oven to 400°. Place chicken, skin side up, on a rimmed baking sheet. Gently slide your fingers underneath skin to loosen and rub flesh all over with rhubarb butter (try not to tear skin). Drizzle chicken with 1 Tbsp. oil and some of the reserved rhubarb cooking liquid, scatter thyme over, and season with salt and pepper.

4. Roast chicken until skin is browned and crisp and meat is cooked through (juices will run clear and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of a thigh should register 165°), 40−50 minutes. Let rest 10 minutes. Serve chicken with any pan juices drizzled over.


I've been buying Mahogany Clams at Hannaford recently for $.49/lb, that's crazy right? And they were delicious! They've gone up in price since then ($1.19/lb) still a bargain. A big bowl of clams, a green salad, and a hunk of baguette and you've got briny satisfaction.

Clams in Miso-Ginger Broth
Serves 4

Ingredients:
4 thick slices of baguette
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for brushing
2 garlic cloves—1 left whole, 1 thinly sliced
1 medium shallot, minced
2 tablespoons fresh ginger, very thinly sliced
Salt and freshly ground pepper
4 pounds clams, scrubbed
1 1/2 cups dry white wine
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 tablespoons white miso
½ cup fresh cilantro, roughly chopped

Preparation:
1. Preheat the broiler. Brush the bread with olive oil and transfer to a baking sheet. Broil the bread a few inches from the heat, turning once, for 2 minutes, until golden and toasted. Lightly rub the whole garlic clove over the toasts.

2. In a large, deep pot, heat the 1/4 cup of olive oil. Add the shallot, sliced garlic and ginger, season lightly with salt and pepper and cook over high heat, stirring, until the garlic is softened and lightly browned, about 3 minutes. Add the clams and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the wine, cover and steam the clams until they open, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the clams to 4 deep bowls, discarding any that do not open.

3. Add the butter, miso and cilantro to the broth, swirling and shaking the pot until the butter melts. Slowly pour the broth over the clams, stopping before you reach the grit at the bottom of the pot. Serve with the garlic toasts and a sprinkling of more fresh cilantro on top.

This is my go-to pantry recipe. I always have these ingredients (bacon, eggs, cheese, pasta) on hand and this recipe really does make a stunning and satisfying meal. It looks impressive and couldn't be easier.

The Silkiest Carbonara
Serves 4
*Adapted From Barbara Lynch (Bon Appetit April 2012)

Ingredients:
1/4 pound guanciale (salt-cured pork jowl) or pancetta or bacon, cut into 1/3" cubes
7 large egg yolks
1 large egg
1 pound pasta (parpadelle, bucatini, rigatoni, whatever you have and like!)
Kosher salt
1/2 cup finely grated Pecorino or Parmesan plus more for garnish
2 teaspoons freshly ground pepper (I use a mix of black, green, pink, and white - but just black works too)


Preparation:
1. Put guanciale in a large skillet and place over medium-low heat. Cook, stirring frequently, until fat renders but guanciale is not browned, about 5 minutes. Pour into a fine-mesh sieve set over a small bowl; reserve drippings. Transfer guanciale to a large bowl and let cool slightly. Add egg yolks and egg to bowl; whisk to blend.

2. Meanwhile, cook pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water, stirring occasionally, until al dente. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup pasta cooking liquid.

3. To egg mixture, immediately add rigatoni, 2 tablespoons pasta cooking liquid, and 1 teaspoon guanciale drippings; toss to coat. Working in 3 batches, gradually add Pecorino, stirring and tossing to melt between batches. Add pepper; toss until sauce thickens, adding more pasta water by tablespoonfuls if needed. Season to taste with salt and black pepper.4. Divide among bowls. Garnish with Pecorino.


Wines to try...

These three wines are not only affordable (under $20/btl) but also interesting, unique and best of all, they are super delicious and refreshing!

Xarmant Txakoli 2014, Basque, Spain - $14.99This wine is incredibly easy-drinking and refreshing. It smells of summer - fresh cut grass, lime zest, and almond. It’s clean, bright and perfectly uncomplicated with flavors of lime, granny smith apple, and green hay. It is the perfect thing to drink on a warm day.

Villa Sparina Gavi di Gavi 2013, Piedmont, Italy - $17.25
The Villa Sparina Gavi is (as all Gavi must be) made from 100% Cortese grapes. The wine has lovely aromatics - fresh flowers, river stones, and peach pit. It’s fresh and bright, but round with rich flavors of ripe yellow fruits - star fruit, golden raspberry, and citron. 

D. Ventura ‘Vina do Burato’ 2012, Ribera Sacra, Spain - $16.99

This is a great springtime red. It’s low(ish) in alcohol, just 12% and is a lively, pure, and accessible expression of the Mencía grape. It’s fermented in stainless steel to preserve that freshness. Aromas are of plum, strawberry leather, earth, and rose petals. Bright on the palate with flavors of mulberry, red plum, raspberry, and pomegranate. Those fresh fruit flavors are framed by fine tannin.