We were in the mood for a hearty, slow cooked dinner last night, one of those dishes that fills the kitchen with savory, earthy aromas.  My wife settled on chicken cacciatore.  Once she uttered the words, my palate knew exactly where to go……….Chianti.

We picked up a whole 4 lb chicken from AJ’s and had them separate out the thigh, breast and legs.  After cleaning off the pieces, she padded them dry and added just touch of olive oil followed by Chardonnay salt and pepper seasoning.  To a large frying pan, she added lemon juice, garlic and thyme and a bit of butter over medium heat.  When the mixture was hot, she added in the chicken, turning frequently until brown.  The chicken was removed to a separate plate, leaving behind some chicken fat in the pan.  She poured off most of the fat, leaving just a bit for sautéing a large yellow onion, thinly sliced.  From there, she added in small portabello mushrooms (you can add as much as you like……..the more you add, the more “earthy” the dish becomes……we went with about a pound).  After the mushrooms had softened a bit, she added in a standard 28 oz can of whole plum (Roma) tomatoes and a half to three quarters of a cup of chicken broth.  She raised the heat to high bringing the mixture to a boil and deglazing the pan, scraping up the darkened brown bits at the bottom of the pan. 

The remainder was the easy part.  The browned chicken and the tomato/chicken broth mixture were added to our slow cooker and it was set to cook for 6 hours, teasing us throughout the afternoon with a building wave of rustic and savory aromas.  Near the end, we cooked up some colorful pasta, layered the cacciatore on top and spooned the dark, flavorful sauce over the entire dish.   So what wine did we choose.  Well, if you must know, I took my own advice and scrolled through the recent Wine Finder column on Sangioveses.  I remembered a great Chianti for the money located at Total Wines.  It’s the 2006 Castello di Querceto Chianti Classico for around $13.  The wine was an ideal match with its blackberry fruit, floral scents of roses and just beautifully crafted fine tannins.  While the wine worked seamlessly with the dish, it can certainly stand on its own as an example of a well balanced, everyday Chianti.