Celebrate International Chardonnay Day in McBride Sisters fashion! Follow these easy steps to guarantee a fun-filled evening.
Put your fave artist on blast. We love us some Ciara, new and old! Girl Gang (feat. Kelly Rowland) is golden.
- Crack a bottle of McBride Sisters Collection 2020 Chardonnay. Chilled, crisp wine is a great post-work way to wind down. Ask anyone.
- Throw together Chef Mark’s Butter Lemon Pepper Cornish Hens (see recipe below) for a gorgeously simple dinner that pairs well with our 2020 Chardonnay.
- Jam out while the hens roast!
Just What the Doctor Ordered
The McBride Sisters Collection 2020 Chardonnay reigns from the Central Coast of California. We classify all of our wines, including our Chardonnay, of being an old world style with new world finesse. Our 2020 Chardonnay is full of fresh, fruit-driven aromas. Lemon zest and green apple mix with pineapple and a toasty, custardy grace note When people hear “Chardonnay,” they tend to associate it with a buttery, heavy flavor. Ours, however, has a balanced creamy mid-palate. This has nothing to do with the grape itself and everything to do with the winemaker’s style choices—sense the McBride flare?
Get to Know the Process
Like for each of our wines, time and care went into every step of the bottling process. Chardonnay clusters were tightly pressed then moved to a settling tank, where they remained for 24 hours. Afterwards, the juice was racked to tank or barrel where fermentation commences. For added depth and complexity, 15% of the wine was barrel fermented to create the classic Chardonnay texture and very subtle oak notes. To conserve fresh and crisp fruit notes, the balance of the wine (85%) was fermented in stainless steel. Uniquely, only 75% of the wine was put through Malolactic fermentation (where the creamy texture comes from). Following 8 months of aging, the wine was blended before being filtered and bottled.
As we like to say, a glass of Chardonnay a day keeps the doctor away!
Chef Mark’s Butter Lemon Pepper Cornish Hens
Serves: 6
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Ingredients
- 3 Cornish game hens patted dry with paper towels
- 4 tablespoons salted butter (room temperature)
- 3 large cloves garlic, peeled & chopped
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice (keep 3 halves of lemons to stuff in hens)
- Extra virgin olive oil
- 3 teaspoon fresh cracked pepper
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 cup McBride Sisters Chardonnay
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Pat the hens dry with a paper towel.
- Mix the butter, garlic, lemon juice, pepper, and salt (set aside).
- Use your index finger to loosen the skin on the top of the hen and slip the lemon pepper butter under the skin on top of each breast. Repeat for each hen. Put a quarter of a lemon in the cavity of each hen. Truss the hens by tying the wings and legs.
- Rub each hen with the remaining lemon pepper butter. Sprinkle extra salt and pepper on the skin then drizzle with olive oil. Place the hens on the rack of a roasting pan lined with aluminum foil, spacing them out so they are far apart from each other. This will enable their skins to get browned and crispy.
- Place the hens in the preheated oven and roast for 25 minutes.
- While the hens are roasting, combine the chicken broth and wine in a bowl.
- After the hens have been roasting for 25 minutes, reduce the oven temperature to 350°F. Pour the broth/wine mixture over the hens and continue to roast for 30 minutes, basting the hens with the juices at the bottom of the pan every 10 minutes or less. The hens are done when internal temperature reaches 165°F and the juices run clear. If you prefer darker skins, turn up the temperature once cooked to broil for a couple of minutes, watching closely to prevent burning.
- Carefully remove the hens and pour the juices from their cavities into the roasting pan. Transfer the hens to a warmed platter, remove the trussing and tent with aluminum foil to week warm. Pour the juices from the roasting pan into a saucepan and boil for about 5 minutes until the liquid is a thin sauce-like consistency.
- Serve the hens whole per guest or cut in half lengthwise. Drizzle the sauce over the hens and serve immediately alongside McBride Sisters Collection 2020 Chardonnay.
Love this recipe as much as we do? Learn more about the creative genius behind this dish. Visit www.southerntemptation.com to get to know Chef Mark Phillips and his culinary expertise. Also, don’t forget to treat yourself well, check out our seasonal Wine Club plans to enjoy a moment in your daily life. Cheers!
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** The McBride Sisters SHE CAN Professional Development Fund is accepting scholarship applications until July 31st. **
