Chicken (err Tofu) with Spinach, Pears and Blue Cheese

 

After 2 weeks of traveling, it felt good to be back in the kitchen.   My mom sent back some fresh rainbow chard and herbs from her garden so I while catching up on my favorite blogs this recipe from Joe over at Culinary in the Country, caught my eye.   The combination of the pears and blue cheese sounded like a perfect fall-ish flavor.  And, while it is still in the triple digits here in Arizona, being in the midwest where the nights were in the high low 50's definitely put me in the mood for fall.

Since I already had planned on substituting my mom's chard for the spinach, I didn't mind sub-ing tofu in, since I didn't have any chicken on hand.  I'm glad I did, this was a superb way to make an elegant main dish featuring tofu.  Using tofu, I was able to skip the step of baking and just kept the tofu warm while finish the chard/pears.   Whether you choose tofu or chicken, we thought this dish was a winner.  Scott gave it a solid 9 out of 10.  I concur, as it was also quite easy to prepare. 

 

  

The wine for the evening was Dynamic 2006 Red Table Wine form Mendocino.  This is a certified biodynamic blend of merlot (55%), cabernet franc (15%), and cabernet sauvignon (30%.)   We bought a couple bottles of this on a whim while in San Diego.  Glad we did, it's fantastic!  Medium bodied, and velvety soft, it was wonderfully dry, with hints of cherry and chocolate.  It is produced by the Ceago winery and a steal compared to their regular label.  I wish I could find more of it, but upon asking a few local wine shops, it isn't distributed here in AZ.