How delicious do these look?! The recipe called for dried figs, but I only had fresh ones, so I soaked them in the Vin Santo as the recipe said, because really, how could that be bad. You then roll pistachios, sage, some of the Vin Santo soaked figs and pancetta -for the love- in pounded chicken, saute’ in butter and then cook in the oven with a sauce made by deglazing the pan with, yes, more Vin Santo.

For our side, I’m working on the Balsamic-glazed beets. They are so pretty.

Do you know Vin Santo? It is an Italian dessert wine (translation: holy wine) that is amber in color, often served with cantucci (like the biscotti we find here) for dunking, and ranges from inexpensive to very expensive. There are several varieties: Vin Santo proper hails from Tuscany and is often made from white grapes such as Malvasia and Trebbiano; Torcolato from the Veneto; and so forth. Passito is the generic name for such wines; it means straw wine as the grapes are often dried on straw mats, although in some cooler areas, the grapes are hung from rafters to dry and shrivel.

Other countries now make similarly-styled wines: Strohwein in Austria/Germany; Vin de Paille in France…

Gotta get the chicken off…More later.