Chicken and Waffles + Donkey & Goat's Chardonnay

Last week, for D's 14th birthday, we headed up to the San Francisco Bay Area for a quick one-day adventure. But, because it can't all be about him, I squeezed in a stop in Berkeley at one of our favorite vintners Donkey & Goat.

I had hoped to finally meet Jared face-to-face after years of emails, but he was out doing family things with his kids. 'Tis the season for fun and family! I'll meet him one of these days, I'm sure.

But, over the course of an hour or so, Kelsey guided us through a tasting and helped me plan out our Christmas dinner with Donkey & Goat pairings. We ended up with three courses and three wines.

In the Glass
After tasting the chardonnay, Jake said, "I see this with chicken and waffles!" Kelsey and I hesitated, tasted again, then both agreed. One pairing down.

The 2016 Linda Vista Vineyard Chardonnay was made with grapes that enjoy both the cooling influence of the Bay and the warming sunshine of Napa Valley. On the nose there's an alluring blend of stone fruit and citrus; I was getting a hint of something very familiar, but I couldn't put my finger on it then and still need to work it out. It'll come to me. What I love about this wine is its balanced acidity with a lush mouthfeel. I'm not a huge fan of Chardonnay, usually, but this one gets my thumbs up. And it was a delicious foil to my chicken and waffles.

On the Plate
This will just be a recipe for the oven-baked chicken as I used a waffle mix from Bob's Red Mill for the actual waffes. I also used the mix in the breading for the chicken. So, just use your favorite waffle recipe and your favorite gravy recipe. I'll share mine eventually.

Also, for an entree size dish, you could serve a whole waffle with two tenderloins on top. As this was just part of a larger menu, I opted to serve one-quarter of a waffle with half of a tenderloin!

Ingredients

• 1 C waffle mix (I used the blend from Bob's Red Mill)
• 1 t dried oregano
• 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken tenderloins (approximately 10 tenderloins, sliced in half to make a large 'nugget')
• 2 eggs, slightly beaten
• 3 T butter, melted
• Also needed: waffles and gravy for serving

Procedure

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. In a medium size bowl mix together waffle mix and oregano. In a smaller bowl, whisk the eggs. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Dip chicken into eggs then toss in flour mixture. Place it on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat for the remaining tenderloins. Drizzle melted butter over the chicken (approxmately  ½ tsp on each).

Bake for 10 minutes. Flip chicken and bake for an additional 8 minutes or until chicken is firm to the touch and no longer pink in the center.

To serve, place one-quarter of a waffle on your serving plate. Top with chicken piece. Drizzle with gravy. Serve immediately.