Slow Cooker Chicken Cacciatore with Al Dente Pappardelle

Here’s an “I’ll taste even better tomorrow” recipe that will set your teeth on edge today. And if you pair it with Al Dente’s latest creation, their toothsome Garlic Herb wide noodle pasta, I’m guaranteeing you’ll leave the table one happy camper.

See my notes on using frozen wine (far left corner.)

A warning: Just because it’s a slow cooker recipe doesn’t mean it will only take five minutes to toss into the pot and simmer all day. There’s a solid 30 minutes of chopping, skinning and prepping involved, but the results are worth the effort.

Rebecca Bawkon, who is the wine consultant at Busch’s South Main store, gave me a great tip several years ago: Freeze leftover wine. You read me correctly. I have a big ziplock in my freezer reserved for leftover reds; freezing wine in ice cube trays, as I do pesto, would work well, too.

After pouring the seasoned sauce over the chicken & aromatics, the slow cooker can finish the job.

It’s a pity to discard good wine, so I pour the leftovers into the ziplock, then chip off and thaw the required wine when making long simmering stews, such as in the recipe below. Of course she wouldn’t recommend freezing leftover wine if you intend to drink it, heaven forbid, but when using wine in a recipe that incorporates heat,  leftover frozen then thawed wine works fine.

Equipment Note: I used a 6 1/2 quart e-Lume slow cooker.