Red wine is my libation of choice most of the time but when it hit 100 degrees last week, I decided it was time to break out my bottle of Hess 2007 Lake County Sauvignon Blanc, a crisp, green apple-citrus flavored white that needed to be uncorked. The wine, one of the winery’s budget offerings, was supposed to be paired with a recipe for raw oysters. Since I can’t figure out how to shuck an oyster to save my life, I put it to work cooling down bites of this firey hot basil chicken dish that my daugter cooked up. The wine was only $11, and the chicken dish is going into my permanent file.

Thai Basil Chicken

Serves 2

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

4-7 Thai chili peppers, minced

1-2 bunches Thai basil

1/2 pound ground chicken (we used cubed)

1 tablespoon minced garlic

3 tablespoons fish sauce

Pluck basil leaves off the stems. It may appear to be a lot of leaves, but they will shrink when cooked.

Fry the garlic and chili pepper in oil over medium-high heat. When the garlic starts to turn brown, drop the ground chicken into the pan and stir. Stir constantly until the chicken is completely cooked. Add sugar and fish sauce and stir briefly. Add basil leaves and quickly fold them in. Remove the pan from the heat and serve over rice.