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Pairings February 1, 2012

Chicken Breasts with Spinach, Leek and Saffron Sauce Paired with Freemark Abbey Napa Chardonnay 2010.

“Chardonnay paired with Chicken? Teach you that one at Sommelier school, did they?” Ok, so I won’t say that this is the most adventurous pairing the world has ever seen, but it’s one of only two (I believe) white meat and Chardonnay pairings that I’ve ever posted. As crazy as it sounds, we very rarely eat chicken in my house…chicken wings (of course) being the one BIG exception. It’s not that I don’t like chicken,…

Pairings, Recipes January 23, 2012

Moroccan Spiced Lamb Chops Paired with La Griveliere Cotes du Rhone 2010.

Ever since receiving a set of insanely expensive Laguiole steak knives for Christmas, I’ve been dying to test them out. Truth-be-told, when I unwrapped the small rectangler box on Dec 25th, my heart dropped into my shoes when I saw the Laguiole logo on the wooden case. For one second I thought the Mrs. had dropped $100+ on a Laguiole wine opener. I don’t by any means want to sound ungrateful, it’s not that I…

Pairings, Recipes January 17, 2012

Spicy Crab Cakes with Mango Puree Paired with Willamette Valley Vineyards Riesling.

Yesterday, when I mentioned to the Mrs. that I was going to make crab cakes for dinner, the first words out of her mouth were “Make them like my Mom makes them! They’re the BEST!!!” It’s probably worth pointing out that the main 2 tricks behind how “Mom makes them” is to use zero bread filling, and to shape them roughly the size of baseballs. Delicious, no doubt; but if she were the chef in…

Funny, News, Pairings December 30, 2011

A Redneck Christmas.

Christmas is a CRAZY time for most people, and I’m no exception, therefore this post has taken a few days to get together. I hope you all (or should I say “y’all”, with an English accent) had a great Christmas! It just seemed to zip by, well, at least did for me! It feels like we only JUST put our tree up! Now we have to take the bloody-thing down again….Christmas was soooo much easier…

Pairings, Recipes December 16, 2011

Coffee-Roasted Duck Paired with HeartSmart “For Giving” Mount Veeder Cabernet, 2008.

With December being such a crazy month (my wife works in retail, and I work in a restaurant), eating at home has kind of taken a backseat over the last few weeks. Therefore, I do have to say that these food and wine pairing articles have also been a little sparse. Who wants to get home after working a 12+ hour shift, and cook? Not me! I’m sure we’re not in a minority on this,…

Facts, Pairings November 18, 2011

My Top 10 Reasons to Love Wine (If You Don’t Already) – #7

#7 It Makes Food Taste Better I propose that wine is the ultimate “condiment” to further enhance the flavor of any meal. A spicy-rich Syrah finds a perfect home when paired with Lamb Chops. A Stilton with a decent Port can be compared to chocolate-covered popcorn (the saltiness of the Stilton matches perfectly with the sweet-flavor of the Port). In fact, the number of flavor enhancing wine pairing are endless! The old school rules state…

Pairings November 10, 2011

Grilled Flank Steak in a Garlic, Balsamic and Red Wine Marinade, Paired with Masseria Pietrosa Salice Salentino.

If you’ve been following these food and wine pairings, you’ll know that I ideally like to keep the recipes as quick and simple as possible. This pairing epitomizes that concept. The wine for this pairing is the Masseria Pietrosa Salice Salentino; yet another European wine which doesn’t do itself any favors with its name or label, so I’ll help explain: Salice Salentino is actually the town in the Southern Apulia region of Italy (the “heel…

Pairings October 28, 2011

Texas-Style Chili Paired with Huguenot Cuvee de Rouge, Santa Ynez – California.

This last Monday, I had the privilege to attend my first ever Monday night football game! Suffice to say it was probably the most American thing I’ve done all year! For the first time since I’ve been living in Jacksonville, the Mrs and I decided to take a big leap of faith, and become season ticket holders for the Jacksonville Jaguar’s (whom I still insist on pronouncing JAG-U-AHHHS). I can’t say why I thought season…

Pairings October 18, 2011

Lamb Meatballs with Cumin, Mint, and Tomato Sauce Paired with Ramspeck Napa Pinot Noir 2009

Cabernet vines dominate the Napa Valley landscape, but everyone (I assume) knows that! What often gets overlooked is that (given half the chance) Napa can still do a decent job with Pinot Noir; even though Sonoma, Willamette (Oregon), and Carneros hog most of the limelight. Now don’t get me wrong, the Pinot’s coming out of “the Valley” are stylistically very different than those hailing from the cooler aforementioned regions; producing wines which are much more…

Pairings October 11, 2011

Slow Cooker Moroccan Chicken Paired with Palmaz 2007 Napa Valley Riesling

This recipe is my attempt at killing four birds with one stone; and by “birds” I mean my crockpot, chicken, my bottle of Palmaz 2007 Napa Valley Riesling, and my wife. What do the three have in common, and why do you want to kill your wife with a stone? Well… My slow cooker has been looking kind of sad lately. All lonely, stuffed away in a dark-corner of my pantry, covered in dust, giving…

Pairings, Recipes September 29, 2011

Raspberry-Glazed Peaches with Mascarpone Paired with Santa Julia Late Harvest Torrontes

Ladies and gentlemen! What you are witnessing is my first ever dessert and wine pairing! Remember this post for as long as you can, because I never make desserts in my own home…which is such a shame, because I love them! Dessert wines are so often forgotten about, and I think they could possibly be one of the most misunderstood types of wine. It never fails to amaze me that when I pour a…

Pairings, Recipes September 21, 2011

Lemongrass-Marinated Grouper Paired with Dr. Pauly Bergweiler Riesling

It’s not very often that Riesling gets the chance to be opened in my house. The Mrs. hasn’t always had the biggest affinity for the little German grape, as she (like most others), thinks all their wines are sweet. This was the pairing that would change her mind! The winemaking family history of Dr. Pauly Bergweiler, can be traced back to the 16th century in the Mosel. Therefore, they’ve had plenty of time to…