Viognier & Spicy Food? – Shrimp Tacos
Viognier pairs with a number of interesting foods: Indian cuisine, curries, pork, chicken, anything in a cream sauce, moderately spicy foods. Today we’re testing Viognier with spicy foods. We’re also trying inexpensive examples from California and France. Let’s go! Our spicy food test dish is shrimp tacos. Our basic tacos are barbecue-rub spicy, which is … Continue reading
Viognier Exploration: Curry Chicken, Sweet Potato & Cauliflower
Getting to Know Viognier It’s time to explore a varietal that is surprisingly easy to find, but a little less known: Viognier. Wines made from the Viognier grape tend to have a bigger body: perfect for colder weather. I purchased wines from a variety of different places: California, Washington, Oregon, Australia and France. The samples I … Continue reading
#ChampagneDay 2013
We have fun celebrating these internet based theme days for various wines. One of our favorites is #ChampagneDay because it’s a great excuse to make the day an occasion. It appears that #ChampagneDay is the last Friday in October, because it was also on a Friday last year. Wow, just like Thanksgiving and Easter! Anyway, … Continue reading
Oops!
Make Sure You Have Plenty of OOPS! OK, you spill an expensive bottle of wine, you break glasses. Those “oops” moments are no fun at all. The OOPS moments I’m talking about are failures, but they show you are still trying new things, experimenting, learning. FoodBeerClick Chili (original post here) I wanted to modify a … Continue reading
Paris: Eiffel Tower Food Tour
Take Away Message: Go to Paris. Stay in the 7th Arrondissement. Take the Eiffel Tower Food Tour early in your trip and eat well for the rest of your stay. Thank us later. Julie and I were planning a long awaited trip to Europe this summer. Julie had not been to Paris since 1977 (!) … Continue reading
CSA Box + August Garden Panic = Meatless Monday
Meatless Monday is your friend when your garden is producing volumes of tomatoes and your CSA box is full. Can you pair a meatless meal with an intense, tannic red wine? Yes! Beet Green “Pesto” First: my sincerest apologies to all speakers of the French and Italian languages. My nickname for this “pesto” is Beet … Continue reading
Basil Tasting
I always go overboard with the basil in our kitchen garden. We have 5 plants, 3 varieties for two people! How different do the various types taste? Tonight, we did a basil tasting. We made little skewers of cherry tomatoes, basil, and fresh mozzarella drizzled with balsamic vinegar and sunflower oil. Did you know that … Continue reading
A Meal Made for Pinot Noir
Pork Chops Stuffed with Cherries & Mushrooms, Grilled Salad on the Side If there ever was a meal constructed for Pinot Noir, this would be it! The combination of cherries and mushrooms echo the main aromas and flavors of the wine. The pork is a nice medium body, not too heavy, not too light, also … Continue reading
“Learn to Love Beets” Pizza
Beets on Pizza? Why? Growing up, beets were a regular item at our dinner table. Let’s just say I did not grow to be a fan. When I left home to go to college I thought: “I never have to eat beets again!” After 35+ beetless years, I decided I should really give them a … Continue reading
CSA Box Meets Kitchen Garden
One of the best challenges with the CSA has been figuring out how to use new ingredients, not necessarily the ones we would choose while shopping at the farmers market. Watermelon radishes are beautiful and they offer a nice crunch. The radish tops make nice hearty salad greens. However, they are pepper bombs when raw! … Continue reading
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