Whatever’s in the ‘Fridge Flatbread

We love flatbreads and pizza for weekend lunches.  Sometimes we have a plan and sometimes we just root around in the refrigerator and see what we have.  You might like trying your own version with whatever you have in your ‘fridge.  Flatbreads seem to taste great with a wide variety of wines, we usually just … Continue reading →

Tweet Your Recipe

Tweet Your Recipe Imagine squeezing a recipe with local ingredients into a single 140 character tweet.  Recently, Rick Bakas challenged his readers to tweet food pairing submissions in a competition featuring a different Washington State wine every day.  Sponsored by @2DaysinSeattle, the wine assignment for Wednesday was Andrew Will Sorella 2004, a bordeaux style blend … Continue reading →

CSAWineClick!

Are you a CSA (community supported agriculture) member?  We’re trying our first CSA cropshare this summer, so we’ll have lots of opportunities to try pairing wines with a wider variety of vegetables than usual. Bossy Acres Bossy Acres is the name of the farm; Karla and Elizabeth together are the Bossy Chicks (aka the farmers).  … Continue reading →

Salmon, Risotto & Gevrey-Chambertin: A Meal to Remember

We’ve come to the end of our virtual tour of Burgundy, with a nice finish.  I’ve been working on my risotto skills this winter, and  I think I finally figured it out with this dinner; still a bit chewy but not too much.   In fact, it felt like a very nice restaurant meal.  Not bad … Continue reading →

Steak & Vosne-Romanée

Working our way north, we have exited the Côte de Beaune and have entered the Côte de Nuits.  While the  Côte de Beaune produces both white (Chardonnay) and red (Pinot Noir) wines, the Côte de Nuits produces almost exclusively red wines. The top Grand Cru wines can cost >$500 per bottle, a little out of our price range!  … Continue reading →

Meatless Monday: Shiitake Tacos & Two Shepherds Pastoral Blanc

We’re taking a quick break from our virtual Burgundy tour for Meatless Monday. Today we’re trying Shiitake Tacos from the Herbivoracious cookbook by Michael Natkin.  We tried pairing the tacos with a Two Shepherds Pastoral Blanc white blend from one of our recent discoveries in Sonoma.  We loved the tacos, and we loved the wine, … Continue reading →

Savory Shrimp Stir Fry and Burgundy – Yep!

“Bending” the Recipe to Fit the Wine When we’re on a virtual tour, some of our meals are carefully matched to the wine.  Other times, we’ll pick something for dinner and try to “bend” the recipe a bit to make it more friendly to the wine we’ll be drinking. Today, Julie had a taste for … Continue reading →

A Cautious “Yes” for Burgundy and Mussels

Today on our tour, we’re at the northern end of the Coté de Beaune, in the town of Chorey Lès Beaune.  On hearing of our virtual Burgundy tour, a friend suggested we try pairing the wine with clams or mussels.  What an interesting suggestion!  We have always chosen a white wine with shellfish.  I have … Continue reading →

Our Daily Bread

I can’t say enough good things about Jeff Hertzberg & Zoe Francois’ bread books.  We have so much fun baking fresh bread, pizza crust, ciabatta and focaccia whenever we like. I have Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day, and Artisan Pizza and Flatbread in 5 Minutes a Day.  They even have a whole grain … Continue reading →

Who Would Pick Nebbiolo for a Chicken Dinner?

I never really understood the whole “chicken is a blank canvas” thing until today.  Sure, chicken pairs with different wines depending on whether it’s been baked vs. grilled.  I have made a variety of sauces to serve over chicken and they make the bridge to a lighter red like a Pinot Noir.  But Nebbiolo?  Powerful, … Continue reading →