All American Menu: Farmer and Winery Friends #WinePW
July Wine Pairing Weekend Assignment: All American, All French, or Somewhere In Between I chose “All American!” I’ve been spending lots of time this year exploring Italian food and wine, but sometimes it’s fun to come home to familiar ground. Especially this time of year, where we can cook almost the whole meal on the … Continue reading
Cut Me Smash Me Burn Me: Spatchcock Chicken Under Bricks
Cut Me Smash Me Burn Me ChickenI’ve always been impressed with photos of “How to Spatchcock a Chicken”, but it seemed a bit intimidating. Couldn’t be farther from the truth; it’s so easy it may become your new standard preparation of a whole bird! Grilling the chicken under a brick comes naturally with a spatchcocked … Continue reading
#WinePW 3: Summers’ Bounty or Attack of the Killer Turnips?
Wine Pairing Weekend #3: Summers’ Bounty Wine Pairing weekend is a monthly collaborative event for wine/food bloggers. This month’s theme is “Summers’ Bounty”. If you’d like to see what others in our group are doing, scroll to the bottom of the post for links. Summers’ Bounty or Attack of the Killer Turnips? Is your garden … Continue reading
BBQ Chicken part 2: Pairing with Idlewild Arneis
Which White to Pair with BBQ Chicken & Sweet Barbecue Sauce? As part of #NWTW, we were testing out Zinfandel with an easy grilled chicken breast smothered in sweet barbecue sauce. Always curious to find both red wines and white wines to pair with food, I wanted to try a white wine with the same … Continue reading
#NWTW: Zinfandel with BBQ Chicken
#NWTW: Zinfandel #NWTW (New Wine This Week) is fun, but it does involve working on a deadline. If I don’t finish by Sunday evening, I’m out of luck until the next wine and the next week! This week: Zinfandel. It isn’t new to many American households, but I’ll happily share my experience with my buds … 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
What’s Mourvèdre?
The Mourvèdre grape is widely used as one of the blending grapes in Southern Rhone wines such as Côtes du Rhone and Châteauneuf du Pape; wines we enjoy. To get a sense of Mourvèdre at center stage however, we need to look beyond the Rhone. Bandol is a town in Provence and its red wines must … Continue reading
Pork Chops, Pommard and a Surprise
Our third stop on our virtual tour of Burgundy is Pommard (confession: can’t seem to find the photos for the Santenay or the Monthelie, oops!). Menu: Pork chops, mushrooms, mashed potatoes and carrots for color. We’ll pair the meal with the Pommard, but there is a surprise! We pulled out a white wine we had … Continue reading
An Exceptional Pairing: Cool Climate Syrah & Lamb Chops
One of my favorite pairings is a cool climate Syrah with grilled lamb chops, and this one was exceptional: Anthill Farms Sonoma Coast Syrah and Star Thrower Farm lamb chops. Wow! I had planned a vegetarian dinner for Meatless Monday, but I realized Julie had an evening commitment. It was my chance for lamb chops … Continue reading
