 |
 |
 |
 |
to surprise that special someone or group of friends with the perfect meal
to compliment your wine purchase. You start to hyper-ventilate because
the last thing you want to do is to prepare food that tastes horrible with
your wine and vice-versa. Take a deep breath and relax. There are some
easy tricks to matching food and wine that you can apply to any style you
choose to serve.
Wine and Food Author Sid Goldstein in his cookbook titled, "The Wine
Lover's Cookbook" explains one secret to matching food and wine is to
look for the food and wine's "Bridge Ingredients". In other words, the
flavors that a wine style shares with the food dish you are preparing. If you
know you are preparing Orange Roughy in lemon butter and your wine has
hints of lemon in the taste, Bingo! You can't lose. A lot of bottles of wine
that you pick up at your store list some of the flavors present in the wine on
the back label, like lemon, citrus or plums and cherry. Some go even
further by suggesting some food items that should pair well with the wine.
Hey, they made it, they ought to know, right?
Harvey Steiman from the Wine Spectator has another tip for matching food
and wine. If a wine is thin-bodied, or has a light mouthfeel, it should be
paired with food that is prepared in light sauces or broiled and or baked. If
you have a thicker bodied wine with a heavier mouthfeel, than you may
want to serve it with something prepared in a thicker cream sauce, etc...
Our wine of the month, Pinot Grigio/Gris, should have a thin-body or light
mouthfeel to it. If it doesn't, check the bottle, maybe you picked up a
California Chardonnay on accident! Remember the characteristics of Pinot
Grigio/Gris, very dry with citrus flavors like lemon, grapefruit, peach and
sometimes floral like aromas with spicy ginger accents. I think it is
because of the ginger flavor in this wine style that make it a sure thing with
sushi and the lemony quality is always a winner with fish.
If your still clueless, here are some recipes that will get you started:
Recipes
2 pounds of medium-small shrimp, peeled and deveined
8 limes, juiced
8 lemons, juiced
2 oranges, juiced, preferably sour oranges
2 large tomatoes, cut into 1/2-inch dice
1 red onion, cut into 1/2-inch dice
1 bunch cilantro, stemmed and roughly chopped
1 serrano chile, roughly chopped
2 large avocados, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1/2-inch dice
1 large cucumber, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch dice
Tortilla chips, for garnish
about 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the shrimp to a bowl of ice water to chill.
Drain the shrimp, cut into 1-inch pieces, and transfer to a bowl. Add the lime, lemon, and
orange juice, stir to combine, and refrigerate for at least 4 hours and up to 6.
Stir the tomato, onion, cilantro, and chile into the shrimp mixture and let sit at room
temperature for about 20 minutes.
When ready to serve, gently stir in the avocado and cucumber. Divide the ceviche amoung 8
chilled martini glasses and tuck 2 to 3 tortilla chips around the sides of each.
Copyright © 2003 Television Food Network, G.P., All Rights Reserved
All-purpose flour, for dredging
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 large eggs
3 tablespoons of water
1/4 cup of extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 lemon, with rind, cut in thin rounds
1/2 cup of dry white wine, use your Pinot Grigio
1 cup of chicken broth
1/2 of a lemon, juiced
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
Pound the chicken breasts with a flat meat mallet, until they are about 1/4-inch thick. Put some flour in
a shallow platter and season with a fair amount of salt and pepper; mix with a fork to distribute evenly.
In a wide bowl, beat the eggs with 3 tablespoons of water to make an egg wash. Heat the oil over
medium-high flame in a large skillet.
Dredge both sides of the chicken cutlets in the seasoned flour, and then dip them in the egg wash to
coat completely, letting the excess drip off. When the oil is nice and hot, add the cutlets and fry for 2
minutes on each side until golden, turning once. Remove the chicken cutlets to a large platter in a
single layer to keep warm.
Toss the lemon slices into the pan and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, until fragrant. Add the wine, broth, and
lemon juice, simmer for 5 minutes to reduce the sauce slightly. Roll the butter in some flour and add it
to the skillet, this will thicken the sauce. Stir to incorporate and dissolve the flour. Reduce the heat to
medium-low and return the chicken to the pan; place the lemon slices on top of the cutlets. Simmer
gently for 2 minutes to heat the chicken through. Season with salt and pepper and garnish with chopped
parsley before serving.
Yields 4 servings.
Copyright © 2003 Television Food Network, G. P., All Rights Reserved
1/4 cup dry white wine
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup plain yogurt
1 Tbsp lemon juice
2 Tbsp chopped fresh dill
salt & pepper
- Remove skin from salmon if using fillets. Cut fillets into serving sized pieces; season lightly with
salt and pepper to taste.
Arrange in single layer in greased shallow baking dish; pour wine over. Cover and bake in 450 F oven
for 10 minutes per inch of thickness or until salmon is opaque. Carefully drain cooking liquid into small
saucepan. Keep salmon warm whilel preparing sauce.
- Stir mayonnaise, yogurt and lemon juice into liquid in saucepan; heat over low heat just until
warmed through (do not boil). Stir in dill and season with salt and peper to taste. Spoon over salmon and
serve immediately. Makes 4 to 6 servings.
(I recommend using the same wine that will be served with the meal to poach the salmon)
From the Canadian Living Rush Hour Cookbook
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup finely choped red onion
1/2 lb shrimp peeled and deveined
1/2 lb scallops
3 tomatoes, seeded and diced
3/4 lb linguine
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
2 Tbsp freshly greated Parmesan cheese
- In large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat, cook garlic, red onion, shrimp and scallops for 2 to 4
minutes or until shrimps are pink and scallops are opaque.
- Meanwhile, in large pot of boiling salted water, cook linguine until al dente (tender but firm). Drain
and add to skillet, toss well.
- Add tomatoes and basil, toss well. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle with Parmesan.
Makes 4 servings.
From the Canadian Living Rush Hour Cookbook
3 tablespoons of water
1 lemon, zested
4 (1-inch) slices pound cake
1 pint fresh raspberries
Mint sprigs for garnish, optional
bubbles and becomes a smooth, glossy sauce, remove from heat. Arrange the slices of pound
cake on 4 desert plates. Pour warm lemon sauce down over each slice of cake to glaze. Top
lemon cottage cake with fresh raspberries and mint sprigs and serve.
Copyright © 2003 Television Food Network, G.P., All Rights Reserved