Pairings You Should Know

Several months ago, I wrote an article on guidelines for wine and food pairing and recently, one of my favorite readers (Joe, aka husband 😉 ) requested an article on specific pairings.

The “Classic” list below is pairings that most wine industry people agree on and is wine 101 knowledge. The “Mainstream” list is pairings many consider “no fails.” If you are beginning your journey in wine the lists will, at the very least, give you a jumping off point. I encourage you to branch out from the wines stated as many producers from around the globe are spinning similar takes on traditional wines.  When in doubt, a good rule of thumb is to pair food and wine from the same region.

CLASSIC PAIRINGS:

  1. Oysters & Chablis ~ Chablis: unoaked Chardonnay from the Chablis region, France (Champagne is also a great option with oysters)
  2. Foie Gras & Sauternes ~ Sauternes: made using Semillon, Sauvignon Blanc and Muscadelle grapes affected by Boytritis (Noble Rot) from the Graves region in Bordeaux, France
  3. Caviar & Champagne ~ Champagne: sparkling wine made using primarily Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier grapes that have been produced following a strict set of rules (to include secondary fermentation) in the Champagne region, France
  4. Goat Cheese & Sancerre ~ Sancerre: Sauvignon Blanc from the eastern part of the Loire Valley, France
  5. Stilton Cheese & Port ~ Port: fortified wine produced in the Douro Valley, Portugal
  6. Steak & Big Reds ~ Big Reds: a mouthful of tannic deliciousness ex. Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, red Bordeaux

 

MAINSTREAM PAIRINGS:

  1. Mushrooms & Red Burgundy ~ Red Burgundy: Pinot Noir from the Burgundy region, France often having mushroom notes
  2. BBQ (Pork or Beef) & California Zinfandel ~ Zinfandel: a full-bodied red wine from California known for it’s spicy character (Italian Primitivo is the same varietal)
  3. Lobster with drawn butter & oaked California Chardonnay ~ oaked CA Chardonnay: white wine of Chardonnay grapes that have spent time aging in oak barrels, often new French oak
  4. Osso Bucco & Barolo or Barbaresco ~ Barolo / Barbaresco: Nebbiolo wine from the Piedmont region, Italy; Barolo is heavier and is a region about 10km from Barbaresco, where the Nebbiolo grape is a bit more elegant
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Wine And Chocolate

crabcrackerwineandchocolate

Before moving from Hawaii to the Pacific Northwest a couple years ago, I spent a year as an “Oompa Loompa” at Manoa Chocolate Factory, a bean-to bar chocolate company located on the beautiful island of Oahu .  I was part time chocolate assistant/part time sommelier for Manoa’s wine and chocolate pairing events.

As you can deduce, the homework for the pairing events was pleasant.   The beginning phase of planning, I purchased the wines and did first round tastings. Preliminary tastings were important because just as wines change by vintages, chocolate changes by batches. Final tastings with the boss and a few co-workers ensured perfect pairings and consistently successful events.  There were two approaches with the pairings, either find a pairing where the wine flows seamlessly with the chocolate or contrasts to make for an unexpected yet pleasant sensory exercise. The tasting experience involved sipping the wine paying attention to the aromas and flavors in the glass, then tasting the chocolate paying attention to the aromas and flavors of the chocolate. A final sip of the wine paying attention to how the wine flows or contrasts with the chocolate finished up the tasting.

As we’re coming into the holiday season (marketed ridiculously early), a wine and chocolate pairing party is a great excuse to come together and celebrate.  As I mentioned, it is hard to make blanket statements on pairings but here are a few ideas to get you started:

70% Sea Salt chocolate – pair with a crisp white wine such as Chablis, Verdejo or Falanghina

60% Lavender chocolate – pair with a fruity red wine with notes of strawberries, raspberries, and cherries such as Beaujolais, a young Pinot Noir or even a youthful Rioja

60% Spicy Pepper chocolate – pair with a sparkling wine such as Prosecco or Cava or a crisp white wine such as Albarino or Grüner Veltliner

60% Coffee and/or Cacao Nib chocolate – pair with a powerful red wine such as Syrah, Shiraz, Petite Sirah or a Port

Purchase Manoa Chocolate bars here.

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Now That’s A Good Pairing!

Currently, I live in Hawaii and it is hot – especially in the late afternoon, say around 5-6pm when dinner preparation should be going down. Supposedly, I live on the “windward side” of the island but of late the winds have not been so forthcoming so I’m very interested in any recipe that does not include cranking up the oven.

This evening I decided to try a recipe I stumbled on through Facebook. It was originally published by Jennifer Fiedler of Wine Spectator utilizing the quintessential pairing of goat cheese and sauvignon blanc. Jennifer also included a tomato salad stating the wine stood up to the raw tomato. I’m not so sure my taste buds agreed so I’ll just focus on the sandwich which paired beautifully with the wine.

Jennifer suggested a high acid, citrusy sauvignon blanc but I didn’t do my homework before purchasing and ended up with a 2011 Whitehaven Sauvignon Blanc from Marlborough New Zealand. In my opinion, it paired very nicely.

 

This is the perfect dinner if you’re looking for something simple, loaded with flavor and perfectly paired. It definitely put me in my happy place.

Grilled Goat Cheese Sandwich
Servings: 2
1 zucchini
3 TB butter
2 pieces of flatbread
6 oz goat cheese
1/4 c. minced green olives (don’t be scared they add the perfect subtle tang)

~Using a vegetable peeler, slice long ribbons of zucchini lengthwise
~Split each flatbread into two slices (4 pieces total) and butter both sides
~For each sandwich, spread the goat cheese on the inside of each piece of bread.  On the bottom slice, spread 1/2 of the minced olives and a thin layer of zucchini. Cover with top slice.
~Heat a grill pan on medium-high heat on stove top. Place sandwiches in pan and press down using a can
~Cook until the butter has browned (around 2-3 minutes) and then flip carefully with a spatula
~Cook until the butter has browned on the second side and the interior is heated through
~Slice in half diagonally and serve immediately with a chilled sauvignon blanc of your choice.

Enjoy!

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Everything but the kitchen sink!

It’s time for me to go grocery shopping.  I’ve procrastinated a little longer than normal so have minimal food in my fridge.  As I stared at my options trying to dream up something for dinner last night I stumbled on a rather tasty recipe.

It all started with Israeli couscous.  I bought some the last time I went grocery shopping just because it was so fun looking.  I’m sort of on this new kick of trying new and interesting items to expand my palate.  If you’ve never seen Israeli couscous before think of hail – looks very similar.  To me it is the Israeli equivalent to orzo. When cooked, they plump up into nice little gushy balls that make a great accompaniment to almost anything.

So I placed all the miscellaneous food from my fridge on my counter and went crazy.  I came up with a hit – especially to my husband who went back for seconds and deemed it “comfort food.”  Give it a try and have fun – use whatever you have around that you like and need to use up.

Kitchen Sink Couscous

3 cups water

2 cups Israeli couscous

2 Italian chicken sausage, cut in rounds

1 cooked chicken breast, cut in chunks

1/2 white onion, cut in chunks

1 clove garlic, sliced

1/2 cup cremini and button mushrooms, sliced

1 tomato, cut in chunks

1/2 cup baby zucchini, sliced in half longways then in half longwise again

1/2 cup leftover roasted fennel, carrots, and thin sliced lemons

4 oz feta cheese, crumbled

1 TB cilantro, chopped

olive oil

salt and pepper

Boil water in medium saucepan.  Stir in 1 tsp. salt and cous cous.  Turn heat down and simmer until liquid is evaporated, stirring occasionally.  Cover to keep warm.

Put 1 TB olive oil in large saute pan.  Saute sausage.  Throw in chicken and onions and saute until chicken is heated through and onions start to turn color.

Toss in the mushrooms, garlic, tomatoes, zucchini, and roasted veggies.  Cook until veggies are cooked through.  Add couscous and stir to combine.

Take off heat, stir in cilantro, feta and salt & pepper to taste.

Put in a beautiful serving bowl, drizzle high quality olive oil over top, pour a glass of wine and enjoy!

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Saiko Sushi…Sensational Sushi!

I’ve eaten at Saiko Sushi several times and think “I should really write about this place in my blog.”  Well the time is now – this place deserves some kudos!  Both the food and service are fantastic!  The wait-staff and owners are friendly and appreciative of their customers.  Something I find very refreshing!

My first visit to Saiko Sushi was when the place was merely a couple days old and my last visit was just a couple of weeks ago.  It has consistently served fabulous, fresh food.  Another plus (because I’m a wine girl) is a reasonable corkage fee if you choose to bring your own wine (they offer a decent albeit small wine selection as well as beer and misc. non-alcoholic beverages).  The sake selection is extensive if you prefer to sip on the rice wine variation.

This last visit I was dining with my lovely family.  We started with Edamame.  They offer the basic but always delicious sea salt version and a house version with celery salt and garlic.  After that we enjoyed the raw special of the day inclusive of halibut, micro cilantro (totally made the dish) and a tasty sweet sauce.

They have a few fru-fru offerings.  I appreciate the forward thinking but stick with the more traditional flavors and leave the goat cheese to someone else.  For our entree we split the Tokyo Dirty Rice – with descriptor words like shrimp, bacon and pineapple we couldn’t go wrong!

Even my daughter likes it.  She always orders the teriyaki chicken and thinks the mashed potatoes are some of the best.   Of course she’d go just for the “Godzilla” movies playing silently on the flat screen.  Yes, I even have Saiko Sushi to thank for introducing her to some of my childhood culture.

Don’t leave without trying dessert.  A sushi joint is not usually what you think of when you think of great sweet endings but they take the time to dream up such fun creations that you just have to try it.  That evening their creative minds conjured up pomegranite creme brulee and a green tea ice cream sandwich.  The ice cream sandwich was tempura battered….need I say more!


Saiko Sushi – 116 Orange Avenue, Coronado CA 92118, (619) 435-0992

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Caffe Calabria – Part II

The taunting did not last long.  I found myself back at Caffe Calabria Saturday evening trying their pizza.  I don’t know if it was because it had been over a year since I sunk my teeth into true Neapolitan pizza or if it was just because I really, really wanted the food to be sort of close to authentic but I truly enjoyed my dinner.  I wasn’t necessarily transported back to Naples but I was very satisfied.  Caffe Calabria is set up to give the feeling of alfresco dining at a cafe in Italy.  We joked that if they were trying to mimic Naples they missed adding the cigarette butts and trash (which would not go over well in San Diego).

We started with a couple antipasti.  I was excited to see they had one of my favorites…bresaola (see “A Sentimental Wine For A Sentimental Night” – Mar 26, 2010).  I’ve tasted renditions of this in Little Italy but everyone else uses filet mignon carpaccio – Caffe Calabria actually serves authentic cured bresaola.

We also tried the Salumi Misti which was a wonderful cross section of meats with a few bonus items thrown in such as olives, fresh figs and Calabrian peppers.

Of course the star of the show was the pizza (almost crazy I’ve waited this long to mention it!).  My husband ordered the “Margherita D.O.C.” (Denominazione di Origine Controllata) adorned with San Marzano tomatoes and mozzarella di bufala.  I ordered the “Rubino” with creme fraiche, speck, caramelized onion, gorgonzola, grana padano, and fresh thyme.  My husband’s pizza was definitely good and, as the designation states, truly authentic.  I can’t say I’ve seen the likes of the “Rubino” in Naples but oh my goodness it was incredibly tasty!  This is the pizza I will probably crave!

Besides quality ingredients the wood fire oven lends to the depth of flavor in these “as advertised” pizzas (“finest Neapolitan pizza in San Diego”). I love the divots and blackened air bubbles which created texture and kept my taste buds dancing. We washed everything down with a bottle of Chianti Superiore and when we ran out kept the momentum going with a Chianti Riserva.  I hope I will find myself back at Caffe Calabria often….possibly regularly.

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A Great Cup Of Cappuccino

So if you’ve been following along you know I lived in Italy for 3 years which means I’ve tasted some pretty good cappuccino.  Since coming back to the states I’ve become the “tall non-fat latte” girl assuming cappuccinos like I drank in Italy were few and far between.

Well I found a place in San Diego that comes pretty close to what my Italian brethren flawlessly create.  Caffe Calabria (www.caffecalabria.com) in North Park makes high quality, creamy cappuccino.  They even put an artsy twist on it by making designs in the foam.  I mean come on…they have their own roaster on the premises!

I was excited to notice they also have a wood burning pizza oven and large pizza plates much like the ovens and plates used in Naples.  They claim their pizza is the “finest Neapolitan pizza in San Diego”.  That’s just taunting me….gonna have to go back for the pizza.

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Parmigiano Reggiano – The King of Cheese!

A couple years ago I traveled to the Emilia Romagna region in central Italy to visit a Parmigiano Reggiano factory.  I fell in love with Parmigiano Reggiano well before this trip.  I don’t remember when exactly but know that I have never looked back on the days when I used to spend hard earned money on “shaky cheese” as my college roommate called it.  You know the stuff, it came in the green container and was all the rage when our parents were preparing homemade pasta sauce that we destroyed by shaking this artificial concoction all over – such a waste.

My visit took me to Collecchio – Montecoppe Cheese Farm, a medium sized factory, but as is the case of many companies in Italy seemed quite small compared to “companies” in America.  The rule of lengthy, highly skilled training for most gastronomic professions in Italy was definitely true for the training involved to become a master cheese-maker.  They are trained approximately 10 years before they are considered a professional.  The workers are focused, buff and passionate about what they do.  Collecchio – Montecoppe produces about 12 wheels of cheese a day using approximately 600 liters of Italian cow’s milk.   The cows get milked once at night and once in the morning.  These two milkings produce what is referred to as a “lot” of cheese.  I went to see the cows grazing in their pasture and they seemed quite content munching on their diet of fresh grass and hay.

In the factory, Montecoppe begins with a starter much like a sour dough starter.  They use very large copper lined cauldrons which are partially buried in the ground so the workers are at waist height when working with the cheese.  About 2 teaspoons of cow rennet is placed in the cauldron.  Besides causing the cheese to curdle, the rennet is bacteria that eats the proteins and turns into enzymes.  The result is teeny little crystals – if you’ve been lucky enough to taste these crystals you are among the fortunate to have eaten very fresh cheese as the crystals go away in time.

After the rennet is added, the workers pull the cheese to the side of the cauldron with a large wooden paddle.   To lift the cheese out of the cauldron a burlap cloth with two sticks on both ends work as extensions of the workers arms to help pull the cheese up and out of the cauldron.  This is where being buff comes in handy as the cheese weighs approximately 200 pounds! Once out of the cauldron the cheese in it’s burlap cloth is tied to a large metal rod – much like one would tie a pig for roasting.  The cheese rests a bit before it is divided in half with a long, blunt edged knife.  The halves are wrapped in cheese cloth and shaped.

Once the cheese has properly drained it is placed in large white drums lined with a band that has the infamous “Parmigiano Reggiano” designation written all the way around it along with several other important markings – the month and year the cheese is produced, and the DOP designation (the food equivalent to DOC for Italian wine), the Consorzio del Formaggio Parmigiano Reggiano issued number specific to the cheese factory, a space for the application of the certification mark once the wheel passes inspection and a “tag” that gives a specific number to each wheel of cheese.  This “tag” is put into a database so it can be identified and tracked at any given moment until purchased by the consumer.  The cheese in it’s drum is then wrapped in the cloth and a very large, very heavy round disk is placed on top to help press out moisture.

The cheese sits 2-3 days on wood that has carved grooves in it to hold excess water that has been pressed out of the cheese.  The cheese then goes into a salt brine where it is turned by hand everyday to get even salting.  It stays in brine for 20 days then the cheese is moved out of the brine and aged another 24 months or more in a warehouse.

Some factories have their own warehouse to age their cheese while others use rented warehouse space.  Since Montecoppe wouldn’t allow me to visit their warehouse, I visited a warehouse that houses 3-4 factories cheeses.  This warehouse had 20,000+ wheels in it.  It used a clever robot to go up and down each aisle, take each wheel of cheese off the shelf, vacuum the shelf, dust the cheese, flip the wheel and place it back on the shelf.  Workers inspected the cheese daily for flaws, mold, etc.  If the cheese had a flaw or mold, a master would use several kinds of utensils to cut, gouge, or scrape the flaw or mold and then when warranted a blow torch to reseal the flawed part.

If a cheese has a flaw, mold etc. and even if fixed by the master it is no longer perfect and can no longer be marked as Parmigiano Reggiano.  In this case, the cheese will either be branded with grooves horizontally all over the side of the wheel and sold as prima stagionatura (young Parmigiano Reggiano) or if the flaw is severe enough, the entire rind of the wording “Parmigiano Reggiano” would be cut off and the cheese would be sold as table cheese.

After 12 months of aging, inspectors knock on the cheese with a hammer type tool and if it sounds good (this is where some of that training kicks in) he passes it and it gets branded with the certification mark.  The cheese continues to age anywhere from 13-30 months total.  If the cheese is aged at least 18 months, it can be inspected again and if approved can get a stamp saying “extra” or “export” which means it is of superior quality.

In case you’re wondering the dark coloring on the outside, particularly the markings, and the natural rind that forms in the aging process is edible and good to grate in dishes or place in minestrone, etc. for extra flavor (pull the rind out before serving).

The process is extensive and the workers highly skilled but the pay off is worth it and is why Parmigiano Reggiano has earned the name of “The King of Cheese!”

If you’re interested in purchasing some authentic Parmigiano Reggiano it is available in the Deep Red Cellar store or you can buy from my affiliates, DEAN & DELUCA or Worlds Foods.

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MIHO Gastrotruck Coming To Coronado!

MIHO Gastrotruck is coming to Coronado!

On Saturday, June 4 from 4pm-6pm MIHO Gastrotruck will be at Blue Jeans & Bikinis (1113 Adella Avenue Coronado, CA 92118 (619) 319-5858).  If you order from MIHO, you will get $10 off to do a little shopping at Blue Jeans & Bikinis.

MIHO Gastrotruck serves fresh, seasonal produce sourced as locally as possible….all natural, sustainable meats raised without hormones or antibiotics…..and crafted street food made from scratch every day (unless it has an * ).

I first found MIHO Gastrotruck when it parked in the back of Casa Artelexia (artsy, uber chic Mexican goods and the friendliest shop owner in San Diego).  It was the perfect combination – on Wednesday’s I’d actually go over the bridge, shop at this cute little store and eat delicious, locally grown food in a backyard setting.  This fantasy was short lived as MIHO stopped parking at Casa Artelexia and I have to say, I have missed my reason for going over the bridge on Wednesdays.

Imagine how ecstatic I was to hear MIHO was coming to Coronado!  I want to make sure they have a great turn out so they will come back.  So if you’d like to dine on really tasty, really fresh gourmet food from the trendy platform of a food truck, please come out and enjoy the opportunity.

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