deVine Table

Roasted Strawberries

This recipe comes from my food and wine pairing instructor, Chef Lenny Rede with a slight tweak on my part. On the night he served this dish in class, these strawberries were the rich, syrupy contrast to fluffy, creamy desserts  paired with bubbles. When I returned from a recent trip to Oregon with a bottle of dark vinegar wondering how best to use it, this preparation immediately came to mind.

The Recipe

• 2 pints strawberries, washed and hulled
• 3 tablespoons dark vinegar such as balsamic ( I used Willamette Valley Vineyards Black FigVinegar)
• 1 teaspoon agave nectar or honey
• Pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Spread the strawberries out on a baking sheet (Tip:  for easy cleanup, cover your baking sheet with foil). Drizzle with vinegar, agave nectar or honey. Sprinkle salt on top. Shake the pan a bit to evenly distribute the vinegar. Bake for 25 minutes or until the strawberries are soft and the vinegar has become syrupy.

Strawberries ready for the oven

So, what to do with your roasted strawberries? Top your pancakes with them. Or follow the example set by the blog Scarborough Foodie and serve them atop toasted bread with goat cheese. Topping ice cream with roasted strawberries as done by the Flourishing Foodie is another option.

Wine Pairing

No matter how you serve the strawberries, I recommend pairing them with sparkling wine. When Chef Lenny served these berries in Food and Wine Pairing:  Desserts class, we tasted them with Cerdon de Bugey, a lovely bubbly rosé composed of Gamay, La Spinetta Moscato which is so breathtaking it will have you calling for the smelling salts, and Pineto Brachetto D’Acqui. With regard to Brachetto, I ask, “where have you been, and why hasn’t anyone told me about you before?” If there is one thing I’ve learned after three years of food and wine pairing classes it’s that you can hardly ever go wrong with bubbles.

Savory Sweet Potato Empanadas

When you’re looking for an easy yet elegant appetizer, this is one to consider. After all, we all love buttery flaky puff pastry don’t we? If you’re planning on serving these at a party, you can assemble them in advance as they freeze well. Or if you don’t need such a long term plan, you can refrigerate them over night.

The original recipe came from Chef Bryce Lamb, and I’ve made a few tweaks to help it pair with wine.

Makes 18

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Tyrus Evan Syrah - a house favorite

Last week Seattle Uncorked brought sexy back with the Sexy Syrah event at Salty’s on Alki. With over 58 Syrahs and Syrah blends the event definitely reminded us that Washington Syrah has many styles.  Some are bright and fruity while others are smoky or peppery. Whatever the style, Syrah is definitely a favorite around our house.

Additionally, Syrahs from other parts of the world boast a broad range of characteristics. When from France, the wine is often earthy and peppery. Known as Shiraz in Australia, the variety is often presented as big and fruity.  Keep the characteristics of the wine you’ve selected in mind when selecting your pairings.

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Squash Fritters with Chimichurri Paired with Malbec

Trying to come up with of a way to reinvent some leftover spaghetti squash, I recalled a recipe for fritters in Greg Atkinson’s book, “At the Kitchen Table.” His version is based on parsnips, but I can’t get the hubby to eat those. Besides, we were in need of a side dish to pair with a Malbec.

So, after a few tweaks, this is what I came up with. When I asked the hubby what he thought of the Spaghetti Squash Fritters he replied, “There’s spaghetti squash in there? I couldn’t tell; they’re delicious.”

Makes 8 fritters

• 3/4 cup cooked spaghetti squash
• 1 tablespoon Cilantro Chimichurri, plus extra for serving
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/4 cup brown rice flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 3 tablespoons butter

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Here’s a quick and dirty guide for throwing a party together when time and money are limited. We’ve culled together a couple of our favorite recipes, drink ideas, and party planning tips to help keep the merry in your merrymaking.

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Prawns Poached in Cream Over Couscous

If you think being a student at the Northwest Wine Academy sounds like fun, you’re right! One of my current assignments is a group research project focused on a meal paired with wine. The “task” is to dine together with other students, then describe the meal, the wine pairings, and overall impressions of the meal. As luck would have it, my friends were planning a multi-course meal to celebrate my birthday in our traditional way. That meal has become fodder for this project. The topic happens to dovetail nicely into the theme for this blog, so I am sharing it here as this meal exemplifies what I consider the be the ultimate in food and wine pairing. (more…)

The Tortilla Mixture Seconds After Poured into Hot Pan

When we attended EDI’s Inclusion Fusion benefit dinner and auction in May our friend, Carol, “won” a cooking class with Chef Joey Serquinia of the Harvest Vine. Today we had the great pleasure of attending that class and feasting on the most flavorful brunch I have ever eaten.

Chef Joey’s lesson involved the secret to making a Tortilla Española con Crujiente de Jamón Serrano. Que? That means potato onion omelet wrapped in crispy serrano ham with piquillo pepper foam. This is the same appetizer he prepared at the Inclusion Fusion event based on a classic Spanish dish.

Wrapping Tortilla Slices with Jamon Serrano

When I’ve tried to make the dish at home before, I layered the potatoes. Chef doesn’t advise that method because it can leave pockets that the egg mixture doesn’t permeate. His technique is to roast the peeled and sliced potatoes first so that they are cooked through, but not brown. Let them cool and then combine them with the eggs. This cuts down on active prep time, and the end product still looks delectable.

After the tortilla was cooked, it got a little fancied up before being served. Chef sliced the finished tortilla into strips, and wrapped them with slices of jamón serrano. He then drizzled the wrapped tortilla strips with allioli and topped everything off with piquillo foam. The finished dish looked like a work of art with that explosion of neon orange foam, but that didn’t stop us from eating every last savory bite.

The Finished Tortilla

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Food Pairings at Riesling Rendezvous

Earlier in July I was fortunate to receive a media pass to cover the Riesling Rendezvous Grand Tasting at Chateau Ste. Michelle. In the Grand Tasting Catalog handed out at the event, there is an eye catching ad sponsored by Destination Riesling that reads,

“If your food could speak, it would ask for a glass of Riesling.”

Riesling truly is a very food friendly wine. Selecting the right Riesling can be a little confusing, however, because it is made in so many styles ranging from bone dry to sweet. The drier styles are good for pairing with creamy sauces. It’s great with shellfish, too. Last winter our friend Bean served us crab paired with a variety of brands of Riesling including Hudson Shah from Woodhouse Family Cellars. The crisp clean finish of the wine lets the crab shine through. Fantastic! The sweeter off-dry styles complement spicy food such as Thai or Mexican dishes.

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Smoked Trout Pate

This recipe was inspired by a tapas class I took from Chef Tom Black at the late Culinary Communion. If you’re serving it at a party, you can make it earlier in the day.We like to pair this with the Grgich Hills Fumé Blanc.

Serves 6-8 people.

• 1 medium russet potato (about 1/2 pound)
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 2 tablespoons cream
• smoked trout
• 1 shallot chopped
• 1 tablespoon minced Italian parsley
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme
• 1/4 cup plain yogurt
• dash of pepper
• crackers for serving – we like La Panzanella Croccantini

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Friends Gather in the Kitchen for TasteLive

Last month we had the pleasure of participating in a TasteLive event featuring several wines from Kunde Family Estate. Roger and I have a fond memory of visiting this Sonoma winery’s expansive tasting room during our last visit to California. Fun fact: the boxing scenes in the movie Bottleshock were filmed on the Kunde grounds.

When we host TasteLive events, we follow the example set by our friend, Bean. We invite a group of friends, let them know what wines will be poured, and encourage them to bring a dish to pair and share. Then, when the clock strikes the designated time we open the bottles along with other TasteLive participants wherever they may be. Simultaneously, we all Tweet about our tasting, sharing our comments and experiences online.

On the Menu:

• Salad with Prawns, Hearts of Palm, and Herbs by Vivian
• Smoked Eggplant by Veena
• Truffled Bean Puree with Fresh Fennel
• Shredded Chicken with Balsamic Barbecue Sauce in Mini Tortillas
• Apple Clafoutis by Carolyn

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