deVine Table

A Pairing for Apricots

Life as a student at Northwest Wine Academy is full of challenges. The biggest challenge of them all? What food and wine pairing to present on the final night of class. This quarter the class I took was Varietals III which covers a variety of libations beyond wine such as beer, cider, sake, and spirits.

The idea for the pairing I presented came to me the night we tasted ciders in class. While tasting an apricot cider, this recipe that I have prepared for dinner parties came to mind. It’s a nice way to end a meal when you don’t feel like having an overly sweet treat.

I’ve adapted this from The Lavender Cookbook by Sharon Shipley. Serves 20. (more…)

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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The Finished Pesto

Pesto is wonderful for it’s versatility. It can be used on pizza, sandwiches, and pasta, for example.

Tweaking traditional pesto recipes also means that different wines will work with your meal. So why not play with your food? If you don’t have any fresh basil on hand you can substitute parsley, spinach, or even kale. Or, if you don’t want as many green notes in your pesto, the Sun Dried Tomato Pesto recipe from the blog Closet Cooking is a good alternative.

My friend Vivian helped me with the ratios on this version of pesto, and for that I’d like to give her a shout out here!

This recipe makes enough for a batch of pizza or pasta. (more…)

The food and wine pairing classes I’ve taken at Northwest Wine Academy have had an ongoing influence on me. In Varietals II where red wine is explored at great length, we were tasked with serving a dish to pair with Malbec. I’m now obsessed with pairing food with Malbec. All the time. Seriously. (more…)

Washington winery, Walter Dacon, crafts some lush and decadent wines. One of our favorite wines that they’ve produced has been their Roussanne. Sadly, they haven’t bottled any in recent vintages. So when our good friend Vivian discovered a bottle of the 2006 and one of the 2007 vintages in the winery’s library, we planned a special pairing dinner. (more…)

What a tough day of food + wine pairing at NW Wine Academy looks like

As a student at the Northwest Wine Academy,  finals in food and wine pairing classes involve creating and presenting our very best pairings. In Varietals I, a class focusing on white varietals, our friend Vivian prepared this “Magical Austrian Soup”. Our instructor, Chef Lenny Rede still waxes poetic about this warming wonder.

Many thanks to Vivian for her generosity and willingness to share this delectable recipe she adapted from Bernard Clayton Jr.’s  The Complete Book of Soups and Stews.

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There are many advantages to eating in. For one thing, we can substitute anything we like! For another, we can open any bottle in the house without paying a 50% or greater markup. It’s also a heck of a lot cheaper overall than I imagined.

When the hubby and I eat out, he always makes comments about how inexpensive the raw cost of ingredients must be for foods like pizza or pasta. He is an accountant after all! So, I did a little experiment and broke down the cost of homemade pizza for the two of us and compared it to what we paid the last time we went out for pizza in Seattle. (more…)

Cardamaro Biscotti

I was introduced to Cardamaro last year, and I have been obsessed ever since. I started carrying this wine based herbal apertif at Dish it up!, bought a bottle for myself, and began drinking and experimenting with it. This is one of my first recipes featuring this Italian aperitif.

“What is Cardamaro?” you might ask. This wine based herbal aperitif from Piemonte, Italy is a form of Amaro. Dark brown in color with enticing herbaceous aromas, it is produced using a recipe that was developed over the last century by the Bosca family. Cardoon and blessed thistle (think artichoke) and other botanicals are part of the mix.

This recipe is adapted from the book, “Biscotti” by Lou Seibert Pappas. Makes about 3 dozen. (more…)

Last quarter, my life as a student at the Northwest Wine Academy led me to the Food and Wine Pairing Varietals II class in which we studied the craft of pairing red wines with food. In this class our instructor, Chef Lenny Rede, challenged us with an assignment he titled Iron Chef:  Malbec.

What made this so challenging? Each team of students was randomly assigned a course to pair with a Malbec. Which Malbec? That’s the thing – we wouldn’t know ahead of time. Pairing a dish to a wine we haven’t yet tasted?  What a great opportunity to see if the food and wine pairing principles we’ve learned along the way will work!

Flavors in Malbec and Why They Matter

Before tackling this assignment, we took into account Chef Lenny’s tips for pairing food with Malbec. First, consider the flavors typically found in Malbec. These may include blackberry, blueberry, cocoa, citrus, black pepper, and a general smokiness. You can match the wine with food by selecting similar or contrasting flavors.

Ingredients That Work with Malbec

Then, select a base ingredient that is likely to partner well with the varietal. Recommended base ingredients to pair with Malbec include beef, lamb, veal, pork, smoked salmon, tuna, chicken, duck or sausage. When preparing these ingredients to pair with Malbec, the best cooking techniques include grilling, roasting, smoking, or barbecuing. (more…)

Radicchio Bread Salad for Wine

While at the International Food Bloggers’ Conference (IFBC) I had a conversation with a couple about radicchio, and pairing it with wine. As I was strolling through the produce section of the supermarket a couple of days later, I saw some beautiful radicchio. The memory of that conversation still fresh, I couldn’t resist snatching up that red colored head bearing a resemblance to an infant cabbage. After all, it is one of the few vegetables I can get the hubby to eat. Or so went my rationale. In any case, I find that it also stands up very well to red wines, bringing out the fruit in the wine. Armed with that radicchio, and determined to get the hubby to eat his veggies, I created this version of a bread salad.

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