deVine Table

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…)

AniChe Cellars at right pouring at Debuts and Discoveries

It’s hard to keep up with all the new wineries in Washington State these days. That’s why we like events like Debuts and Discoveries. An event dedicated to tasting wines from new players in the Washington wine scene helps us to taste a number of wines in one night.  I was lucky enough to be a judge at the event, so tasting as many wines as possible was honestly my duty!

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I had the good fortune to recently attend a dinner featuring Foster Farms chickens. As if it wasn’t enough that I got to spend an evening in good company while enjoying a fantastic meal, our hostess Anne Nisbet  generously sent each guest home with fresh chicken stock. This is how I put that stock to use.

This dish was inspired by a recipe from The Bon Appetit Fast Easy Fresh Cookbook. Authentic paella uses rice and takes longer to cook. This is one of those dishes I put together with ingredients in my pantry, hence the orzo. The end result is less time consuming and is still tasty.

Makes 4 servings

• 2 ½  cups  chicken stock
• ¼ teaspoon saffron threads
• 1 tablespoon oil
• 1 small chopped onion
• 1 chopped red bell pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1 cup orzo (I like to use whole wheat)
• 2 links fully cooked smoked sausage, sliced (I like to use chicken chorizo if I can find it; kielbasa is fine too)
• 1/2 lb smoked chicken, diced
• 1 pint roasted cherry tomatoes
• 1/2 c peas

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A table dressed for a chicken dinner

If you follow me on Twitter or are a fan on Facebook, you’ve been hearing me go on about my disbelief over how only 5% of consumers purchase whole chickens. During this tough economic time, even though we hear complaints and concerns about the rising cost of food, the consumer is not making economical food choices. The consumer is choosing to pay more for parts.

This is one of the interesting and surprising facts that I learned from Jamie Peha during a Seattle Food Community Dinner hosted at the home of the charming Anne Nesbit.  Anne, a true example of the gracious hostess, had spent the last day preparing a fantastic multi-course dinner for us featuring chicken. Why? I have to admit that when I first received the invitation I said to the hubby, “I wonder if the company that uses chicken puppets in its commercials is finding that consumers don’t take them seriously?” (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…)

This is a great recipe not only because it is quick and easy, it’s also elegant enough to serve on an occasion such as Valentine’s Day. Your sweetie will think you spent all day on it! Plus, this versatile sauce can be served with a variety of different proteins from tofu to pork, whichever your heart desires.

Inspiration for this dish came from a recipe provided by the Neighborhood Farmer’s Market Alliance. Makes enough sauce for at least 4 entrees.

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If you’re looking for a quick and easy way to throw a fun party, consider hosting a salami pairing. Here’s how it works. Select three to five different types of salami with different flavor profiles. Offer at least one type of beverage for each different salami. Throw in some cheese and crackers and you’re ready to party! Read on to learn how we did it.

Wild Boar Salami with Rosemary Crusted Pecorino

The Salami

We served 5 different flavors of Creminelli salami*.

Americano Salami, inspired by the American dish, pork chops and apple sauce.

Barolo Salami, made with generous amounts of Barolo wine.

Musica Salami, with a strong flavor due to the addition of pork liver and clove.

Wild Boar Salami, seasoned with cloves and juniper berries.

Salami Tartufo, with black summer truffles.

Wines Ready to Meet Their Match

The Favored Beverages

2007 Aventino Tempranillo

Finnriver Farmstead Apple Cider

2006 Forgeron Cellars Chardonnay

2006 Kiona Zinfandel

2008 Ceci La Luna Lambrusco

2009 Montinore Estate Borealis

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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…)

A Sampling of Indian Food to Try with Wine

The deVine Table is all about the spirit of experimentation when it comes to food and wine pairings. Thankfully, my friends enjoy this approach. As a result, a group of us recently spent 8 hours over lunch (I know, I can’t believe it either!) sampling a variety of Indian food while tasting through a mix of wines to see what pairings we favor. The dishes included some of Veena’s unparalleled homemade Indian fare, take out food, and a chicken cooked in a prepared sauce from Costco.

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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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