deVine Table

Every year the hubby asks me if I want to go out to dinner for Valentine’s Day. Every year my answer is the same. “I’d rather stay home.” Wouldn’t you? I mean, really, any place you eat at is going to be charging a premium for a limited menu and wants to rush you out the door in order to turn your table. That’s not my idea of romance.

Why not take that money you would spend on dinner out and splurge on some really great wine and some decadent ingredients? Now, that is romantic! (more…)

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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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…)

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…)

Inspired by our recent tour of farmstead cheese makers, and trying to use up the excessive amount of cheese we purchased, I adapted this recipe from the Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Favorites cookbook. It’s quick and easy to put together, and pairs well with wine! Serves 8.

Mac and Cheese Goes Glam

• 2 cups grated cheese (8 ounces) such as Pleasant Valley Dairy Gouda
• 1/2 cup grated onion (approx. 1 small onion)
• 1 16 ounce container Appel Farms low fat quark
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 2 teaspoons dried mustard
• 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 pound whole wheat pasta – I use chiocciole, but elbow macaroni or rigatoni are also good choices
• 1/4 cup grated goat cheese Gouda such as that produced by Silver Springs Creamery
• 1/3 cup bread crumbs or crumbled shredded wheat

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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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Don Carlo Vineyard

One of my favorite experiences at the 2010 Wine Bloggers’ Conference was hopping on one of the many buses waiting outside the Marcus Whitman Hotel in Walla Walla on Saturday, not knowing where it would take us. All we knew was that our first stop would be a vineyard. Then, as we pulled out of the parking lot we were informed by Michael, our tour guide for the day from Tourism Walla Walla, that we were headed to Oregon. Roger and I exchanged glances knowing that this meant we would end up in territory we had not yet visited. I was eager with anticipation.

As our group of 15 wine bloggers representing sites including Enobytes, A Wine to Die For, and Winery Advisor got off the bus, we walked out onto a beautiful grassy area where tables topped with wine bottles, wine glasses, and freshly picked cherries from the neighboring property awaited us. The vineyard provided a beautiful backdrop. We were informed, “Tim will be out in a moment; he wanted to make some fresh chips for you.” If you are from the northwest and hear “Tim” and “chips” in the same sentence you might think of Tim’s Cascade Style Potato Chips. Indeed, that Tim was making homemade garlic and parmesan potato chips for us. Best darn potato chips I have ever eaten.

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O Wines Chardonnay, Smoked Black Cod, and Quinoa Cakes

On May 6, a chardonnay worldwide virtual tasting via Twitter took place. Facilitated by Rick Bakas, the event had over 600 people the world over tasting and tweeting about chardonnay. The advantage of these virtual tastings is that you can enjoy them from the comfort of home, at a favorite hangout, or during a visit to a winery.

Roger and I opted to conduct our tasting at home in the company of our friends, Miriam, Jerry, and Bean. Each of us contributed very different styles of chardonnays including wines from Airfield Estates, Apex Cellars, O Wines, and Icicle Ridge Winery.

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