deVine Table

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…)

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.

(more…)

Thai Food Served On the Patio

We recently did a great food and wine pairing experiment with Thai food. While I had the best intentions of preparing some homemade dishes with recipes from our friend Naomi of NuCulinary, my plan derailed. Not to worry, my local Thai carryout restaurant saved the day.

On the Menu

• Phad Thai
• Swimming Rama Chicken
• Cashew Chicken
• Red Curry Shrimp
• Green Curry Eggplant and Green Curry Mussels (these were homemade by Bean)

All of these dishes were prepared with medium spiciness.

The Wine List

The varieties of wine we tasted with the food included Chenin Blanc (one from France and another from Washington state), Gewürztraminer, Viognier, and Torrontes. There were also a couple of white blends and a rosé. Here are the wines that our group of 5 tasters felt paired best with the food.

• Chateau Ste. Michelle 2008 Gewürztraminer
• Coyote Canyon 2008 Viognier
• Domaine Pichot 2007 Vouvray
• Northwest Totem Cellars 2008 Salish (a Riesling/Viognier blend)
• Del Rio Vineyards 2008 Rose Jolee (produced with 80% Early Muscat, 10% Merlot, 10% Malbec)

Coyote Canyon Viognier and Vegetable Curry

On our way home from the Wine Blogger’s Conference in June, we stopped off in Prosser to meet with Mike Andrews of Coyote Canyon Winery and Vineyard. He was so generous with his time; we spent a full day with him tasting through barrels and visiting his beautiful vineyard. Bean composed a wonderful post about that memorable day on her blog, Washington State Wine and Beer.

During that visit Mike generously donated some of the Coyote CanyonViognier so that our Advanced Food and Wine Pairing class at Northwest Wine Academy could taste it. So, last week when we were learning about pairing wine with spicy food, we tasted the Coyote Canyon Viognier with vegetable curry, gumbo, and chicken mole. All very different flavors, yet all a match for this wine. We have also found this Viognier to pair well with Thai food. Talk about a versatile wine!

This Washington Viognier has a lot of floral characteristics. Its 1.2% residual sugar is so well integrated that even Vivian couldn’t detect it. That touch of sugar helps this wine pair well with spicy food. If you’d like to taste it for yourself, it is one of the featured wines at the Fremont Wine Warehouse in Seattle this weekend, August 13-15. It is priced at $15 a bottle. Stop by on Saturday between 3:00 – 6:00 p.m. and meet Mike Andrews in person.

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

(more…)