deVine Table

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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Photo courtesy of Veena Prasad

I often say that food and wine bring people together. This is another example of the magic that comes from sharing a meal.

It started when Veena joined us for the Kunde TasteLive event we hosted in June. With all the wine talk that took place that evening, Veena was sure that Vivian and I would hit it off with her friend, Laine who is Director of North American Sales for Ontañón, a Spanish Winery. So, here we are a month later all having dinner together at Veena’s downtown abode.

As we sit down with our appetizers and wine Veena says, “Isn’t it hard work being a foodie? We have to work out so much!” How could I deny it. After all, here we are – four women with four bottles of wine on the table. In my mind it’s worth it, though. Case in point, this paella feast we are about to enjoy.

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Jeffrey Saad and Exhausted Me

“Trust your mouth. You know what you like; enjoy it.”

So says Jeffrey Saad, The Next Food Network Star runner up, 25-year food industry veteran and restaurateur. I recently returned from the 2010 Wine Bloggers Conference where I had the great pleasure of seeing this dynamic personality give a presentation on food and wine pairing.

Jeffrey asked us who in the audience would pair a Coke with pizza so that he could make a point about why the combination works together. A big laugh came from the crowd when not even one hand went up and he mused, “Wow, you guys really are a bunch of winos!”

Key pointers:

• Pair acid with acid, such as salad with vinaigrette paired with Grüner Veltliner.
• Pair fat in food with acid in wine, such as goat cheese in buttery phyllo cups with Argentine Torrontes.
• Pair protein or animal fat with tannin such as Kobe beef with Cabernet Sauvignon.
• Pair sweet with sweet. Sweet food spanks the fruit right out of the wine if the wine isn’t as sweet.
• Pair spice with sweetness. Spice does not like tannin; it accentuates it.
• Make funky ingredients a part of a dish, not the main flavor.

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