wine pairings for home-cooked meals

OUR ST. PATRICK’S DAY TRADITION … LAMB STEW WITH RIOJA

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St. Patrick’s Day is a day for many people to celebrate their Irish heritage. Traditional foods are often part of the celebration. When I was growing up, my mother would always serve corned beef and cabbage, never a favorite of mine. Instead, in our household, our family always enjoys lamb stew and Irish Soda Bread to help comemorate this special day. (sorry, Mom)

Wine: Vina Ardanza Reserva ‘La Rioja Alta’ 2004Vina Ardanza

Rioja, one of the best-known wine regions of Spain, is located in the northern part of country but west of the Pyrenees. Tempranillo is the most widely planted grape variety, followed by Garnacha (called Grenache elsewhere) a distant second. Two other varieties of grapes are frequently added to Rioja wine in very small quantities, Mazuelo (called Carignan elswhere) and Graciano.

Grapes in Vina Ardanza = Tempranillo 80%, Garnacha 20%

Tasting notes: Nose has notes of leather, black currant, cloves, and mushroom. On the palette: black currant, earth, cedar, leather, and a hint of spice. A very nice level of acidity, reminiscent of the best of Old World wines. Full-bodied wine with 13.5% alcohol. Delicious with the lamb stew.

Food: Lamb stew from Salute to Healthy Cooking, served with peas and Irish Soda Bread. For the stew, cubed lamb shoulder is baked in a covered oven-proof casserole with sauteed onions, thyme, bay, and water for 45 minutes. Adjust oven heat [around 350 degrees] so that the stew does not boil. Carrots are added for 15 minutes, then potatoes are added and the stew is baked, covered, another 45 minutes. This is all done the day before. Adjust the seasonings. Glazed baby onions and glazed, sliced turnips are added when the stew is reheated before serving. Bake the Irish Soda Bread, cook the peas.Lamb Stew w: Irish soda bread, peas

Read more: http://www.riojalta.com/en/

A source: wine.com

Greek Meze [small plates] with Robola

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Sometimes all you want is “a little smackeral of something” (as Winnie-the-Pooh would say) instead of a big meal, and this delightful grouping of foods certainly fills the bill.

Food: Spanokopita rolls [purchased frozen in a Greek market, or make it yourself], oil-cured olives, cherry tomatoes, loukanico [a Greek specialty made from lamb] sausage, artichoke spread, toasted baguette slices.Greek Snacks w: Rebola

Wine: 2011 Gentilini Robola of Cephalonia. Robola is an indigenous white grape variety of Cephalonia, the largest of the Ionian Islands of Western Greece. The grapes are grown on the steep slopes of Mount Ainos. It is vinefied by the producer, Gentilini.Robolo of Cephalonia

Tasting notes: The 2011 vintage is a beautiful golden color. Citrus notes are prominent in the bouquet, along with white flowers, honeysuckle and a hint of almond. A lovely combination. These flavors are echoed on the palate, and balanced with nice acidity and minerality.

Read more: http://www.robola.gr or  http://www.robola.gr/?menu-food=classic-robola-2

source: www.wine.com

‘FORESTREET’ PIZZA WITH CABERNET SAUVIGNON

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In Portland, Maine, one of our favorite restaurants is Fore Street. http://www.forestreet.biz One of our dinners there inspired this pizza.

Food: On each 8” pizza shell (see Feb 12 posting Pizza v. 1.0) smear some richly-flavored vinaigrette salad dressing, then a large dollop of plain yogurt. Sprinkle over it: ¼ cup sauteed sliced leeks; 1/2 oz cooked, chopped chanterelle mushrooms; ½ oz crumbled bleu cheese; 1/2 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese.ForeStreet Pizza

Wine: Mitolo “Jester” Cabernet Sauvignon, 2010. From McLaren Vale, AustraliaMitolo Cabernet Sauvignon, the Jester

Tasting notes: This pizza is absent the tomato sauce, mozerella cheese and Italian seasonings common to the more traditional pizza that pairs so nicely with a Chianti. Instead, we’re looking for a wine to pair with bleu cheese, leeks, and mushrooms. Cabernet Sauvignon is an excellent pairing with these ingredients, particularly with a delightfully sharp blue cheese. Our choice for this dish is the 2010 Mitolo “Jester” Cabernet Sauvignon from the McLaren Vale in Australia. It is a lush, richly-flavored Cab, amazingly complex and concentrated, with aromas and tastes of black currants balanced with silky smooth tanins. An unusual feature of this particular Cab is that 20% of the grapes are air-dried, similar to the making of an Amarone wine. And this wine is a steal at about $16.

Read more: http://www.mitolowines.com.au/?method=products.productDrilldown&productID=4e764c67-1cc4-81ae-75d5-a539fc763ab0&originalMarketingURL=product/Jester-Cabernet-Sauvignon

A Source: wine.com

Dad’s Favorite

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TURKEY SCALLOPINE a la MARSALA WITH AMARONE VALPOLICELLA

Veal scallopini was a favorite of my Dad’s and a signature dish in his repertoire. This variation substitutes turkey for veal and is absolutely delicious.Turkey Marsala w: Masi Valpolicella

Food: Turkey tenderloin is sliced 3/8” thick on the diagonal, then pounded into thin cutlets. After being dredged in flour seasoned with salt and pepper (shake off the excess flour), the cutlets are sauteed in olive oil and butter for a few minutes on a side until lightly browned. Remove the cutlets from the pan and keep warm while making the sauce.

In a separate pan, saute some white button mushrooms in butter until nicely browned.

Deglaze the pan that the cutlets were cooked in with dry Marsala wine and mix in a generous spoonful of veal demi-glace until smooth and silky. Finish the sauce with a pat of butter.

Put the turkey and mushrooms into the sauce and serve warm. Asparagus and a light pasta (e.g., gemelli) make nice side dishes.Masi Costasera Amarone Valpolicella

Wine: Valpolicella is a red wine of the Veneto region of northeastern Italy. It is produced from three grape varieties: Corvina, Rondinalla, and Molinara. ‘Amarone’ designates a wine which is made with a portion of the grapes having been dried first, instead of using 100% fresh-from-the-vine grapes.

Tasting notes: This Masi Castasera Amarone Valpolicella 2010 has cherry and leather on the nose. The palate tunes into cherry jam, fruit leather, chocolate, and spices. The finish lingers on and on. It is wonderfully balanced and a perfect accompaniment to this rich, flavorful dish.

Read more: http://www.kobrandwineandspirits.com/portfolio/masi_agricola/terroir_and_vineyards

A Source: wine.com

Sunday Roast

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Sunday in our house is always a time to enjoy a special meal.  The roasted meat usually provides ample leftovers for later in the week and the ambience of the dinner ritual gets the week off to a good start.roast pork loin, asparagus, roasted potatoes

Food: Roasted Pork Tenderloin is simply made by searing the meat on all sides and then roasting it in the oven. No need these days to cook pork until it is ‘dead’: the risk of food-borne parasites that our mothers feared is no more. Side dishes include asparagus and roasted potatoes. Applesauce is mandatory with pork, and a simple mushroom sauce is made by deglazing the roasting pan with white wine, then cooking mushrooms, shallots, and a little cream until thickened.mushroom cream sauce + applesauce

Wine: Cotes-du-Rhône is made from various combinations of Grenache, Mouvedre, and Syrah grapes from the Southern Rhone Valley. This assemblage of grapes make the well-known ‘Chateauneuf du Pape,’ so that tells you it is from the area around Avignon, France. In Australia they refer to this combination as a GSM.Cotes du Rhone, Pere Caboche

Tasting notes:  This Domaine Père Caboche 2010 is a lovely balance among fruit, earthiness, and acidity. Not common to find an ‘old world’ Cotes-du-Rhône which combines the fruitiness preferred in a ‘new world’ wine with the earthy characteristics of the French taste.

Read more: http://www.jpboisson.com/en/

Pizza night v 1.0

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In our house, every Saturday is pizza night. Homemade pizza is so easy and so good that we really can’t stand to buy pizza anymore.  Okay, at a place like 900 Degrees in Manchester, NH we do get pies made by other people. Plus their wine by the glass is good too.  The recipe for my crust is from Gourmet magazine.  Pizza w: mushrooms & broccoli

Pizza crust: makes two 8″ pizza shells       time: 10 minutes to mix, 3 hours to rise                                                                                 2 cups flour  +   3/4 tsp salt  +  3/4 cup warm water  +  1 and 1/2 tsp dry yeast                              Soften the yeast in the water for about 10 minutes. Then combine all the ingredients and knead together.  A food processor works well for this. Turn the dough out on a floured board and cover with a large bowl. Let sit 1 and 1/2 hours.  Pat down the dough, divide into 2 balls.  Cover with plastic wrap and a tea towel and let rest 60-90 minutes.  Grease a baking sheet that is no smaller than  10″  x  16″ and pat each ball of dough into a pizza shell 8 or 9″ in diameter.  This works best if you do it directly on the baking sheet.   Top each shell with 1-2 Tbsp tomato pureé or crushed tomatoes, right out of the can.  Sprinkle each pie with 3/4 cup shredded mozzarella, then toss on some Italian herbs. After that, your are on your own for toppings. The photo shows broccoli, red onion, and olive. You can let the pizzas sit for 30-60 minutes at this point.  Heat the oven to 500 and bake for 8 minutes. After taking from the oven, remove from baking sheet and let sit for a minute on a cake rack so the crust won’t be soggy.

Chianti classico, Castello di BossiWine: Chianti Classico is our go-to for pizza. Hailing from Tuscany, the standard Chianti is not the same as Chianti Classico. Both are neighbors, but the wines are a little different. The Classico is made from 75-100% sangiovese grapes, with up to 10% of canaiolo grapes thrown in.  There might, by law, also be up to 15% of merlot or cabernet sauvignon.  Peter recommends cellaring a Chianti and a Classico until it is 3 to 5 years older than the vintage on the label.

Tasting notes: We like the Chianti Classico because it is a lighter-bodied wine than other reds. This makes it easy to drink with a pizza that has its own flavors. We especially like the ‘elbows’ — our word for a bit of roughness that you feel on your tongue.  That makes it go with the tomato and other bold, bright flavors of the meal.