Adventures in Food and Wine
There are three Tuscan red wines to try with different price points and complimentary food pairings of comforting winter dishes. January seems to be the month where we do more cocooning in our homes to avoid the snow and cold outside. Tuscan red wines lend themselves to those seasonal winter dishes like pizza, bolognese, or slow-braised beef brisket. Who doesn’t love a glass of Tuscan red wine to chase away the winter blues?!…
Giving the gift of wine is an expression of taste, history, culture, and art. Wine is that and so much more. Opening a bottle of wine slows our daily pace down. We pause and savor what is in the bottle, and gathers us around the table. If you are a wine lover or have one on your gift giving list, why not give wine?! L’Ecole No 41 offers holiday wine gift boxes and wine club memberships to delight the wine enthusiast and adventurer. Receiving a bottle of wine is the perfect excuse to come around the table with family and friends for a winter dinner….
‘Tis the season for a glass (or 2) of sparkling wine. <Full Stop! > Actually, it is always the season for a glass of sparkling wine, especially French Crémant. Crémant is a sparkling wine made in nine different wine-growing regions in France and Luxembourg, produced in the traditional method like Champagne, but at very affordable price points compared to Champagne.
I gathered a basket full of different French Crémant wines at my local Total Wines and then took inspiration from “The Lost Kitchen” and created some tasty nibbles to pair with my bubbles….
As the chilly brisk days of autumn nudge closer to winter, we retreat to our warm cozy homes. Comfort foods like a long- simmering pot roast, pasta, and full-bodied red wines are center stage at the table.
In continued collaboration with L’Ecole No 41 winery, I tasted two vintages from their Perigee wines. I paired these wines with a Ligurian Tócco (pot roast) made into a pasta sauce. The pairing was everything you wanted to satisfy your tastebuds and hunger on a cold winter’s night….
Most families have a set traditional Thanksgiving menu. Everyone has their favorite dishes that are a must beyond the turkey, but turkey can get complicated too – brined, kosher, smoked, fried, or roasted! I believe adding or changing some of the side dishes keeps the Thanksgiving menu exciting and lots more fun for an adventurer in food. Several years ago, I was determined to perfect my Thanksgiving cranberry sauce.
I grew up in Wisconsin, a national leader in cranberry farming, producing more than 60% of the cranberries Americans consume each year. (source: Wisconsin State Cranberry Growers Association). My grandfather was a cranberry farmer, so this was a personal mission to create a new family cranberry sauce for Thanksgiving.
I wanted a cranberry sauce that was not too sweet and had no nuts (per my husband.) A memorable cranberry sauce from a previous Thanksgiving included port wine and orange juice. The port wine added flavor and balanced the tartness of the cranberries without being too sweet, and the citrus juice was a refreshing element with the turkey. I experimented and tweaked spices with wine pairings in mind and created a new family Thanksgiving cranberry sauce. The recipe has become a part of our traditional Thanksgiving dinner.
After years of living and visiting Wisconsin, this fall (late September) was my first time actually to experience a cranberry harvest.
“Contrary to popular belief, cranberries do not grow underwater or in standing water. The low-growing, perennial vines blossom in late June or early July. Honeybees assist in pollination, and small green berries are evident by early August. The cranberry matures in fall when beds are flooded, and the crimson berries are harvested.” (source: Wisconsin State Cranberry Growers Association).
Flooded cranberry field before harvesting
Harvesting cranberries
Since the publication of “Mastering the Art of French Cooking,” Julia Child has inspired generations of American cooks. Julia Child, along with a handful of other culinary greats, is responsible for changing the food culture in America. Before “Mastering the Art of French Cooking,” cooking and eating in America was driven more by necessity and…
It’s that time of year again when Merlot gets a little extra love and attention. October is #MerlotMe month, and the Wine Pairing Weekend group of writers is celebrating their sixth year of Merlot and food pairings. (If you want to explore more of Always Ravenous #MerlotMe highlights from the last four years, here are…
This month the French Winophiles are back in the Rhône Valley tasting and pairing wines from the Southern Rhône; Côtes du Rhone AOC and Côtes du Rhône Villages AOC. These two wine regions make up 46% and 11% respectively of the total wines produced in the Rhône Valley.
Pinot Grigio is that wine variety that seems pretty straightforward. Its light body, medium acidity, low alcohol, and overall a good value. But not all Pinot Grigio is the same. Italy’s northeast wine growing regions of Veneto, Trentino, and Friuli-Venezia Giulia, collectively known as “Triveneto,” produces some of the best expression of Pinot Grigio.