CBC All in a Day host Alan Neal and I sneak into the CBC kitchen to snoop into employee lunches and pair them with wine. You can listen to our chat above from the drive-home show. It’s actually not as weird (or creepy) as it sounds … we’re kicking off the final 3 days of Food Fantasy fundraising for the Food Bank, with prizes like having a sommelier come to your home and pair wine and food for you and 11 friends. In addition to being your personal sommelier for an evening, I’ll also bring along 12 signed copies of […]
Food & Wine Pairing
Pierre Sparr Wines: Alsace Value and Taste Pair Well
Maison Pierre Sparr By Melissa Pulvermacher We’re all on a constant search of high-value wines for a great price. I always say that your chance of getting a great quality wine for a large price tag is high, and although the odds are less consistent, it feels great to find a killer bottle of wine that doesn’t break the bank. Maison Pierre Sparr, founded in 1680 by Jean Sparr, is a winery and brand located in Alsace, France. Sparr owns 15 hectares of their own Domaine, while also sourcing grapes from 130 hectares of trusted farmer-owned vines, to produce their […]
Recipe: Beef Empanadas and Malbec Wines
Argentinean-Style Beef Empanadas Empanadas Argentinas are beef empanadas that Argentineans serve as appetizers at parties or as a simple, everyday lunch or dinner. Empanadas Argentinas are always baked instead of fried, so your family can enjoy them regularly, too. These beef empanadas—seasoned like empanadas you find in Buenos Aires—will delight anyone, no matter where you are. Makes 24 Empanadas Prep time: 10 min. Total time: 1 hr. Ingredients: For the filling: 2 tbsp. Extra virgin olive oil 1 small yellow onion, finely chopped (about 1 cup) 2 tsp. Minced garlic, or 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped 2 tsp. Paprika 1 […]
Recipe: Argentinean Sorrentinos Paired with Malbec
Argentinean Sorrentinos Sorrentinos are round raviolis, filled with ham, mozzarella cheese and ricotta. They’re not from Sorrento – they were invented in the resort town of Mar del Plata. In Argentina you can buy a special type of deep ravioli mold called a “sorrentinero” that is used to make the exact sombrero-like shape of these pastas. If you make these from scratch, you can fill them with ham, mozzarella, and ricotta, and serve them with any sauce. Or buy widely available ricotta-filled raviolis, and serve them with this creamy ham and mozzarella cheese sauce on top – a sort of […]
Beaujolais Nouveau Wines Celebrate Vintage in November
Beaujolais Nouveau wine causes quite a stir on the third Thursday of every November. We spoke about this light red wine from the Beaujolais region of France on CBC’s Ontario Morning today (I’ll post the clip later). Beaujolais nouveau is meant to celebrate the current vintage. It’s harvested, fermented and bottled within weeks and is meant to be gulped now in bistros with friends, not cellared or analyzed. Here are some of my picks from this year’s crop below as well as beaujolais nouveau food pairings. You can also look for nouveau wines from other regions, including Canada, Italy and […]
Sunday Brunch Benedict on Potato and Zucchini Fritter Recipe
Sunday Brunch Benedict on Potato and Zucchini Fritter Recipe by Courtney Flood Sunday brunch is my favourite. Long-weekend Sunday brunch is extra special. This meal is a little finicky but worth the trouble. Serves 4. Ingredients: 2 medium zucchini 4 large potatoes, peeled ¼ cup chickpea flour (besam) 9 eggs + 1 egg yolk (divided) 1 clove garlic, minced 2 tsp salt (divided) ¼ – ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper 1 tbsp + 2 tsp canola oil (divided) 6 tbsp butter 2 tsp lemon juice ¼ white vinegar 2 cups chopped kale 2 tomatoes, sliced Instructions: Fritters – Shred zucchini on […]
Pairing Wine with Chocolate: Follow Your Nose
By Jessica Nagy Pairing wine with chocolate is about more than just rich desserts and powerful Ports or Amarones; it’s a subtle art that can have a big impact on the entire meal if done well. I recently spoke with Sommelier Rebecca Meïr-Liebman about how she takes on this challenge in a series of Sweet & Savoury chocolate-inspired dinners that she hosts with her husband, Chef Eyal Liebman, in Toronto. The next dinner will take place November 8 with all proceeds going to support Second Harvest. “I start by choosing the winery,” says Rebecca. In this case, it’s Niagara’s Henry […]
Wine Tasting Club Checklist
Continued from How to Host a Wine Tasting Here’s a checklist for how to host a wine tasting or start a regular wine tasting club. 1. One Month Before the Tasting Decide who you want to invite Your tasting club could be for your existing friends, or a means to get to know new friends via work or other venues, or a mix. Invite six to twelve guests. These days, trying to find an unscheduled evening with six to twelve busy people is a challenge so you may need to give your group even more lead time than a month. […]
Vegetarian Poutine with Miso-Mushroom Gravy Recipe
Vegetarian Poutine with Miso-Mushroom Gravy Recipe by: Courtney Flood This recipe has several of my favourite ingredients that I love to promote. They sound somewhat “exotic”, but once you know how to use them they are great ingredients to have on hand and all have a great shelf life. Nutritional yeast is high in protein and B vitamins and has a cheesy flavour that is a great vegan substitute for cheese. You can find it in bulk food stores. Miso paste is made from fermented soybeans and adds a great vegetarian umami flavour. It’s a live food that is rich […]
Recipes from Wine Country: Warm Mushroom Salad with Reif Estate Cabernet Merlot
Warm Wild and Domestic Mushroom Salad Sponsored Post Falling for Cabernet Merlot Autumn is the perfect time for you to start living the Reifstyle, an ideal time to enjoy the bounty of the fall harvest with Reif Estate’s VQA wines. Chef Robin Howe from Wine Country Catering makes it easy with his warm mushroom salad that will pair expertly with a medium bodied rich red wine like Reif Estate Winery’s 2012 Cabernet Merlot. A perfectly balanced blend of two classic red Bordeaux varietals with black berry and sweet spiced oaky flavours on the palate. You can find this great recipe […]
