Knowing that Kobe beef with braised oxtail and potato rosti will make Château Pétrus sing is useful if you have a fat trust fund and a kitchen staff of twenty. However, most of us are racing from work to soccer practice to ballet class and then home again, so we’re far more apt to grab some take-out food or heat a frozen TV dinner than to prepare a multi-course dinner every night of the week. Although wine consumption has increased 20 percent in the last five years, only 42 percent of drinkers say that they have wine with take-out […]
Food & Wine Pairing
Kung Pao Chicken Recipe with Grant Burge Summers Chardonnay
Grant Burge Summers Chardonnay won a Silver Medal at the Hong Kong International Wine Challenge 2011 for ‘Best Wine Paired with Kung Pao Chicken’. I was inspired to create a version of this classic dish for the home cook to enjoy. Kung Pao Chicken Ingredients: For the marinade: 3 boneless chicken breasts cut into small cubes 1 tbsp soy sauce 1 tbsp Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry 1 tbsp cornstarch For the sauce: 2 tsp sugar 2 tsp Chinese black vinegar or rice vinegar 2 tsp sesame oil 1/3 cup water 3 tbsp soy sauce 1 tbsp Shaoxing rice […]
Hearty Lentil, Pesto and Colby Soup with Cotes du Rhone or Pinot Noir
Take a mid-week break with fast and delicious comfort food. Hectic work days. Long commutes. Multitasking half a dozen household crises. How can parents be expected to prepare something tasty in the precious little time they have between getting home and their children’s first cries of hunger? They can’t be – not without a little help. So this week I’m suggesting a nutritious and delicious recipe that is so fast to prepare it will leave you with enough time to treat yourself to a nice glass of wine. This hearty lentil, pesto and Canadian Colby soup pairs wonderfully with Côte […]
Wine and Corn, Tomato, Steak Pairings: Fine Cooking Magazine
I’m not letting go of summer until the first official day of fall, which is still a few weeks away. Now is the time to enjoy luscious tomatoes, sweet corn, grilled steak, field berries and other late summer treats. I’ve paired them with wines in the latest issue of Fine Cooking magazine. Carpe diem!
Spice Rubbed Pork Tenderloin and Spinach Salad Recipe with Southbrook Cabernet Franc Rose
Spice rubbed pork tenderloin and spinach salad with summer fruit and curry vinaigrette This spice mix is a blend of sweet and heat. A bright, vibrant rose with touch of sweet fruit freshness would be a terrific match for this main course salad. A delicious choice would be Southbrook Triomphe Cabernet Franc Rose 2011, an organic wine from the Niagara Peninsula. Serves 4 Ingredients for the pork one 2¼ to 2½ lb pork tenderloin, trimmed ½ tsp cinnamon ½ tsp garlic powder ½ tsp cumin seed ½ tsp fennel seed ½ tsp chili powder ¼ tsp black pepper 1 tsp […]
Recipes from Wine Country: Prosciutto and Rosemary Wrapped Salmon Parcels with Reif Estate Riesling
Prosciutto and Rosemary Wrapped Salmon Parcels What better way to go local than matching your favourite Reif Estate VQA wine with a recipe from wine country? The summer heat has offered up sweet, ripe produce and now that wines from the remarkable 2010 vintage are hitting the shelves at your local LCBO the time is right to put Ontario on your table. Chef Robin Howe uses only the freshest ingredients in preparing his culinary creations, an expression of his passion for the bounty in Niagara. One of his favourite ingredients to use this time of year is tomatoes and of […]
Swiss Chard Bacon Tart with Creme Fraiche and Pine Nuts Recipe with Delta Pinot Noir or Kris Pinot Grigio
Swiss Chard Bacon Tart with Crème Fraiche and Pine Nuts Paired with Delta Pinot Noir or Kris Pinot Grigio, which do you prefer? We love these wines and can’t decide over 2010 Delta Pinot Noir from Malborough, New Zealand or the 2010 Kris Pinot Grigio, Veneto, Italy. They are a great match for this savoury tart with bacon, Gruyere and pine nuts. Both add a balance to the richness in the tart. Which one of these wines do you find a better match? Contact us via twitter @TrialtoON and give us your feedback. Serves 6 to 8 Ingredients: 1 deep […]
Turkey, Orange and Monterey Jack Fajitas Recipe and Chardonnay or Valpolicella Ripasso
Fill Two Needs with one Deed For most of us, the beginning of the school year is a bit of an emotional roller coaster. You might feel relieved that your kids are back in school and away from the computer. You probably feel a twinge of regret at seeing them grow so fast and go up yet another grade. And you most certainly feel rushed as you run around collecting school supplies, new clothes and all the other activities triggered by their return to school. In the midst of this roller-coaster ride, let me propose a menu item that takes […]
Blue Cheese and White Wine Pairing: Video Part 3
In the final video chat below, Janice and I discover a surprisingly great new pairing between blue cheese and a light zippy white wine with just 6.5% alcohol. Who would have thunk it? Port’s not the only partner when you’re blue. You may also enjoy these video chats: Cheese and Wine Pairing Part 2 Pairing Wine and Cheese: Cheddar, Gouda, Blue Dragon’s Den Arlene Dickinson talks about wine, women, business Social Media & Wine Part 2: How wineries need to use Social-Local-Mobile See all wine video chats here. Is there someone else with a fascinating wine […]
Cheese and Wine Pairing Video Part 2
In part two of our video chat, Janice Beaton and I discuss pairing wine with ash-crust cheeses (not as nasty as I make them out to me), including the lovely Tidal Bay wines of Nova Scotia … bring it! You can also watch part one of our wine and cheese chat. We’ll post part three of this trilogy before it gets mouldy … Janice sure has a whey with curds. You may also enjoy these video chats: Pairing Wine and Cheese: Cheddar, Gouda, Blue Dragon’s Den Arlene Dickinson talks about wine, women, business Social Media & […]
