Bites of Bliss – Holiday Cheese Hors d’Oeuvres Recipes and Wine Pairings Make for Festive Evenings

GOUDA ALL WAYS Holiday eating usually means large meals and I love the occasional feast as much as the next wine writer. But I also appreciate meals that give me a break in the middle of banquet season and still deliver sparkle and flavour. Let’s organize an event with no main course and enjoy tasty morsels of deliciousness: hors d’oeuvres! They’re perfect for a supper party because they can be eaten over a long period of time, delight the senses and still leave room for wine and conversation! So let’s have a great evening of appetizers and cheeses paired with […]

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Take It Inside – November is a Great Time for an Intimate Cheese Fondue Recipe

Cheese Fondue Fall is beautiful, colourful and very romantic. November rains are an invitation to cozy up indoors and appreciate the simple joys of life: the comforting presence of a loved one, a great meal and an intoxicating glass of wine. Forget your worries, embrace the moment and ask your better half to join you for an intimate dinner of cheese fondue and great wines. I propose this fondue of Canadian Swiss, Gouda and Cheddar cheese not only for its sensuality and warmth, but also for its wonderful flexibility and simplicity. I invite you to get creative with the dipping […]

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Recipe: Grilled Seafood Goat Cheese Tart Paired with Delta Sauvignon Blanc, New Zealand

Grilled Seafood Goat Cheese Tart Paired with Delta Sauvignon Blanc 2010, Marlborough, New Zealand A simple tart using buttery puff pastry as the base is topped with grilled shrimp and scallops, tangy goat cheese and ripe grape tomatoes. Served with a greens salad the tart would pair well with an aromatic sauvignon blanc. The characteristic of white currant and melon notes found in sauvignon blanc complements the flavours in the tart. It is also one of the best wines for tangy cheeses like goat cheese. An excellent choice to try would be Delta Sauvignon Blanc 2010 from Marlborough, New Zealand. […]

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Pizza Pleasures in the Park Paired with a Crisp Sparkling Wine or Rose

  August 15 is a big day of celebration in Italy. On Ferragosto, Assumption Day, Italians leave the big cities and head for the beaches and mountains to indulge in great food and family fun. Let’s join the celebrations and organize a picnic of tasty Italian fare right here in Canada. We’re going to prepare a delicious and easy Italian pizza, surround it with a platter of Canadian cheeses, and pair them with Italian wines. The beauty of pizza is that it’s great at room temperature. Make life easy on yourself and prepare the pizza the day before the picnic. […]

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Cheese Charms As The Grill Heats Up and Wines are Served

Nothing beats a barbecue after a day of fun in the sun. But hungry tummies aren’t always patient as the grill gets ready. A tasty Canadian cheese platter paired with some refreshing wine will help keep the wolves at bay. For the main course, I’m going to suggest one of my favourite Mediterranean-inspired meals, Grilled Pork Chops and Zesty Sauce Vierge with Feta. But first, let’s talk about our tasty cheese starter. Serve the cheese one at a time, and pair it with the right wine as you go. For starters go with a semi-soft Victor et Berthold from Québec’s […]

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Stoneleigh Wines and some great summer reads

Sponsored Post With summer finally here, avid readers are finding time to unwind and enjoy a good book.  Whether in the backyard, at the beach, or on the dock, summer’s slower pace allows time to tackle that book club reading list.  And what better accompaniment to a compelling story than a cool, crisp white wine, or a complex red? Stoneleigh® Wines from Marlborough, New Zealand are the Official Wine Partner of Random House of Canada Limited.  Together, they have a range of book recommendations and accompanying wine suggestions. [table id=3 /]   [table id=5 /]   [table id=6 /]   […]

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Let’s take the party outside: barbecue cheeseburger and wine pairing

There’s only one thing better than eating and drinking, and that is eating and drinking outdoors. We waited patiently through the winter and remained calm and humble when spring brought us a little warmth. But now the moment has arrived. We can boldly step outside with our plates of food and glasses of wine and celebrate the arrival of summer. Let’s organize a good old-fashioned family BBQ party. The key words for this party are “simple” and “fun.” We are going to please everyone and make the most delicious hamburgers ever – Three-Cheese Burgers. And here’s the brilliant part. We […]

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Food & Wine 22

Excerpted from The Guardian Need to find a wine to match the meal you’re about to eat? When you’re at home, it’s easy. Check out what’s in the fridge, or on the rack next to the bread bin. If there is more than one bottle in either place, use your common sense. If you only have the one bottle, your choice becomes simple. OK, some partnerships are universally acknowledged as perfect. Sauternes and Roquefort cheese is the one that always springs to my mind; for others it is oysters and either Muscadet or Chablis. These are the exceptions. Most food […]

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Food & Viognier

I like to pair wine with foods. I also like simplicity. There are dozens of food types and styles that will go with most wines. I am however not a food critic. It would be very unfair of me to give my thoughts on someones hard work and creativity in the kitchen unless I am entitled to do so! The web (blogs especially), magazines and, I must admit, even the daily broadsheets, have endless examples of self made critics. There is nothing wrong with having a view and expressing it. There is a subtle difference between that and being a […]

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Vegetables & Wine 3

You have the color-coded cheat sheet memorized: red wine with red meat and white wine with white meat. But what do you drink when your meal is sans meat altogether? Though the Vegetarian Resource Group reports that only an estimated 2 to 3 percent of Americans are strictly vegetarian, another 30 to 40 percent are flexitarian, eating a veggie meal or two each week. Meat-free meals do have their advantages. For one, they’re healthful. The American Dietetic Association says diets that include a variety of vegetarian foods tend to result in lower rates of heart disease, high blood pressure, type […]

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