Which wines to crack open for summer BBQs: big reds for meats and flavourful whites for seafood and veggies. Seven Deadly Zins, Menage a Trois, Innsikillin Riesling, St. Nicholas Cider and Errazuriz Sauvignon Blanc. Do you have to pay much a lot for good wine? No, and here’s why. We chat about this and other tasty topics on CJAD radio, one of the largest morning talk shows in the country. Wines for Summer BBQ, Picnics, Seafood: CJAD Radio Barry: 7:41 summer’s here, although it’s kind of tough to tell this morning, but summer is here. So what wines go best […]
Hamburgers & Wine
Mediterranean Burger Recipe Paired with Gilles Louvet O Pinot Noir
Mediterranean Burgers Ingredients 4 fresh buns 4 beef burgers 1 tomato 1 onion Fresh salad leaves 2 pickles Fresh goat cheese –preferably a Languedoc Pélardon Fresh cilantro Tobasco Sauce Mayonnaise Ground cumin Ground cinnamon Ground ginger Garlic Salt and Pepper Preparation Slice the onion finely and fry at a medium heat with a splash of olive oil. Meanwhile, cut the tomato into thick slices, rinse the salad, cut the pickles into slices lengthways and slice the goat cheese. In a small bowl mix ½ cup of mayonnaise, 1 tbsp tobasco sauce, a pinch of cumin, cinnamon and ginger, 1 tsp […]
Italian-Style Burger Recipe with Canadian Mozzarella and Chianti
Bring the taste of Italy to your backyard this summer. July is one of my favourite months, traditionally the warmest month of the year in Canada. It’s the perfect time to get together with friends and enjoy the best life has to offer. With warm days and spectacular sunsets, it’s easy to believe you’re in an exotic place where the weather’s more accommodating year round. To get the most out of your summer, here’s an exotic spin on an old favourite that’s best enjoyed with a bottle of wine, good conversation and the comfort of a backyard or patio. The […]
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 […]
Food & Wine 25
Some wines are definitely a better fit with certain foods, but I admit I lived many years without realizing just good a food and wine pairing could acutally be. On my one and only visit to Lumiere – during the Rob Feenie years – I ordered a ten-course tasting menu and the matched flight of wines for each course. I was humbled. The food was good. Each course was either a single bite of something quite special or a few bites of something sumptuous. There was Israeli couscous and paper thin smoked duck breast and goat cheese cheesecake and lots […]
Food & Wine 24
It used to be so simple: Red wine went with red meat, white wine went with white meat, and that, essentially, was that when it came to pairing food and wine. These days, it’s a bit more complex. For one thing, wines are being made in more styles and more regions than ever before. For another, our diets now include flavours from all over the world as well as casual fare that once we would never have dreamed of enjoying with wine. The old rules don’t always apply. But what has replaced them? Are there any rules at all? Well, […]
Food & Wine 13
Students can enjoy wine at mealtimes without having to shell out big bucks, said Natalie MacLean, an accredited sommelier and author of Red, White, and Drunk All Over: A Wine-Soaked Journey from Grape to Glass. “Wine is an ideal way to dress up all sorts of dishes that are fairly straightforward,” she said. “It’s like putting rhinestones on jeans.” MacLean said students should look for wines that are undervalued and underpriced, such as wines from Chile, Argentina and South Africa. She suggested trying popcorn with Chilean chardonnay, nachos with California Zinfandel, potato chips with French Champagne, pizza with Italian Chianti […]
Food & Wine 6
Oh man, are the Traveling Mamas big fans of wine writer Natalie MacLean. She’s a funny and informative writer, a four-time winner of the James Beard Journalism Awards, and she also was named the World’s Best Drink Writer at the World Food Media Awards (that’s just about the best name for an award). Natalie MacLean writes hilariously and self-effacingly in her book, Red, White, and Drunk All Over. This is a kind-of travel, kind-of drinking memoir, and I love it. Even better, she kindly answered some of our questions, and – my favorite – has put serious consideration into wine […]
Food & Wine 3
Wine always makes a tasteful gift, and you never have to wrap it. But how do you know whether your cubicle mate or running partner prefers a dry white or a luscious red? Add a tag to the bottle that lists his favorite complementary dishes, and you’ll be a hero. Unless your giftee is a habitual dieter or true ascetic, chances are you’ve dished about food. And your friend’s favorite cuisine may be all the insight you need to buy a great wine for him or her, says Natalie MacLean, sommelier and author of Red, White and Drunk All Over: […]
Food & Wine Pairing Rules Aren’t What They to Be
It used to be so simple: Red wine went with red meat, white wine went with white meat, and that, essentially, was that when it came to pairing food and wine. These days, it’s a bit more complex. For one thing, wines are being made in more styles and more regions than ever before. For another, our diets now include flavours from all over the world as well as casual fare that once we would never have dreamed of enjoying with wine. By Joanne Sasvari The old rules don’t always apply. But what has replaced them? Are there any rules […]
