Something to crow about
I was shopping for dinner. I was going to grill pork chops rubbed with a coffee and coriander dry rub and accompany the chops with a Yukon Gold potato salad with a pesto and champagne vinaigrette. (I still had a small stash of pesto in the freezer that I’d made in the fall.) I had all the items I needed so I headed over to the wine section. Usually when I grill meat, I drink Zinfandel – my everyday choice the current Vintner’s Cuvée from Rosenblum; for special evenings, something from Ridge. However, a large floor display for 2008 Rook Columbia Valley caused me to change direction. The verbage accompanying the stack of bottles recommended serving it with pork or salmon. I thought, why not? I had enjoyed and wrote about the white blend from the Corvidae Wine Co. – the 2009 Crowe; now I’d try the red. [click to continue…]
by katrin on March 3, 2011
Glenn and I were absolutely delighted to have been invited to join other Boston food and wine bloggers on March 1 for an Evening of Chocolate and Wine. Unfortunately, Glenn had a last minute unavoidable conflict. I really missed having him there. I not only look to him for insight on food and wine pairing, but being a former pastry chef himself, I am certain he would have enjoyed it. Organized by Boston Chocolate Tours, the tasting explored how combining chocolate and wine could lead to unexpected and flavorful pleasures. I have to admit that this is not exactly my area of expertise; I am much more likely to skip a plated dessert and enjoy a port or dessert wine on its own. My previous attempts at pairing desserts and wine have been lackluster at best, but I was eager to learn how I could break out of my mental restraints when it comes to pairing wine and chocolate.
Twenty-two Boston-area bloggers gathered
in the beautiful and elegant Percy Dauber Drawing Room at the College Club of Boston. Our instructors were Harry Silverstein and Dorian McCarron, aficionados and experts in wine and chocolate respectively. Harry owns Red, White & Bleu, a Falls Church, Virginia wine shop and is planning to open a shop on Clarendon Street in Boston called Recipe. Dorian is one of Boston Chocolate Tours’ Executive Pastry Chefs and Chocolatiers.
Harry started with a very basic “Wine 101” on how to taste wine. He led us through his five “S”s: See, Swirl, Smell, Sip, Savor. Dorian then explained that, just like with wine, there are things to look for when tasting chocolate. Is it smooth? 
Does it have a crunch when you break a piece off? Does it have a shiny appearance? Chocolate, he told the group, is full of antioxidants and is both nature’s Prozac and Lipitor. There are only five ingredients in chocolate: cocoa liqueur, cocoa butter, sugar, soy lecithin, and vanilla. Anything beyond this is not real chocolate. Aside from the first chocolate, all of the samples were made by Dorian’s favorite producer, El Rey Chocolates from Venezuela.
But enough of the talking. Let’s get to the tasting the six pairings!
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by katrin on February 1, 2011
Rodney and I were more than delighted to accept a recent invitation to a seminar exploring “The Bliss Factor” of the perfect food and wine pairing. Held at Jasper White’s Summer Shack in Boston on January 27, the seminar featured two wineries and an expert on oysters from around the world.
I have to admit that I know very little about oysters. I like them, but invariably rely on the advice of the people I’m sharing a meal with or the waitstaff when it comes to making a selection from the raw bar. But Rowan Jacobsen might change all that. The author of A Geography of Oysters and the recently-published American Terroir: Savoring the Flavors of Our Woods, Waters, and Fields, Rowan spoke knowledgeably about how – as with wine – the origin of the oyster influences its flavor. For this particular tasting, four of the five oysters came from Washington state and one from Cape Cod. Their flavors had an incredible range, from creamy to briny to earthy. With Rowan to guide us through the origins and profiles of these oysters, I began to understand, and want to learn more about, oysters.
The oysters were paired with three wines from The Crossings winery in Awatere Valley, located in the Marlborough region of New Zealand’s South Island, and two Pinot Grigios made by Barone Fini in Italy’s Trentino-Alto Adige. It was a real treat to have The Crossings winemaker Matt Mitchell and Barone Fini’s President Giovanni Bonmartini-Fini at the seminar to talk about their wines.
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by eleni on November 27, 2010
Thanksgiving always brings together a miscellaneous group at our house. Relatives that aren’t really relatives (although they bear striking resemblances), friends, and whomever else we discover who doesn’t have plans. To keep the younger crowd entertained, I decided to spice things up and try a beer tasting. I recently discovered Burt’s Better Beers and headed over to see what I could come up with. The clerk hooked me up with Burt when he heard my plan. The lineup:
Rogue Juniper Pale Ale (incidentally it’s the “Official Beer of the National Turkey Federation”), Allagash Dubbel Belgian Style Ale (Maine), a “Snakebite” we used Samuel Smith’s Organic Cider with Shipyard Blue Fin Stout, Rogue Chipotle Ale, and Shipyard Smashed Pumpkin. I decided on the order so blame me if you disagree. [click to continue…]
by rodney on January 14, 2009
After spending two years (and thousands of dollars) studying wine at Boston University, tonight’s dinner consists of a hot dog and a glass of Merlot. You’re probably saying to yourself, “A fool and his money are soon parted“. That is generally the case with me, except this time.
The hot dog is a grilled Omaha Steaks Gourmet Frank on a fresh toasted baguette with diced Vidalia onions and lavender mustard with wildflower honey. The Merlot is a cherry, plum, pepper, herbal 2005 Duckhorn with mild tannins. Not the details you were expecting, I suspect?
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