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Posts Tagged ‘Leeks’

Pappardelle Salad and a Côtes du Jura

Posted in Chardonnay, tagged , , , , , , , , , on November 14, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Homemade pappardelle blended with sauteed leeks, chives, lemon zest, arugula, prosciutto, and a dusting of Parmesan cheese.

Wine: Domaine de l’Aigle à deux têtes Côtes du Jura 2008

cotesdujuraNotes:

Yeah, that was a mouthful just to type!  If any of your are looking to plumb the depths of what wine explorers term “interesting”, you can start with a Côtes du Jura. This tiny little region in France is known for producing some particularly interesting wines such as their vin jaune (yellow wine).  This particular wine was not one of their most interesting ones, but fun and a good pairing nonetheless.  As an extra feature, they even dip the tops of their bottles in wax.  I personally think that just makes it harder and messier to open, but there are people who enjoy the extra touch.  It’s a blend of Chardonnay and a few other grapes that most people (even your most learned wine friends) wouldn’t recognize.  The wine carries a lovely acidity dominated primarily by lemon that brought out the lemon zest in the dish.  The rest of the body was a nice match for a this plate that was perfect for a cold winter’s night without actually being “heavy”.  It was adequately filling and fresh.

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Chenin Blanc and Salmon on the Grill

Posted in Chenin Blanc, Fall, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , on September 25, 2012| Leave a Comment »

Superfluous Rating: 5/5

Salmon fillet seasoned with salt, pink peppercorns and rosemary; topped with butter and lemon and thrust into an aluminum packet and put on the grill.  Red potatoes, leeks, onions, mushrooms, and asparagus seasoned with salt, pepper, and rosemary; loved with a butter and olive oil mix, piled into an aluminum packet and put on the grill.

Wine: Rudera de Tradisie Chenin Blanc 2009

Those of you with a keen eye will note a different windowed back drop. Cheers to buying a house and turning it into your own wine palace.

Notes:

There’s nothing like a cold snap during the tail end of September to remind Minnesotans that winter will be coming soon.  Nevertheless, I will be using the grill until there is a foot of snow on it; and perhaps then I might even make that the first destination when creating snow paths.  The best part of putting all your food in to tin foil or aluminum (pronounced Al-lu-MINI-um if you’re British) is that there is barely any cleanup and you can still let the food simmer in tasty juices.  And this salmon, with potatoes and veggies on the side is delightful after that.  I believe the internet people say, “Nom.”

I don’t think I’ve seen salmon popularly paired with Chenin Blanc, which is all fine and good, but this was fantastic.  This particular C-Blanc (its rapper name) from Stellenbosch, South Africa was wonderfully floral and had a bit of creaminess to it because it was fermented in oak.  Not a common process for C-Blanc, but it worked out fine to give it quite a bit of body and really turned this into a cool autumn comfort meal.

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Coq Au Vin Blanc and a Blanc

Posted in Chardonnay, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on May 29, 2012| Leave a Comment »

Have you missed the wine and food pairings?  My apologies.  They’ve missed you too!

Rating: 5/5

A coq au vin comprised of browned chicken (obviously) slow roasted over red potatoes, shallots, celery, carrots, leeks, with thyme, salt/pepper in a sultry shallow bath of broth and Burgundian white wine.  Juices were reduced with some butter for sauce.

Wine: Oliver Leflaive Bourgogne Blanc “Les Setilles” 2009

Notes:
Quick review: If it is white and from Burgundy, it’s a good bet that it’s Chardonnay.  This particular one had a bit of oak, but nothing offsetting and it  melded beautifully with the food.  Providing some zip where there was a little fat, and providing some body, where the dish lay a little flat. This is one of those solid pairings that just hits home with me every time.  You may not enjoy this sort of thing if you’re not the sort who enjoys delicious food and wine together, but if you come across a rainy and cool day this summer, give this a try.  It will soothe your soul.  If you instagram your experience, that may soothe your soul too, but I just got an ok picture of the wine bottle out of it.

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Pesto Pasta and a Sicilian White

Posted in Ansonica, tagged , , , , , , , , on April 14, 2011| 1 Comment »

Rating: 5/5

Hand ground pesto over browned turkey sausage, leeks and fresno pepper all on some homemade pasta.

Wine: Cottanera Barbazzale Bianco (Inzolia) 2008

Notes:

OK, OK…I might be slightly biased since this was the first time I’ve made pasta from scratch and it turned out to be fantastic.  I made them a bit thick because I’ve been craving a thick pasta noodle for at least a year and you can’t buy them in stores and it’s certainly rare to find in a restaurant as well.  The pesto, made with a mortar and pestle was also fantastic.  I’ve been  using walnuts instead of pine nuts and more spinach than basil recently.  Try it.  You’ll love it.

The wine was made from a grape known as Inzolia in Sicily (Ansonica in Tuscany and numerous names in other places).  It carries a bit of nuttiness in addition to being a crisp, dry white which went wonderfully with the pesto.  The finish was expansive. Always a plus.

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Mussels, Scallops and Muscadet

Posted in Muscadet, Spring, tagged , , , , , , , on April 27, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Rating: 4/5

Mussels steamed in Muscadet, Chicken Broth and Lime juice over…

Golden Beets, Taro and Leeks left to steam and sauteed Scallops in Muscadet and Tarragon over…

Quinoa

Wine: Domaine Pierre de La Grange, 2008 (Muscadet)

Notes:

Fantastic spring meal!  To really top this off the Quinoa could have been cooked a little better (it was flash cooked due to a time crunch and therefore a bit too crunchy), the lemongrass that was bought at the Seward Co-op could have been added to my grocery bag and thus put into the steamed mussels and the Muscadet could have been aged another couple of years.  The results of this would have been sublime.

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