Archive for the 'Wine and Food Pairing' Category

Old Spanish Days Menu at The Bistro

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joanie
on July 25, 2008
in Articles on Wine and Vineyards, Chardonnay, Joanie Hudson, Lafond Winery, Pinot Gris, Restaurant News, Riesling, Santa Barbara Winery, Sauvignon Blanc and Wine and Food Pairing
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In celebration of the 84th Old Spanish Days Fiesta, The Bistro will have a special Spanish-themed menu next weekend (Wednesday, July 30- Sunday, August 3).  I just took a peek at it, and it looks delicious!  One of the best things about the menu is the wide selection of dishes that will be available.  It is not just two or three specials, but rather an entire menu.  

Traditional recipes cover a lot of bases in terms of Spanish cuisine - from chilled Gazpacho Verde, Ceviche, Chicken Pasole, Shrimp Tamales, Sea Bass Tacos, Pulled Chicken Tortas, and Filet Mignon Enchiladas.  Chorizo, cilantro, and queso are scattered like confetti as reappearing ingredients in menu descriptions.  

The full wine list of Santa Barbara Winery and Lafond Winery will be available.  Spanish dishes call for a little bit of caution when selecting a wine pairing, but the right choice can enhance both the wine and food (like any good pairing should).  Spicy foods call for slightly sweet or fruity wines with little to no tannin.  I would pair any of our white wines with most of the featured items, but would be selective if leaning towards a red.  

Thinking back to The Bistro’s Solstice Wine Pairing dinner, the 2007 Santa Barbara Winery Pinot Gris with the Shrimp Ceviche was my favorite pairing of the night, as well as the most successful in terms of balance. Three wines that would be consistently good with most of the dishes would be the 2007 Santa Barbara Winery Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling 1.7, and Pinot Gris.  

All are light, refreshing, and fruity.  The Riesling is nice with spicier dishes because of the small amount of residual sugar.  Filet Mignon Enchiladas would be good with either the Riesling or 2005 Santa Barbara Winery Sangiovese.  Cesar’s Chicken Salad would be good with either of the 2006 Santa Barbara Winery Chardonnays (Reserve or Color Label).  

Tacos Al Pastor (Marinated Shaved Pork tacos with Pineapple, Cilantro and Onions Served with Black Beans and Corn Rice with Pasilla Chiles and Queso Anejo) would go well with the Riesling because of the sweetness of the marinated pork and the pineapple.  

The Fiesta Breakfast menu features similar bright flavors.  Huevos Con Chorizo, Chile Verde (Slow Roasted Pork in Green Salsa with Poached Eggs, Avocado, and Black Beans), and Calixto’s Thick Cut French Toast with Fresh Strawberries are a few highlights.  Omelet lovers can order the Oaxacan Vegetable Omelet (Mushrooms, Calabasas Squash, Spinach, Pasilla Peppers and melted Queso).  

See the full menu at pierrelafond.com.

Joanie Hudson, Assistant Tasting Room Manager, Santa Barbara Winery

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Rose Tasting at SpiritLand Bistro

Published
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joanie
on July 14, 2008
in Joanie Hudson, Other News and Wine and Food Pairing
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Santa Barbara residents and wine lovers from out of town should not miss SpiritLand Bistro’s recent project: themed wine tasting dinners on the last Wednesday of each month.  These Wednesday Wine and Dine Socials include a four course organic dinner, where all the attendees bring a bottle (corkage free) to share of a designated varietal.  

Each evening they invite a winemaker who specializes in the night’s varietal to discuss the wine as well as the food pairings.  Themed tastings, as I have said many times, provide the perfect opportunity to expand your palate.  Tasting wines of the same varietal side by side allows you to see difference more clearly and understand the terminology of wine discussion.  Of course, this works up to a certain point before you reach palate fatigue and they all start to blend together, but at least then we are always enjoying ourselves.  

The SpiritLand tasting encourages mingling between guests who share a collective enthusiasm for wine and fine dining experiences.  The theme for July 30th is Rose from around the world, and the speaker will be Leigh Readey (from J&L Wines).  You can’t beat the price of this event, $45 including tip and tax.  Ryan (Santa Barbara Winery and Lafond Winery Assistant Winemaker) and I have already made our reservations to attend so come see us.  Here is the menu for the Rose tasting:

First course: Assorted gourmet cheeses (from local gourmet cheese shop, C’est Cheese)

Second course: Vegetable Pakoras* and Potato Samosas** with Chutney

Third course: Seafood Paella with Cajun Spice (Vegetarian option available)

Fourth course: Apricot Crisp

Next month (August 27), the theme will be Viognier/Roussanne/Marsanne and the speaker will be Craig Jaffurs from Santa Barbara’s Jaffurs Wine Cellars.

Spiritland Bistro, 230 E. Victoria St., spiritlandbistro.com

805-966-7759, advanced reservations required for this event

 

*Pakora is a deep fried item in Indian cuisine also found in other South Asian countries

**Samosa is a fried pastry shell with a savory filling

Joanie Hudson, Assistant Tasting Room Manager, Santa Barbara Winery

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Charbroiling and Wine Pairing

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joanie
on July 10, 2008
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Now that we are in the midst of summertime grilling, it is important to be able to use your wine knowledge to select appropriate pairings for those charcoal scented meats tossed onto the flames.  What type of wine should you drink with bitter food?  The example I will use is Charbroiled lamb on a bed of wild arugula.  I have been getting bunches of wild arugula from the Farmer’s Market because it is such a great pair with anything you toss on the grill.  

The flavors in a dish like the one above are strong and need a wine match that will complement, and not enhance, the bitterness.  This type of charbroiled food will tend to accentuate the wine’s bitterness.  To avoid this type of pairing, pair this type of dish with a full bodied and fruit forward California wine (2006 Santa Barbara Winery Reserve Chardonnay, 2005 Santa Barbara Winery Cabernet Sauvignon, or any Napa Merlot).  

All of these wines are full of flavor and will stand up to their food pairing.  If the wine that you choose is too light to pair with a hearty and full flavored roast, it will not ruin your meal, but the wine’s flavors will barely even register on your palate.  

On a side note, while the Reserve Chardonnay would work with a Charbroiled lamb dish, I think it would be even better if you substituted a Charbroiled pork for the meat choice.
Joanie Hudson, Assistant Tasting Room Manager, Santa Barbara Winery 

 

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Smoked Cheddar and Bacon Grilled Cheese Recipe

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joanie
on July 6, 2008
in Joanie Hudson and Wine and Food Pairing
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Another recipe that appeared in the recent article in the Santa Barbara News Press on The Bistro’s Grilled Cheese night was the Smoked Cheddar and Bacon Grilled Cheese with Chipotle Relish.  I made it at home myself last week and wanted to make sure to share the recipe because it is delicious and easy to put together.  I had it paired with our 2007 1.7% Riesling, and it was the perfect match.  The most important piece of information I can share when making this sandwich is to make sure you take the time to get quality and fresh ingredients.  The recipe below is for one sandwich.

Smoked Cheddar and Bacon Grilled Cheese with Chipotle Relish

Butter or olive oil, to coat bread

2 slices sourdough bread

3 ounces smoked cheddar cheese

3-4 slices cooked applewood-smoked bacon

2 ounces Chipotle Relish, see recipe below

Butter or oil exterior of bread slices.  Place remaining ingredients between slices.  Grill in panini grill on medium-high heat for about 6-7 minutes, or until cheese is melted and bread is golden brown, or fry in frying pan on low heat for about 4-5 minutes per side.

Chipotle Relish

3 ounces ketchup

Half yellow onion, minced

3 chipotle peppers

3 ounces rice wine vinegar

3 tablespoons sugar

3 ounces water

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon oregano

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon black pepper

In small sauce pan, bring onions, ketchup, chipotle peppers, vinegar, sugar and water to low boil and cook until onions are soft and tender, about 15 minutes.  Add garlic and spices and remove from heat.  Pulse briefly in the food processor.  Cook’s note: You can adjust the level of spice based on amount of chipotle peppers used (I like it spicy!). 

Yield: About one cup of relish

Joanie Hudson, Assistant Tasting Room Manager, Santa Barbara Winery

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Leyden Cheese

Published
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joanie
on June 24, 2008
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If you are on the lookout for unique cheeses, your best bet is to turn to specialty cheese shops, not the grocery store.  Santa Barbara’s newest cheese shop (which is actually appropriately and simply called The Cheese Shop) gives customers the opportunity to taste a variety of obscure and cheeses.  When you go into a wine shop or a winery with a specific meal plan in mind, employees can steer you in the direction of the best wine pairing (at least this is the hope).

Same goes for The Cheese Shop.  I went there for the first time looking for a spiced cheese that would be good for tacos.  That’s all that I had to say before mid-sentence practically the guy behind the counter pulled out a cheese that fit the bill.  With a cheese knife he sliced off a thin sliver and let me taste it.  The cheese that he chose for me was Leyden Cheese (aka Cumin Cheese).  

This is a light yellow to orangish-tan spiced cheese made in the Netherlands from partly skimmed cow’s milk.  Caraway cumin seeds and sometimes cloves are added to a portion of the curd.  A little bit of buttermilk is also added to enhanced the richness and depth of flavor.  Its firm texture and subtle spiciness make it the perfect cheese to grate on your chicken tacos (which is my go to dinner that I make with leftover chicken or steak from the night before).  Try it with a hearty red wine with soft tannins  (because of the spiciness) such as Santa Barbara Winery’s Grenache Syrah, or a Corona.  

Joanie Hudson, Assistant Tasting Room Manager, Santa Barbara Winery

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Batali Italian Grilling

Published
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joanie
on June 23, 2008
in Joanie Hudson, Santa Barbara Winery, Wine News and Wine and Food Pairing
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During the summer months when the grill is fired up we wine consumers look to find the best wine matches to pair with your charred meats and fish.  I recently received a fantastic grilling cookbook as a gift that I wanted to recommend.  It is Mario Batali’s Italian Grilling cookbook.  Not only are the recipes unique and delicious, but the instructions for replicating Batali’s culinary creations are so intricate and easy to follow.  It would be easy to get lost in the recipe if he didn’t do such a great job of describing each step in the cooking process.  The beginning of the book has a section on wine pairing with grilled food written by David Lynch called “Italian Wines for Grilling.”  David Lynch used to serve as the sommelier for Batali’s Babbo Restaurant.  This brief introduction really captures what to look for when choosing wines for your barbeque. 

Grilling presents the opportunity to break out oaky barrel-fermented chardonnays.  Here they discuss barrel-fermented Italian whites.  Lynch says, “These days it’s fashionable to dismiss oaky wines as being overpowering, but add some grill char and other big flavors to the equation, and suddenly a little wood toast and weight is just what you need.”  Also, he recommends to look for wines with acidity.  On the red side of Italian wines he says his go to is a big and bold Montepulciano d’Abruzzo.  Soft tannins are important so that they won’t fight for attention with the charred big flavors.  “Lower alcohol, softer tannins and refreshing fruit” are key. 

My favorite quote is highlighted at the bottom of the introduction, “In the end, your best bet is to think big and throw caution to the winds.  Maybe toss the Brunello on ice to tone down its tannins, then let ‘er rip!  It’s a barbecue — don’t be such a wine geek.”

Go get this book!

Joanie Hudson, Assistant Tasting Room Manager, Santa Barbara Winery

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Rose Moradian on Nasturtiums at the Bistro Organic Garden at Lafond Vineyards

Published
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Pierre
on June 17, 2008
in Our Organic Garden, Rose Moradian, Wine News and Wine and Food Pairing
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Rose Moradian writes about our organic vegetable garden, at Lafond Vineyards, in the Bistro Restaurant & Wine Bar Blog…

A common sight in the Santa Barbara area in the springtime, Nasturtium is one of my favorite salad ingredients! I am growing some for the Bistro in many colors. Nasturtium in Latin means literally “nose-twister” or “nose-tweaker”, as a common name, refers to a genus of roughly 80 species of annual and perennial herbaceous flowering plants in the genus Tropaeolum (”Trophy”), one of three genera in the family Tropaeolaceae.

The flower is edible, making for an especially ornamental salad ingredient; it has a slightly peppery taste reminiscent of watercress at the end tip and sweet full leaves and is also used in stir fry. All parts of the plant are edible, not just the flower and leaves. The unripe seed pods can be harvested and pickled with hot vinegar, to produce a condiment and garnish, sometimes used in place of capers, although the taste is strongly peppery.

Nasturtiums are also considered widely useful companion plants. They repel a great many cucurbit pests, like squash bugs, cucumber beetles, and several caterpillars.
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