Revisiting Some Recipes

Around the time COVID began, I had a lot of changes occur in my life, things were upside down for a time, and then COVID just continued to mess with our lives. And in all of that, I just lost the desire to invent new recipes, hence the very few recipes in my blog since 2019, and the Newsletter just didn't hold an iota of interest. It is now nearly three years since I posted a Newsletter, so I am allowing it to lapse.

However, there were some really good recipes that had been available only through the Newsletter. I had links to most of them in the Index portion of this blog site, but now that the link to those recipes will expire along with the newsletter, I deleted the links to those recipes, and will hopefully get the majority added back in, as I post them here in this blog. 

Goat Cheese Tarts with Fig and Preserved Lemon Jam

The following recipe was a remake of an older recipe, with a new twist or two, and they were so stupendously good, I have to assure that the recipe stays available! These are little bite (or two) sized appetizers I created to pair with a sampling of white wines at a wine tasting evening. If memory serves, they paired best with a Chardonnay. I realize "Chardonnay" is rather generic for the many and varied iterations of that grape, but a nice, buttery type is the best.

I have long had a medium sized, marble mortar and pestle set, and in casting around for something to simplify the forming of tart shells in my mini tart pans, I thought of the pestle. Being marble, it is therefore good for use with pastry dough. I found that making small balls of the dough and setting them in the wells of the pan, the thicker end of the pestle can be used to do the broad stroke of making the dough into a relative "bowl" shape in each little well. Flipping the pestle and using the narrow end, it is perfect for pressing the dough against the sides of the little wells and up to the top edges. Necessity: the Mother of Invention.

Preserved Lemons

Preserved Lemons

Preserved Lemon is an item that most will not have on hand, unless you are a Middle Eastern, Mediterranean or northern African maybe. I have long been acquainted with the taste of preserved lemon, though I hadn't ever seen them sold anywhere in most of my middle-America travels. Recently though, I spotted Preserved Lemons in a jar on the grocery shelf in southeast Arizona! Imagine my surprise. To make preserved lemons, you need a (preferably sterilized) large-ish glass jar with lid, nice, unblemished and well-scrubbed lemons to press into the jar and sea salt or Kosher salt. Extra lemon juice to top off. Cut halfway into each lemon from one pointed end. Cut into the opposite ends in a crosswise manner, as shown. (Or, simply make two criss-crossing cuts down to near the bottoms of the lemons, but not all the way through.)

Making cuts for preserved lemons

Now, using plenty of salt. pack salt into the cut parts of the lemons, using as much as can possibly be pressed into them. Press these lemons into the clean, prepared jar, packing in tightly so a lot of their juice is pressed out into the jar. Once the jar is filled, or you've used all the lemons that fit, using fresh lemon juice, make sure the lemons are covered with the juice. Cover and let set on the counter for about 3 days, then in the refrigerator for at least 3 weeks more.

To use the preserved lemons, the rinds should be completely softened, when they are ready. Cut or tear off as much as you might need (a quarter lemon, half) and separate the inner flesh and discard. Wash the rind before using. It can be added to salads, fish dishes, or giving a great flavor to something like this Fig Jam, below! 

Goat Cheese & Prosciutto Tarts with Fig & Preserved Lemon Jam

Makes 35 mini tartlets

Goat Cheese Tartlets
with Fig & Preserved Lemon Jam

TART SHELLS:
½ cup finely ground pistachios
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
¼ cup cold unsalted butter
4 ounces regular cream cheese

FILLING:
6 ounces goat cheese (Chevre or Montrachet)
½ cup heavy cream
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves, stripped from stems
½ teaspoon finely ground white pepper
1 pinch salt
3 ounces prosciutto, minced finely

FIG & PRESERVED LEMON JAM:
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 large shallots, cut in half and sliced
8 dried white figs (135 grams), cut in small pieces
½ cup white wine
2 tablespoons honey
3 tablespoons finely minced preserved lemon, rind only
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves, stripped from stems

TART SHELLS: Grind pistachios finely in a spice grinder or food processor. Place the ground pistachios in the bowl of food processor along with the flour and pepper. Pulse briefly to stir. Cut the cold butter and cream cheese into small cubes and add to the processor. Pulse about 20 times, then turn on to process until the mixture comes together. Turn out and form small balls about 1-inch in diameter or slightly less (10 grams apiece). You should have 35 balls. Set the balls of dough into the wells of mini tart pans. Press dough into the wells and up the sides, then freeze. Once frozen, these can keep, well covered, for up to 2 weeks if needed to do ahead.

Making tart Shells, adding chopped prosciutto and cheese filling

FILLING: Place the goat cheese into a bowl. Using a hand mixer, beat until the cheese is relatively smooth, then add all the remaining filling ingredients except the prosciutto and beat until the mixture is smooth. This mixture can be kept in the fridge for up to 3 days, well covered, if needed to make in advance. When ready to make the tarts, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove the tart shells from the freezer and divide the minced prosciutto between the tart shells. Pour 1 to 1¼ teaspoons of the goat cheese filling over top of the prosciutto in the shells. Rap the pans a few times sharply on the counter to distribute the filling down around the prosciutto. Bake the tarts for 12 to 14 minutes, or until the filling is set and the shell is golden. Cool and remove from pans. The tarts can also be baked ahead and then frozen. Simply remove the baked and frozen tarts from freezer, set them on a baking sheet and bake them at 350 for 10 minutes to reheat before topping with the Fig and Preserved Lemon Jam, just before serving.

Sauté shallots till golden, add figs and thyme, preserved lemon

FIG & PRESERVED LEMON JAM: Melt the butter in a medium skillet and add in the sliced shallots. Sauté the shallots until they begin to turn golden. Add in the chopped dried figs with all the remaining Jam ingredients and cook until the liquid is mostly gone, and the mixture is sticky and cooked through. If making ahead, place the Jam into a clean container with lid and refrigerate until needed, up to 3 weeks. Using two small spoons, top each tart with a small amount of the ‘Jam’ just prior to serving.

My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.

Appetizers for Another Wine Tasting

Each year, for the past few years, the Aberdeen Boys and Girls Club has been holding a large fundraising event. Wines are available to try and many people bring foods in, myself included, to eat while walking around tasting wines. My stance on this is to make particular foods that will pair the best with the wines I am serving at my table, and this has made my table sought after. I believe this has much to do with the fact that if a wine and food are properly paired, both the wine and the food will taste better.

Four of the Appetizers Served: Clockwise from top left: Lemon Artichoke Pesto Crostini, Smoky Beef and Currant Empanadas, Spanakopita Cups and Potato and Pea Samosas with Green Chutney

few years back, in with the auction held each year for a wine tasting for 20 to 25 guests at someone's home, my appetizers have been included as a part of the auction. This year, the people who won the auction held their wine tasting this past Friday evening. Generally, I am not informed of what particular wines the wine distributor will be bringing, so I go about creating appetizers that will possibly pair with at least a couple of wines, and ensuring that things will taste good.

At this wine tasting, the couple hosting chose to try each appetizer with wines I suggested might be best, and then taking it a step further and testing others, to see how they paired. I was extremely happy to see this approach, and there turned out to be some exceptional pairings. 

Rosemary & Parmesan Wafers

All the 6 appetizers I made were ones I had made before, minus the Rosemary Parmesan Wafers (recipe below). For example, I had made the Smoky Beef and Currant Empanadas a few years ago, originally to pair with a Malbec at the B&GC fundraiser. While they also went well enough with the Malbec at the wine tasting on Friday evening, it was an amazingly "smoky" flavored Zinfandel (Predator Old Vine Zinfandel, 2015) that really stole the show as a pairing for the smoky flavors of the empanadas.

Another surprise was the wines that paired with the little Potato & Pea Samosas. For the Samosas, I originally made them as Chicken and Raisin Samosas, to serve with a White Conundrum wine. They are easily made into Potato Pea Samosas by increasing the amount of potatoes in the recipe to 1½ pounds and eliminating the chicken entirely. A White Conundrum blend was also served at the wine tasting on Friday, and that was the direction I steered people. But while it was really a lovely pairing, I got thinking about a Carmenere wine I had researched years ago. The distributor had brought a different Carmenere (and the second I have ever tried) to this wine tasting, and I recalled how the articles I read on Carmenere stressed that it went well with things that contained cilantro. Since the green chutney I served with the samosas was made with cilantro and mint, I wondered. . .

And again, this was a most fantastic pairing, far better than even the Conundrum White. A total surprise and just perfect. The Carmenere was Casillero del Diablo Reserve, 2015. 

Other appetizers went well with the wines I suggested, such as the Hoisin Pork with Blackberry Chutney, which I wrote about when I tested the recipe on July 14th. I figured that its best match would be a Pinot Noir, and it certainly was. Anything more forcefully flavored just did not work at all, and I tasted it with a Cabernet, a Merlot, and also with a red blend. None of these did the appetizer any favors. The Joel Gott Oregon Pinot Noir 2012 was perfection with this appetizer. 

Rosemary & Parmesan Wafers

It was a really wonderful opportunity to taste and test wines with appetizers, particularly since I do so much of this king of food and wine pairing. At the last minute, I decided to add in one last appetizer, little Rosemary Parmesan Wafers, thinking it might just pair well with a Chardonnay. At home, I happened to have a Cabernet Sauvignon open, so I tasted one of the little wafers with that Cab, and it went wonderfully well. I was anxious to taste them with the Folie a Deux Russian River Valley 2014 Chardonnay, and this also did not disappoint. 

I omitted the chicken from two appetizers, mainly because at least one of the attendees at the wine tasting on Friday was vegetarian. The recipes themselves are easily made without the chicken. In the case of the Lemon Artichoke Pesto, when I made it originally, I first made the Lemon Artichoke Pesto and then sauteed the chicken in a pan and then pulsed it in the food processor, before adding it to the Pesto. I had tasted the pesto to see if the flavors were good on their own; they were fabulous. Once adding the chopped chicken, it made more, of course, and it tasted good, but it tasted good either way. If choosing to make this recipe (click the link to the recipe title above), simply omit the chicken and the next couple of ingredients, and proceed. The recipe was originally created to pair with a Pinot Grigio, and it paired nicely with the New Zealand, Peter Yealands Pinot Gris 2014, as well as with the Folie a Deux Chardonnay mentioned previously.

The Spanakopita Cups I made are such a tasty little treat and so very simple. With the flavors of spinach and Feta cheese, they pair excellently with a Sauvignon Blanc wine. In this case, it was Decoy, Sonoma County Sauvignon Blanc 2015. Interestingly though, there was a rosé that also paired well, having just enough acidity to work with the flavors. It was a Jean-Luc Colombo 2014 Cape Bleue Rosé.

Rosemary Parmesan Wafers

Rosemary Parmesan Wafers

Makes about 55 to 60 wafers

3 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons finely minced fresh rosemary leaves
½ cup almond meal
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 ounces Parmesan cheese, grated finely 
½ teaspoon salt
½ - 1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
2 sticks (½ pound) cold, unsalted butter
2 egg yolks, lightly whisked 

In a small bowl, rub together the sugar and rosemary. Or, pound with a mortar and pestle. Pour this mixture into a food processor and add in the almond meal, flour, Parmesan and salt. Pulse to distribute ingredients. Cut the cold butter into small cubes and add them all at once to the bowl of the processor and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Drizzle the egg yolks into the bowl and pulse until the mixture begins to come together into a ball. Turn the mixture out onto a greased surface and divide in two halves. Roll each half of the dough into a long, narrow cylinder, the length of a paper towel roll. If you have an empty paper towel roll, or two, these will make excellent tubes to house the dough later. 

Once each half of dough is rolled into a neat cylinder, set two pieces of plastic wrap onto a counter and set the dough roll at one edge. Roll tightly and twist the ends to seal. If the paper towel roll is handy, slide the dough into the tube. Repeat with the other roll of dough.

Place the rolls of dough into the refrigerator for at least two hours or up to two days. If in a rush, freeze the dough for about 30 minutes. If the dough is left in the freezer for longer, it will have to be slightly thawed in order to slice them and bake.

Preheat oven to 350 and line two baking sheets with parchment. Remove one roll of dough from refrigerator or freezer and unwrap from the plastic film. Set the roll on a cutting surface and slice into ¼-inch thick slices. Set the slices of dough onto the prepared baking sheets, about 1-inch apart. Bake the wafers for about 15 minutes, or until very lightly browned at the edges. The wafers will seem quite soft at first, but will firm up once cooled. 

Store in an airtight container for up to 2 days.

These wafers make a wonderful pairing with a Chardonnay or Cabernet Sauvignon Blanc wine.

My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.

So Many Wines, So Much Info

I love wine. I have been learning about wine for the last 24 years. When I met my current husband, I knew nothing about wine, and had just barely learned to tolerate dry reds. I have come a very long way since then. I am no "master sommelier," but I have absorbed a lot of knowledge over these years.

When someone asks me to teach them about wine, usually meaning in 25 words or less, I am stumped. There is just so much to know. This whole topic really hit home in the last couple of days, as I was re-creating my Wine and Food Pairing sheets. A couple of years ago, I had created a couple of sheets, trying to cram all the info I could find into these tiny boxes. They certainly help! Last year when I was asked to prepare foods specifically to pair with certain wines for a local Charity Wine Tasting Event, I went to those sheets, looked down the list of foods and created an appetizer using specific things from that column. The pairings were absolutely perfect. 

So, in advance of the event this year, my husband wants a few people to come over to our house and do a little trial run, so they know what Tasting and Pairing is really all about. These are people who will be helping out at the event, so it is important they know how a correct food pairing can make such a difference with a wine. I selected 2 wines for this little mini-event; a Chateauneuf du Pape and a Chenin Blanc. The Chateauneuf specifically states it is "Grenache forward." A Chateauneuf du Pape is most often a mix of mainly three varietals; Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre, often listed as "GSM." I went to my Wine and Food Pairing sheets and found that neither Grenache nor Chenin Blanc were among those listed! Obviously, I would have to redo / revise my sheets.

I have spent the last 2+ days hard at work on this endeavor. I separated the 2 sheets into five, putting less varietals per page, and adding in some new ones, like Grenache and Chenin Blanc!

One of my new and revised Wine and Food Pairing Sheets

But while working on these sheets, it hit home again just how difficult it is to really pinpoint anything. The list of possible flavors or aromas to detect in a wine could be ones in the French Style or in the US Style; utterly different. A Riesling's flavors can vary widely, for example. A German Riesling of good quality is hard to find in most places, but when you find one, it is a marvel. The balance of acid to sweet makes these wines just divine. Then, you may find a Riesling from California that is absolutely bone dry. Acidity to sweetness is really not an issue at all. The flavor profile is so completely different it is hard to compare. A Riesling from Australia or Austria is yet another story.

Sauvignon Blanc also has an array of styles. Sauvignon Blanc is the grape used in the Graves region of Bordeaux. The style is dry and crisp, but that does not begin to explain how another dry and crisp Sauvignon Blanc from California can be so totally different. Or how about Chardonnay? Chardonnay can be made in so many styles. Aside from Chardonnay from California or other states, and from Australia or New Zealand and who knows how many other places, the most amazing thing of all is what is done with Chardonnay in France. In France, Chardonnay is one of the white grapes of the Burgundy region. It is white Burgundy, to be sure, but then you have all these tiny little areas, all with their own specific "terroir," and all with their own unique flavor profile. Most are very dry, but some have the very precise flavors of its own tiny vineyard. Chalk plays heavily in the Chablis area. Others will have flavors like flint. Whether from the Cote d'Or, Cote de Nuits, Cote de Beaune, Macon or Chablis, or even Champagne, each has a very distinct flavor profile, which in turn dictates the type of food that will pair well. All these little areas, and there are others besides these I mentioned, have their own way with Chardonnay. Positively amazing and mind-boggling. 

Anyone who has tasted California Chardonnays will realize that even here there are wide ranges of styles and flavor profiles in play. Some are round and buttery, while some are almost light and playful. Some are heavily oaked, some are aged, and the list goes on. To try and really make a comprehensive Wine and Food Pairing sheet to cover all these parameters would be completely prohibitive. So, I just lumped all the flavor profiles together, trusting that I know my wines well enough to pick out those that will work when I am trying to put together foods to pair. For now, my sheets are up to date. For now, I am planning to make a Green Pea, Feta and Mint Spread served on toasted No-Knead Bread, and some sort of mini tart including caramelized onion, goat cheese and possibly chicken to go with the Chenin Blanc. I am still a little up in the air on the red Chateauneuf du Pape, though probably flank steak will enter into the picture. I will keep things going and work on my recipes. 



My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.

Winefest Renaissance 2013; a Success

Well, the Winefest Rennaisance 2013 event was held last evening at the Ward Hotel in Aberdeen. All proceeds were for the benefit of the Boys and Girls club of Aberdeen. Mine was the official Wine and Food Pairing and Rating table. My sister in law came to help me out, for which I am extremely grateful. My foods were a hit, and my pairings were spot-on. Word got around and we had people waiting for a seat most of the time. It was a little bit of a madhouse at first. The idea was to have people rate the wines as they tasted, and some did work at it early on. After an hour or so of tasting all kinds of wines, few people had any interest at all in the rating part. The food and the wine pairings continued to hold their interest. 

Squash, Apple, Leek and Asiago Triangles

In all, I created 8 new recipes just for this event. I wrote about the Squash, Apple, Leek and Asiago mixture. I made extra to fill a galette for dinner a few nights back. Last night I served the mixture rolled into Phyllo triangles. Sadly, they were the least sought after of the appetizers. Most people wanted to try a particular food, so they were served the wine that paired with that food. The Squash Apple Leek and Asiago Triangles were delicious paired with the Kendall Jackson Chardonnay Grand Reserve. The flavor of the apples was made more apparent when the wine was sampled alongside the appetizer.

The absolute biggest hit of the night was the Flank Steak with Gorgonzola Walnut Spread, which was served paired with the Conn Creek 'Herrick' Cabernet Sauvignon blend. The pairing was particularly wonderful together, but people just liked the Flank Steak flavors and word got around. We had people saying, "I heard I had to come down here and try these little Steak Appetizers!" Not the wine, mind you, though it was a great wine for the pairing.

Flank Steak with Gorgonzola Walnut Spread

Flank Steak with Gorgonzola Walnut Spread

Makes about 50 rolls, depending on size of steak

1 flank steak, cleaned of excess fat

MARINADE:
2 tablespoons pomegranate molasses
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 large knob fresh ginger, grated (about 2 tablespoons)
1 teaspoon chipotle powder
1½ teaspoons salt
Few grinds of black pepper
½ cup olive oil 

GORGONZOLA WALNUT SPREAD:
½ cup walnuts
¾ cup Gorgonzola crumbles, about 4 ounces
2 ounces cream cheese
2½ teaspoons fresh rosemary, finely chopped
½ teaspoon Grains of Paradise
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 clove garlic
3 tablespoons good olive oil 
 
Fresh Rosemary sprigs for garnish

Combine marinade ingredients in a zip-top bag, place the flank steak into the marinade so it lays flat and marinate overnight, turning at least once to redistribute the marinade. 


MAKE GORGONZOLA SPREAD: Heat oven to 375 degrees. Place walnuts onto a baking sheet and toast for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and cool slightly before chopping into very small bits. Set aside.

Place the Gorgonzola crumbles and the cream cheese with the rosemary into a medium bowl. Blend these ingredients together using a hand mixer or a wooden spoon. With a mortar and pestle, crush the Grains of paradise. Add the salt, pepper and the garlic cloves and smash to a dry paste. Add to the bowl of cheeses and mix well. Add in the olive oil and mix until well combined. Fold in the nuts. 


NOTES:

• If you do not have Grains of Paradise, add in at least another ¼ teaspoon of black pepper.
• If you do not own a mortar and pestle, crush the Grains of Paradise in a small zip-top bag with the flat side of a heavy meat tenderizer. Smash the garlic thoroughly and combine in a small bowl with the back of a spoon, along with the salt and pepper.
• If using a block of Gorgonzola cheese rather than crumbles, it may be slightly moister than the crumbles. Watch when adding the olive oil as all may not be needed. 

BROIL FLANK STEAK: Heat the broiler with a rack quite close to the element. Set a rack on a foil lined rimmed baking sheet. Spray lightly with cooking spray; this helps with cleanup later. Remove the steak from the bag and discard the marinade. Set steak on rack and broil for 6 minutes on each side. The meat should be medium rare. Remove from oven and tent with foil for at least 15 minutes.

Slice the meat at an angle across the grain of the meat. The long strips can then be cut in half. Make little balls with about a scant teaspoon of the Gorgonzola Walnut Spread. Roll each of the strips of meat around a ball of the spread. Skewer with a toothpick to hold in place. Garnish with the rosemary leaves.

NOTE: I never like to toast walnuts or any nuts when recipes call for this. The gorgonzola walnut spread was meant to have strong flavors to pair with an assertive Cabernet Sauvignon. In the recipe for the spread I did toast the walnuts, as I felt this would make the flavor stand out more. I had so many raves over this recipe, both for the flavors of meat and filling themselves, as well as for how well they paired with the wine.

Indian Spiced Chicken with Cilantro Sauce

The pairing that surprised me the most was the Anderra Carmenere and the Indian Spiced Chicken with Cilantro Sauce. I hoped the flavors would go well together. I had not tasted any of the wines prior to creating these recipes, so I was going strictly on the descriptions for the wines that I could find online. The Anderra, being from Chile, seemed like it should go well with spices and cilantro. I smelled the wine when I opened it and was pretty sure it wouldn't be a wine I liked, just based on that initial sniff. As with all things, one should not judge too quickly. When I actually tasted it, it surprised me no end. Flavors of pepper and cherry came through and made it quite interesting. I tasted it with the Indian Spiced Chicken with the Cilantro Sauce and it was amazing. I had been having people ask for that wine and food pairing second only to the Cabernet and Flank Steak.

I will write more on this event in a couple of days, but for now, I am glad it is over, and now I can focus on such other things as making a wedding cake and moving. I believe the Winefest was a success, and if it becomes an annual event, this should have given everyone a solid basis for the knowledge of what went well and what needed improvement. For a first time event of this magnitude, I believe it was spectacular.


My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.

Lots of New Recipes to Create

There is a big Wine Tasting event in town this weekend, for the benefit of the Boys and Girls Club of the Aberdeen Area. I am participating in this event by showing people how to rate wines, using actual wine rating sheets, and then tasting food prepared especially for specific wines. If anyone out there has tried a wine and disliked it, you may want to rethink.

Wine and Food Pairings for the Wine Tasting Event

I have held wine tastings in my home, for family or select friends, just to demonstrate what differences can be found when one tastes a wine alone, versus with a food that goes well with the wine. One sister said she didn't like Chablis. Or, for that matter, the Crab Cakes I served with that wine. I asked only that she taste and give it an opportunity. She tasted the Chablis and was pleasantly surprised. We went through the rating process and proceeded to tasting the Crab Cakes. Once tasting the Crab Cakes, which she was reluctant to try, she said they were actually pretty good. Once tasting the Crab Cake with the Chablis, she was shocked! The flavors changed and it was as if it was a completely different wine. The Chablis tasted different, and far better, with the food, and the Crab Cakes became amazing.

This is the way to really find out what ones tastes are. It is not enough to taste a wine once and dismiss the entire scope of that grape on the basis of one wine that didn't meet with approval. There are so many vintners out there in so many countries, all making wines in different styles, out of the same grapes.

Now that I got thoroughly entrenched on my soapbox here, my topic was "lots of new recipes to create". Back to the Wine Tasting event, I am going to hand out rating sheets for 6 of the many, many wines to be tasted at the event. I am also preparing a particular appetizer to go specifically with each of those 6 wines. I researched online what the wine style is for each of these 6 wines, so I could pair a food accurately. That means I have 6 new recipes I will be creating this week. I hope I have some time in between to get back here and report progress.

I am going to be showcasing six wines. The list here shows the wine with the food pairing I am making. I am creating all these are recipes specifically for this event, and while they all "Taste" great in my mind, there is always the question of how they translate into actuality. Until then! Cheers!



My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.