wine pairing Archives - Delicious Food & Wine

Christmas Holiday Appetizer – Spinach and Goat Cheese Tartlets

December 6, 2016 by admin Leave a Comment

Credit: Recipe courtesy of Susan Stockton for Food Network Magazine

Christmas is almost here again; we can feel the holiday season coming.

This is the time of the year that every family gets together for the celebration of love, friendship, blessing, and life.

Christmas is also a time of the year where we appreciate good food. And the first course that we often enjoy is the appetizer. This is a small serving of food or drink that we enjoy at the beginning of a meal to stimulate our desire to eat.

So, before anything else, we present a stylish appetizer which is easy to make yet elegant from Food Network, recipe by Susan Stockton.

Holiday Appetizer Recipe

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Filed Under: food Tagged: Appetizer, Christmas, goat cheese, Holiday, recipe, Spinach, Tartlets, wine pairing

Mediterranean Chicken Stew – Glamorous yet Filling

January 11, 2016 by Barbara Walsh Kumm Leave a Comment

Chicken stew is frequently perceived as daily fare or as comfort food, but Emerill Lagasse’s version makes this dish truly fit for company. It is flavorful and robust, with just the right exotic Mediterranean touch.

Emerill Lagasse’s Version

You will see that Emerill Lagasse’s version of this stew adheres quite well to the Mediterranean diet. Based on his recipe for Mediterranean Chicken Stew posted in Food.com, to prepare this dish you will need two whole chicken breasts, (skinless, bone in, cut in quarters), two medium onions (sliced), two cloves garlic, one yellow or one red bell pepper (seeded and chopped), a teaspoon of turmeric, half a teaspoon each of ground cinnamon and ground ginger, two pounds sweet potatoes (peeled and cut into cubes), one can unsalted diced tomatoes (drained), two tablespoons golden raisins, and two cups low sodium chicken. [Read more…]

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Filed Under: food Tagged: ingredients, Mediterranean Chicken Stew, recipes, wine pairing

Shifting to Lamb

January 6, 2016 by Barbara Walsh Kumm Leave a Comment

Turkey and ham are not the only meats fit for your holiday table. Lamb can be just as festive, and it has the added benefit of bringing new flavors to your celebration. Take a look at this lamb recipe and see how it can give your menu a welcome lift.

Slow Roasted Leg of Lamb

In the Serious Eats website, Managing Culinary Director J. Kenji López-Alt shares a truly scrumptious recipe for Slow-Roasted Boneless Leg of Lamb with Garlic, Rosemary, and Lemon. He says the recipe works because: “Slow-roasted boneless leg of lamb comes out extra tender with a crisp, well-browned crust and juicy pink meat flavored with garlic, rosemary, and lemon zest.

“Cooking at very low temperatures followed by a blast at high heat creates the ultimate contrast with pink meat that extends from edge to edge and a crisp brown crust. It also enhances tenderness.

“Par-cooking a rub made with garlic, rosemary, lemon zest, and anchovies ensures that raw, steamed flavors don’t last. Anchovies in the marinade bring out the meatiness of the lamb without overwhelming with any kind of fishy aroma.”

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Filed Under: food, wine Tagged: holiday lamb, holiday recipes, ingredients, roasted lamb, wine pairing

A Festive but Healthy Holiday Table

December 29, 2015 by Barbara Walsh Kumm Leave a Comment

Holidays are times for merrymaking and good food, but it is good to find ways to have your cake and eat it – without the unnecessary calories. Here is a menu that is fit for any occasion without wreaking havoc on your attempts to stick to a healthy diet.

Good Food without Regrets

Yes, it can be done. You can have a satisfying holiday party menu while making sure everything is healthy. You can start your meal with a healthy vegetable soup and make sure you try this recipe for yam and kale salad to add color and texture to your menu. For your main dish, you can serve Ina Garten’s herb-marinated pork tenderloins, a sure winner with meat lovers. A holiday meal is not complete without dessert, so do serve strawberries dip in chocolate if you are pressed for time, or pineapple-raspberry parfaits. [Read more…]

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Filed Under: food Tagged: Holiday feast, holiday recipes, ingredients, wine pairing

Chocolate Beyond Dessert

December 28, 2015 by Barbara Walsh Kumm Leave a Comment

Chocolate is known all over the world as an ingredient for sweets, and for most people the word chocolate will conjure images of dessert. Believe it or not, however, this product lends itself very well to savory dishes as well. Here are some savory dishes that include chocolate as a flavoring agent.

In 9 Savory Dishes with Chocolate posted in Food-All Women’s Talk, Lyndsie Robinson says: “Because dark-chocolate is such a power food, lots of gourmets, gourmands, and foodies are experimenting and creating more savory recipes with this this dessert. You might think that the traditionally sweet treat wouldn’t taste good in a savory dish, but if you do it right, chocolate adds a richness and texture to many sorts of dishes. If you’re feeling a little adventurous and want to try something new, consider making some savory recipes with this sweet!” Her recipes include a spinach pear salad with a chocolate vinaigrette dressing, and beef chili with chocolate. [Read more…]

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Filed Under: food Tagged: Braised Ribs with Chocolate, Chicken with Chocolate, chocolate, dessert, recipes, wine pairing

Austria’s Wiener Schnitzel: Simple and Simply Delicious

December 24, 2015 by Barbara Walsh Kumm Leave a Comment

If you order Wiener Schnitzel, Austria’s national dish, you will get a thin piece of breaded veal, pan fried to golden brown perfection. After one bite you will probably wonder how Viennese cuisine has managed to transform such a simple dish into a truly elegant main course.

Food with History

Legend has it in 1857, that the recipe for Wiener Schnitzel was brought to Vienna from Italy by an Austrian field marshall named Joseph Radetzky von Radetz. Unfortunately, this story has since been debunked, and historians now believe that Radetz brought home a recipe for cotoletta alla Milanesa, not Wiener Schnitzel.

The dish may have its roots in the method written about by Apicus in the 1st century, BC. Apicus wrote about tenderizing meat by pounding on it – a process that is faithfully followed in preparing Wiener Schnitzel. There is evidence that as early as this period, the Romans pounded veal into thin pieces, dredged these in breading and fried them.

Food experts insist that the cotoletta alla Milanesa is a dish distinct from the Wiener Schnitzel. The cotoletta is a veal chop with the bone it, the schnitzel is totally boneless.Today, the name has become protected by law, and if you want to call a dish Wiener Schnitzel, you have to make sure you use veal as meat. [Read more…]

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Filed Under: food Tagged: Austria’s national dish, Wiener Schnitzel, Wiener Schnitzel food history, wine pairing

The Challenges in Making a Crown of Roast Lamb

December 23, 2015 by Barbara Walsh Kumm Leave a Comment

Photo Credit: Artizone https://goo.gl/gtwrtf

Crown of roast lamb is one of the most delicious and elegant dishes you can serve as the centerpiece of a celebratory meal. It is a dish that can stymie the ordinary cook, but a second look at how it is created will show that it is not all that difficult to prepare.

In the Foolproof Way to Cook Crown Roast of Lamb posted in Serious Eats, Daniel Gritze says, “Regal. I think that may be the best word for a crown roast of lamb—lamb racks that are tied together end-to-end into the shape of a crown. And just like the crowns that grace the heads of monarchs, crown roast of lamb is all about presentation.”

Creating the Crown: Ask the butcher to do it!

Possibly the first major challenge in creating a crown of roast is getting the ribs into that lovely shape. Daniel Gritze says: “…A lamb crown roast is formed by connecting at least two racks, usually with seven or eight bones each, end-to-end. The racks themselves come from the loins that run on either side of the lamb’s spine, with the rib bones attached (for presentation, those rib bones are frenched, or cleaned of meat and sinew). To get the normally straight racks into a curved shape, the butcher makes slits between each of the rib bones on the back sides of the racks (the sides that form the outer wall of the crown roast), allowing them to be flexed like an accordion…” The good news is, the butcher should be able to do that for you.

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Filed Under: food Tagged: Crown of Roast lamb, ingredients, recipes, wine pairing

A Closer Look at Your Christmas Ham

December 14, 2015 by Barbara Walsh Kumm Leave a Comment

Ham is one of the traditional main dishes served at Christmas, and it is fascinating to take a closer look at both the history of this favorite piece of meat and the different ways of preparing it.

In The Reluctant Gourmet G. Stephen Jones writes about its origins: ”…Apparently, serving ham arises from the pre-Christian Norse tradition of killing a boar and serving it to honor Freya, one of the Norse Gods. In AD times, St. Stephen, whose feast day is December 26th, is often depicted as serving a boar’s head as an offering. And, as often happens when diverse traditions converge around the feasting table: Christmas ham was born…” [Read more…]

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Filed Under: food Tagged: baked ham, Chinese ham, Christmas foods, Christmas ham, country ham, Iberico ham, wine pairing

A Christmas Feast in Spain

December 10, 2015 by Barbara Walsh Kumm Leave a Comment

In Spain the celebratory Christmas dinner, is held on Christmas Eve which is called Noche Buena or “The Good Night”. On the evening of December 24, most families will hear Mass in the evening or at midnight. Whichever service they attend, they will make sure there is time for a sumptuous Christmas feast.

In About.com’s Spanish Christmas Menu – Menú de Noche Buena, Lisa and Tony Sierra write, “In Spain it is celebrated with a large family feast, which is eaten late in the evening and can last a couple hours. Some families attend midnight mass before or after, although many families are still finishing dinner around the table at midnight! In Spain, Christmas Eve is a time for celebrating in neighborhood bars and cafes, and around the table with family and friends.” With this introduction, they introduce a delicious Spanish feast that includes everything from tapas (appetizers) to soup, main dishes, dessert, and Cava, Spanish sparkling wine.

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Filed Under: food Tagged: Menú de Noche Buena, Spanish Christmas menu, wine pairing

Feast of the Seven Fishes: Celebrating Christmas the Italian Way

December 4, 2015 by Barbara Walsh Kumm Leave a Comment

Photo Credit: Mike Slone https://goo.gl/awjTMH

Is your mind still reeling, deciding on a healthy Christmas feast that won’t complicate your health or counter your weight loss program? Here is one festive menu for you – “Esta dei Sette Pesci”! It means “Feast of the Seven Fishes.” It is a traditional Italian fare cooked for Christmas. You don’t have to be an Italian to enjoy its health benefits and mouth-watering goodness. It is enough to love seafood to revel in this utterly delicious seafood bonanza.

The Story Behind the Feast of the Seven Fishes

There are several stories about how Esta dei Sette Pesci begun.Get some ideas from Maria Vultaggio of the International Business Times who wrote the post Feast Of The Seven Fishes History 2014: Christmas Eve Menu Item Facts. She says it is definitely Italian and a tradition in Sicily and Naples, yet it isn’t popular in the northern region. In America, the traditional Christmas fare was introduced by the migrant Italians. [Read more…]

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Filed Under: food Tagged: Christmas feast, Feast of the Seven Fishes, food history, Italian tradition, Italian-American, wine pairing

Holiday Appetizer Recipe

Slow Roasted Leg of Lamb

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