Stress Free Cooking
by
Barbara Seelig Brown's
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Food & Wine Pairing

Today’s Philosophy as discussed at the 21st Annual Food & Wine Magazine Classic at Aspen

By Barbara Seelig Brown

This year while attending the 21st Annual Food & Wine Classic at Aspen, I focused on Food & Wine Pairing.

In a seminar led by Michael Bonadies of Myriad Restaurant Group and author of Sip by Sip-An Insider’s Guide to Learning All About Wine (Doubleday), he stated that “Pairing wine and food is a lot of crap.” In other words, drink what you like with the food that you like. While this may sound oversimplified, it speaks to the fact that there is so much out there to choose from, why not? Perhaps your taste leans towards spicy food. It is likely that you will also lean towards a fuller wine with more spice.

In another seminar, Food & Wine Pairing 101, led by Andrea Immer, Dean of Wine Studies at the French Culinary Institute in New York City and author of Great Wine Made Simple, Straight Talk from a Master Sommelier (Broadway Books) the same philosophy echoed with just a bit more detail. Immer also led a Wine & Cheese Pairing Seminar with Steve Jenkins, Americas Cheese Guru and author of the award winning Cheese Primer (Workman). The basics of pairing food and wine should be considered when selecting a wine for a meal but should not paralyze you.

Don’t let one overwhelm the other.

Think about the ingredients in the dish, not just the main ingredient such as fish, chicken, etc. Is there acidity, sweetness, spice? The wine should be paired with the boldest flavor.

If there is acidity in both the food and wine, the acidity will recede and the other characteristics will come out.

If there is earth in wine, there should be less in the cheese or the flavor will be that of dirt on steroids.

Glass shape will help to reveal the wine’s best characteristics. For instance, a white wineglass is smaller and more tapered at the top to keep the chill on the wine, a red wineglass more open to allow the wine to breathe and a champagne glass is tall and narrow to allow the bubbles to flourish.

Noted wine expert, Michael Green, Gourmet Magazine’s wine expert and wine notes contributor to Sara Moulton’s book, Sara Moulton Cooks at Home (Broadway Books), talks about wine in relationship to a standard household item - milk. He explains in his seminars that wines can be classified by weight and most of us will understand this well, when he compares it to skim milk, 1%, 2%, whole milk and cream. If you think of your food and wine in terms of weight, you will benefit from Green’s philosophy.

One of my personal favorite guidelines for pairing is to keep the wines local, that is, Italian wine with Italian dishes, Portuguese wine with Portuguese food. I also pair by thinking in this manner, casual wine with casual food, Champagne with Hors D’oeuvres and special occasion foods, although Immer feels Champagne goes with just about anything and I agree!

In addition to Food & Wine Pairing, I also had the privilege of attending a Food & Beer Pairing with food prepared by Todd English of Olives Restaurant fame and Jim Koch, sixth generation brewer for Samuel Adams (The Boston Beer Company). Not being as familiar with beer as with wine, I was pleasantly surprised at the menu:

Portuguese Clams with Spring Peas and Chorizo Steamed in Sam Adams Light & Sam Adams Light Thai Bay Scallops Ceviche Paired with Sam Adams Light

Arugula and Watercress Salad with Grains of Paradise, Poached Asian Pears, Samuel Adams Summer Ale and Preserved Lemon Essence paired with Samuel Adams Summer Ale

Samuel Adams Boston Lager Braised Elk Osso Buco, Celery Root Risotto and Elk Jus Paired with Samuel Adams Boston Lager

Samuel Adams Octoberfest Float with Mascarpone Cheese Ice Cream and Mini Samuel Adams Cream Stout Chipwich paired with Sam Adams Octoberfest

Cooking with wine is also a great way to enjoy wine and cooking with wine is easy when you know some basics.

Cook with wine that is drinkable. This means that when you decide on a recipe that requires wine, you should select a wine that is good enough to enjoy drinking. A common mistake that people make is going to the wine shop and purchasing the least expensive red or white they can. If you don’t cook with a wine that is drinkable, you won’t be able to follow the old adage, “a little for the pot and a little for the cook.”

Cook with the same type of wine you will be drinking. The wine that you will be serving for dinner should complement the food that you are serving so you should consider cooking with the same type of wine you would be serving. If you are cooking with a dry Italian red, then you want to serve the same with the meal.

Vermouth is a good cooking wine because it is more herbaceous than plain wine.

Wine is a conductor of flavor and carries and enhances the flavors in your dishes.

Wine can be added to deglaze a pan that has been used to brown, sear, or caramelize foods prior to creating a sauce. The little bits of food that are stuck to the pan are called the fond; these bits are quickly and easily lifted when you add a splash or wine to the hot pan. This creates the basis for your sauce and adds a great deal of flavor to the dish. It is also a good idea to remove the pan from the heat while doing this.

Approximately 98-99% of the alcohol cooks out of the wine.

Vermouth is a nice substitute for wine in cooking.

There are many philosophies on food & wine pairing. You must find and adopt or develop one that works for you. The general feeling today is that wine should not be a mystery. It is to be enjoyed and thought of as something of interest rather than a mystery. Armed with your favorite recipes, you can walk into a reputable wine store and turn a great meal into something wonderful.

Cooking with Wines - Italian White Wines - Health Benefits of Wine

Stress Free Cooking by Barbara Seelig Brown's Lifestyle Designs

Food & Wine Pairing

Today’s Philosophy as discussed at the 21st Annual Food & Wine Magazine Classic at Aspen

Stress Free Cooking
by
Barbara Seelig Brown's
Lifestyle Designs