A Few Quick Food and White Wine Ideas

Okay--the Holidays have come and gone, and needless to say, you’re tired of turkey, ham or roast beef, green bean casserole, crackers and cheese, chips and dip, and in-laws.  Plus, you may be watching your diet after a couple of weeks of well-deserved indulgence. So here are some quick and easy food ideas that keep calories in check but are still yummy and are a nice change of pace to boot.  If you’re really trying to watch the calories, try to keep the wine to only one glass a day, and not too late at night.  The reason for this is that wine contains alcohol which will metabolize into sugar and
slow your body’s ability to burn calories.  Of course you can always forget the wine but just remember you might not enjoy your meal as much!

Variety is the spice of life, as they say, so I hope you enjoy these recipes and use them for meal ideas. As you know if you're reading this blog, there can be many befits to adding wine to your meal, and it can enhance your dining experience with the proper food matching.

Tuna Salad Sandwich Recipe

1 can of tuna fish usually packed water or oil
1/3 cup of cottage cheese
2 Tablespoons of mayonnaise
1/4 purple onion, chopped finely
1 celery stalk, chopped finely
1 Tablespoon of capers
Juice of half of a lemon
Pinch or two of dill
2 Tbsp minced fresh parsley
1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard

Mix all of the ingredients. Be sure not to drain the water or oil from the can of tuna. Use it instead in the tuna salad mixture. I like to serve on toast, either open faced, or in a regular sandwich with lettuce and tomatoes and pickles. For a low-carb option, serve on sliced lettuce. You can server this along with vegetables or cottage cheese.  For wine Sauvignon Blanc or Chenin Blanc other wine that you might like.

Shrimp with Avocado Salad

1/4 cup of white wine vinegar
1/4 cup grape-seeds oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 lb medium shrimp, cooked, peeled, and de-veined
2 ripe avocados
Lettuce - preferably butter lettuce or red leaf lettuce
Lemon slices for garnish
As and Option - 2 Tbsp chopped roasted walnuts or pistachios
1 Tbsp chopped cilantro

Combine oil, vinegar, and garlic in a bowl. Chop shrimp into 1/2 inch pieces and add to oil mixture. Arrange leaves of lettuce on individual plates. Cut avocados in half and remove pits. Remove some of the avocado around the pit area and mix in with the shrimp. With a spoon, carefully scoop out avocado halves from their skins in one piece. Place avocado half on plate with lettuce, spoon shrimp mixture on to avocado. Sprinkle with walnuts and cilantro (optional). Serve with lemon slices for garnish. You can server this along with vegetables or cottage cheese. For wine Sauvignon Blanc or Chenin Blanc or you choice of wine.

Spanish Rice with Chicken

2 tablespoons olive oil (can use up to 1/4 cup)
1 onion, chopped fine
1 garlic clove, minced
2 cups of medium or long-grain white rice
3 cups of chicken or vegetable stock if vegetarian
1 heaping tablespoon tomato paste or 1 cup of diced fresh or cooked tomatoes, strained
Pinch of oregano
1 teaspoon salt
2 pounds of chicken which can be grilled or fried and cut in to slices or chucks and added along side the rice or mix with rice as it simmers. This is a nice addition along with the rice and can be mixed in once the rice has been cooked as well.

In a large skillet brown rice in olive oil, medium-high heat the add onion and garlic. Cook onion rice mixture, stirring frequently, about 5 minutes, or until onions are softened.

In a separate sauce pan bring stock to a simmer. Add tomato sauce, oregano, and salt. Add rice to broth. Bring to a simmer. Cover. Lower heat and cook 15-20 minutes, depending on the type of rice and the instructions on the rice package and let sit for 5 minutes. For wine Chenin Blanc or maybe Gewürztraminer again depending on your taste for wines.


To further enhance any meal, enjoy it with a good wine and a better friend!

The Harmony Between food and Wine

I blogged a day or so ago about becoming acquainted with red wines, and I mentioned how the traditional food pairing rules have become more like mere suggestions as more and more regular people enter the wide world of wine.  In the following article by Dan Phillipe, he delves deeper into how to choose food and wine flavors that enhance each other without being too strict about the "rules" of what type of wine should go with which food.  Keep in mind my number one rule when it comes to pairings--drink what you like to drink with what you like to eat! The Harmony between Food and Wine

by: Dan Phillipe

Wine is a social drink which should be enjoyed in the company of friends and .. food. The right combination between food and wine is a source of ultimate bliss for every connoisseur. Both wine and food can benefit from the right pairing. The right wine can accentuate unexpected gastronomical aspects of food and vice versa, wine can shine in a new light when accompanied by the right dish. In order to savor the splendor of such combinations, one does not need to frequent expensive restaurants and buy overpriced wines. Rather, when combining food and wine it is one’s intuition and curiosity that are of paramount importance. Most rules for agreeable food - wine combinations date back to the 19th century and are made by French cooks who travel around Europe showing other nations the French savoir-vivre. It is since then that we know that champagne goes well with oysters, white wine – with seafood, and red wine – with game and red meats. Those rules, however, have been broken many times throughout the years because the nature of certain dishes and the rich wine variety available allow for a much freer interpretation. For example, some red meats could be made more enjoyable by stronger white wines. A more practical approach for combining wine with food is to avoid any possible dissonance between them. For example, an exceptional wine stands out much better when accompanied by a not so sophisticated dish that will bring out the wine’s superb qualities instead of fighting with it. Certain wines and foods have “found” each other over the years and represent especially suitable combinations. Generally those are the regional wines and foods. Almost all local dishes go best with the wines from their regions. Some tips for making good food – wine choices: Try to balance the weight of both, i.e. heavy dishes and those with a strong taste, such as game and red meat should be enjoyed with an equally heavy wine. In most cases those are red wines but some full-bodied whites could be an equally suitable alternative. Dry wines could develop a very unpleasant sour or even bitter taste if served with desserts. Generally deserts are served with wines that are at least comparably sweet, if not sweeter. Wines with high acidity go best with heavy, rich in fat dishes. This is because the high fat content negates the impact of the acid. High-tannin wines should be combined with foods rich in proteins. The proteins combine with the tannins, thus diminishing the tannin taste. Wines made from grape varieties that contain a lot of tannins, such as Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah are an excellent match for red meats and other protein-rich foods. On the other hand, high-tannin wines acquire an unpleasant metallic taste if combined with fish and other seafood. Or they could have an extremely bitter taste when combined with salty dishes. So finally… which wine? You could have in mind the rules above when making your selection but don’t be blinded by them and never take things for granted. Even when you are convinced that you have found the perfect wine for a certain dish, a small change, such as a bad yield, a change in the production technology, or other, could disappoint you. So have an open mind and be ready to experiment. Needless to say, a lot of times the results would be a bit strange but that’s what will make the whole experience interesting!!

Three Rules for Choosing the Right Dinner Wine

By Dakota Caudilla

RULE NO 1: Drink the wine that you like.

Sounds obvious, doesn't it? Sometimes, however, we get so caught up in what is the right wine and what is the wrong wine that we forget the most important thing: we have taste! We have our own individual taste and love drinking the wine we love to drink. Sure, certain wines traditionally match certain foods and flavours, but ultimately you are the judge of what you like to drink, no matter what the enologists say!

RULE NO. 2: White with fish, red with meat? Not always.

Everyone knows that fish meals should be accompanied by white wine and meat dishes should be accompanied by red wine. But adhering to strict wine rules takes the fun out of choosing wines. Trust your own sense of taste. A wine should do one of two things: complement or contrast. Not all fish dishes are cooked in the same way, so why should they all be accompanied by white wine? Consider the dish, the way it is cooked, the spices and seasonings added, and then choose a wine that complements those elements or contrasts, that is if you want a more intense experience.

RULE NO. 3: Always read a wine label.

Not all merlots, shirazes, and cabernets are the same. An Australian merlot will differ from an American or French merlot. Read up on winemaking practices around the world and learn the differences between wines and their countries of origin. But apart from the country of origin, also look for information about specific regions and vineyards. The more detailed information on a wine label, the better the wine will be. Of course, the better the wine the more expensive it will be and that is the final deciding factor.