Trying to figure out what wines to serve with Thanksgiving Dinner this year? You’re not alone. Below is a fool-proof guide to finding great wines in all budgets for your holiday meal. I am a traditionalist when it comes to this meal, and my advice has remained the same year after year. The most important…
Food and wine pairing
Grilled Pork Chops with Wine Brown Butter Sauce and Prosecco Superiore wine pairing
The next time you think of pork chops, elevate them to the next level by making this super easy, yet elegant, Wine Brown Butter Sauce. Pair it with a bottle of delicious Prosecco Superiore, and you’ve got yourself an incredible meal for date night or entertaining guests. We’re very passionate about our bubbly around…
The Best Italian Red Wines to Pair with a Great Steak
This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Italian Trade Commission for IZEA Worldwide. All opinions are 100% mine. Ever wonder what to pair with a great steak other than Cabernet Sauvignon? I’ve listed some of my favorites, and you might be surprised. When it comes to pairing wine with a great…
Grilled Chicken with Ancho Chilies and Prune Sauce
The combination of grill roasted rich prunes and earthy ancho chilies mixed with grilled chicken is a winning combination! Before you say, “Whaaaaaa the? Prunes and chicken??” Just take a deep breath and trust me when I say this Grilled Chicken with Ancho Chilies and Prunes is an amazing combination. There’s an awesome group of…
Smoked Sausage Lasagna
Smoked Sausage Lasagna is the ultimate comfort food, made with layers of smoked sausage and smoked tomato marinara sauce. It’s also a nice way to congratulate new parents. Show them you love them with a batch of smoked comfort food, like this smoked sausage and smoked marinara lasagna! Some neighbors of ours recently welcomed their new…
3 Course Grilled Salmon Dinner at Home
How to create an easy and elegant 3-Course Salmon Dinner Date Night at Home for Valentine’s Day, or any night. I have friends in the restaurant industry who jokingly consider Valentine’s Day “amateur night,” because some folks will shell out a ridiculous amount of money for the special Valentine’s Day multi-course menu, getting suckered into…
Salmon and Pinot Noir, a Great Wine Pairing
Find out why Salmon and Pinot Noir are such a great wine pairing, plus recipes for salmon cooked on the smoker. Living in the Pacific Northwest we’re very lucky to be surrounded by great options for the freshest fish. When in Seattle we like to take the kids to, Pike Place Market. If you go,…
Creamy Macaroni and Cheese with Smoked Bacon and Chardonnay Wine Pairing
When it comes to food and wine pairing most people start with the food, then look for wines to pair with whatever they intended to eat. But in my house we’re often in the opposite predicament – trying to come up with a dish to pair with a specific wine we want to open. In…
9 Super Bowl Recipes
T-minus six days ‘till the big day. The Super Bowl. I’m not gonna lie, I only watch one football game a year – the Super Bowl (though I do fantasize about the idea of buying a traveling smoker just to take up tailgating). To me, the Super Bowl is just one grand snack-foodie holiday, and…
Apple Cider Mimosas and Pumpkin Pancakes – Expressing gratitude through wine and food
Last week after Hurricane Sandy viciously rampaged through the east coast I received several calls and texts from friends and family back west. After the initial “are you okay?”, they all immediately reminded me that since moving to New England just two years ago we have experienced two hurricanes, two massive power outages (the worst…
WillaKenzie, Aquariva and a Great Food & Wine Pairing
Trying to explore as much Oregon as I can before moving to the Northeast, I accepted an invitation to a wine and food pairing lunch a couple weeks back hosted by WillaKenzie Estate Winery. Lunch consisted of a five-course food and wine pairing prepared by Chef Andy Arndt of Aquariva that turned out to be…
Pairing Wine with Food: The Basics
While preparing for a recent Intro to Wine and Food pairing class I polled a few friends and family members from outside the area to ask what would they want to learn about if they took a class on wine and food paring. Their responses were quite humbling to me. I was prepared for them to…
Chef Mavro
… And one of my first major food epiphanies. I’ve had a couple of food epiphanies in my life, but none more memorable than my first experience at Chef Mavro in Honolulu. A few years ago while visiting the island of Oahu I quickly grew tired of the many overpriced mediocre dining options on Waikiki Beach where we…