What To Sip

Drink white wine with chicken and fish. Drink red wine with beef.

Well . . . not really. There's more to it than that, and it's easier than you think.

Gourmet Sleuth offers a good point: you need to consider not only the main dish, but the secondary flavors involved, as well as the method of cooking.

Let's try that fish. How about flounder? Most people would say, hands down, this is a white wine food. But let's look at this a little more closely. What are you eating with it? Any sauces? How are you cooking the flounder?

Let's say you're serving it with a lemon and parsley sauce. Of course delicate, slightly fruity white wines, like Sauvignon Blanc, are good for this. But what if you give it buttery sauces, with mushrooms or provencal seasonings? Now you're getting into Chardonnay territory, or even some fruitier, rounded red wines. But what about that dry Shiraz you're got on the rack? Grill your flounder and add spicy, peppery elements. Yes, I just told you to pair a deep red wine with a flounder fish.

What about this eating cheap thing? What if you're vegetarian? Some people seem to think only white wines can be served with vegetarian dishes. I heartily disagree.

Since I love beans and rice, we can use it another example. We'll start again with the light wines, like a Sauvignon Blanc. This goes well with lemony, fresh sorts of dishes. What about some lentils and rice, tossed with lemon juice, olive oil, and cilantro? Now we move up to Chardonnay. This is a great wine to go with comfort food. I might suggest pinto beans, with some onions and mushrooms, and a hint of garlic. And Shiraz? Hearty black beans, with cumin and some black pepper, and maybe olives. By the way, Wal-Mart sells all of these wines for about $3 each.

This isn't as hard as it sounds. There are many great resources out there for you.

Check your local wine shop for free tastings. This is a great way to learn about different types of wine, the places they are grown, and develop a palate. Never be afraid to ask questions. Ask what sorts of flavors you might taste when you sip the wine, how it's best served, and what dishes it best complements.

Also, try just walking in and tell them what you're serving. They will gladly help you find a wine to match.

Gourmet Sleuth has an excellent pairing guide. They also have special sections for cheese and chocolate pairings. And though I have yet to get my hands on it, I hear Wine for Dummies is one of the best educational books out there.

Or, experiment in your own kitchen. Don't worry about making it perfect. Before cooking, take a sip of the wine you're planning on having. Pay close attention. What sorts of flavors do you taste? What food do you want to eat this with? The best pairing is the one you enjoy the most!

Cheap Wine

So just how do we drink so much wine without breaking our frugal budget?

Wine is not as expensive as it seems. It comes from all sorts of places these days for low prices. Especially with the wines now grown in California and Australia, wine doesn't have to be a special treat for anniversaries and important holiday dinners. Try these tips:

Trader Joe's sells Two-Buck Chuck for . . . well . . . two bucks. How much cheaper can you get for wine? Aside from Trader Joe, look at your local grocery store for deals and bargains. It may vary week to week, but this is a good incentive for culinary exploration and experimentation.

Your local wine shop may have a special brand they sell cheaply. Ours has something called Three Buck Bill, from Salmon Creek. Recently we drank the Chardonnay with a very delicious and buttery dinner. Both the boyfriend and I were surprised by the quality and tastiness of such an inexpensive wine.

Also look for the specials at your local wine shop.

Wal-Mart, actually. They sell a brand called Oak Leaf that isn't bad at all for only three to four dollars, depending on your location. A wine connoisseur I am acquainted with recently even admitted it was a good wine to have around when you just plain needed some wine.

Remember, any wine you enjoy the flavor of is a good wine. It's your tastebuds! Drink what you enjoy!

In my next post, I will offer some (amateur) pairing advice, as well as listing one very helpful website.

Update on the Plants, 12/13

The plants are dead and dying.

I noticed many of the green shoots were wilting. Surely you saw that in the last set of pictures? I wondered if maybe it was time to thin them, so I tried that. They only got worse.

The parsley, too, is wilting, turning yellow and limp. For a while, the beets were the only healthy plants. Yet they too have disappeared.

I spoke with an acquaintance who holds a degree in horticulture. He thought they were not getting enough light. This is probably true--while that window gets the most light, it is still not much. He also reminded me that there is less hours of light in the winter, and that winter sunlight is much different than summer sunlight. He thought I might hold some hope for the spring, when the days become longer.

This girl will be looking through all her books on this.

Any experienced plant gardeners out there? Do you know what to do with my poor house vegetables? Do you know anyone who does?

What I Made Today, 12/11/09: Olive-y Linguine

This was really simple, but it turned out to be really good so I thought I'd pass it along.

Ingredients:
Enough pasta (your choice) for 4 servings
Enough cooked lentils for 4 servings
1 4-ounce can chopped olives (I used California olives)
1 Tablespoon garlic
1 Tablespoon oregano
dash salt
dash pepper
olive oil to desired consistency
green olives

Mix all the ingredients together, using the green olives as a garnish. Enjoy!

What I Made Today, 12/9/09: Portuguese Soup

This soup was amazing. Enough said.

And yes, I know traditional Portuguese Soup has sausage in it. But I didn't have any sausage. So I just omitted it.

AJ's Portuguese Soup

Ingredients:
1/2 large onion, sliced
about 2 tablespoons olive oil
4 cups water
1 medium potato, cubed
1/4 head cabbage, cut up
1 16-oz can kidney beans (or you can used cooked dried beans)
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoons black pepper
2 Tablespoons garlic powder

1. Cook the onion in the oil until tender.
2. Add the rest of the ingredients. Simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 45 minutes, or until all the cabbage is wilted.

What I Made Today, 12/8/09: Roast Venison

That's right . . . we finally roasted the venison!

I followed a recipe from my friend, who suggested roasting it like lamb with white wine. It was delicious.

Mark's Roast Venison

Ingredients:
1 shoulder of deer
2 tablespoons mint
2 tablespoons rosemary
1/3 cup white wine (I suggest vignoir)
1 tablespoon olive oil, if necessary

1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit. Place the shoulder in a large casserole dish and cook for half an hour.
2. Turn the oven up to 325 degrees Fahrenheit and cook for an hour and a half.
3. Sprinkle the mint, rosemary, and wine on top and cook for forty-five more minutes.
4. Turn the oven up to 400, cover with a sheet of aluminum foil, and cook for fifteen minutes. This is a good time to put on the olive oil if it is looking a little dry.
5. Take the roast out of the oven and let sit for fifteen minutes before taking off the foil and serving.

I made this with some root vegetables around it. It was good!

My boyfriend suggested we marinate it, should we get deer meat again. Anyone have ideas?

How To Use Tofu?

Dear readers, I need your help. Any vegetarians out there? I've been experimenting with tofu, but haven't found much yet that I particularly enjoy.

My first foray into tofu rendered chewy cubes I overcooked and served over spaghetti. It was protein, but not something I was really excited about.

Then, listening to one of my favorite shows, the Splendid Table, someone called in with a question about tofu. Lynne Rossetto Kasper, the host, explained that tofu is very bland on it's own (I definitely knew that already). However, it acts like a flavor sponge, soaking up anything it's with. Therefore, it is really good when marinated. She suggested to try letting it soak in a sauce for a while before cooking it up.

So, I tried this. Remembering how my friends and I used to soak chicken breasts in salad dressing mixed with water before grilling them, I made a watery broth of garlic, onions, and rosemary, completely covering the tofu and stashing it in the fridge for the afternoon.

At dinnertime, though, it was still pretty bland. The only way to get any flavor was the buttery sauce I had on top of it.

Still undaunted, I tried one more thing I'd heard about: tofu breakfast scramble. That was pretty great!

However, I don't want to only use tofu for scrambles. This is where you come in. Any ideas on wonderful ways to cook tofu? I want to hear them!