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Fearless Food and Wine Pairing
Comfort Foods__ All Dressed-up for the Holidays
“Wine
is associated with celebrations. I think we would celebrate more often if the wines
weren’t so intimidating,” says Diane Svehlak
Pushing that shopping cart, cruising
those grocery aisles, looking fabulous and feeling festive. Be it turkey, roast
beef, lamb or lasagna, your on a roll, your cart is full, your confidence is high__
until you turn that fateful corner and find yourself starring at the wine shelves
like a deer in headlights.
Relax. Wine can be fun, friendly, and festive. Let’s
begin with our holiday relaxation exercises.
Exercise #1. Breath__ (not the wine,
YOU).
Exercise #2. Dress up your favorite foods.
Exercise #3. Serve a friendly wine.
Festive Comfort Food Recipes Paired with Fun and Friendly Wines
Holiday Open House:
Grilled zucchini with Parmesan cheese
Artichoke hearts wrapped in Philo
Meat, cheese,
French bread platter
Desert platter
Serve a Le Snoot Chardonnay with a first-class
sense of humor
Holiday Open House Recipe:
Grilled Zucchini Slice zucchinis length-wise.
Lightly rub interiors with olive oil. Place the rubbed side down on a baking tray
and place under the broiler. In approximately 2-3 minutes, turn zucchinis cut-side
up. Sprinkle with lots of Parmesan cheese. Return to broiler, cheese-side up. Remove
when cheese is golden brown. Cut zucchinis into bit sizes and place on serving platter.
Philo Wrapped Artichoke Hearts-Drain marinated artichoke hearts. Cut philo (can
use Pillsbury crescent rolls) into 2X2 inch squares. Place one artichoke heart in
the center. Bring all four corners together and pinch to form a sack. Place on a
baking sheet and brush with egg white wash. Bake at 350 until golden. Arrange on
serving tray. Cheese and Meat Tray- Roll your favorite sliced meats and cheeses
and arrange on a platter with French and sour dough rolls. Serve with French mustard
on the side.
Dessert Platter- Bite-size brownies, chocolate-dipped strawberries
and holiday cookies. An open house is about free-flowing food and friends, so we
serve Le Snoot Chardonnay because it roams well, and keeps me from worrying about
red wine stains.
Holiday Barbeque: Please No pork! Well if your drinking Le Snoot…
Grilled steaks or grilled kabobs with green & red peppers
Served with salad and/or
baked potatoes
Dark Chocolate Brownies
Serve a classy, charismatic Cabernet
Holiday
Barbeque Recipe:
For those in the fair-weather states, fire-up your barbeque. Several
hours ahead, whip up your favorite brownies, and let cool. Cover with fudge icing
and sprinkle with chopped walnuts. Cut into 2X3 inch bars and arrange on a platter.
Poke russet potatoes with a fork and wrap each potato in waxed paper. Partially
cook potatoes in microwave. Remove waxed paper and place potatoes on coolest part
of your grill to finish cooking and for jackets to turn crispy. Season and slap
on your favorite steaks or grill kabobs that have been layered with chunks of marinated
or seasoned beef chicken and/or shrimp, red and green peppers and onions. Serve
barbequed meats, grilled veggies and crispy jacket potatoes, butter, sour cream
and chives on the side. A Le Snoot Cab holds its own all the way through the brownie
bars__ yum.
Family Favorite- Fancied-up
Meatloaf with mashed potatoes, roasted carrots,
fennel and peas Serve a merry-making Merlot
Fancied-up Family Recipe:
Put together
your favorite meat loaf recipe and place it in the over with chucks of carrots and
quartered fennel. Cover and place in oven. Bake as you would your favorite meat
Whip up a pan of mashed potatoes. When meat loaf is done, remove veggies and keep
them warm. Cover entire meat loaf with mashed potatoes. Brush with egg white wash
and place under the broiler for approx. 1 or 2 minute, or until peaks of potatoes
are golden. Remove from oven. Let stand for 5 minutes. Slice with a serrated knife
in 1-inch slices. Arrange slices down the center of a long serving platter. Arrange
roasted carrots and fennel on both sides of meat loaf slices. Sprinkle warm peas
over carrots and fennel. Serve with warm, crusty French or sour dough rolls. and
a bottle of pantry temperature Le Snoot Merry-Making Merlot.
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