This photo the best I can do. The final dish was delicious but it’s all gone and I figured a shot of the bones wasn’t going to cut it. So here are some of the spices you’ll need. Trust me, you’ll be glad you rummaged about in the cupboard for that hidden jar of allspice. The resulting sauce was so tasty I used what little was left over as salad dressing.
This recipe comes from 100 Perfect Pairings: main dishes to enjoy with wines you love. My cyber-friend Jill Silverman Hough (we’ve emailed but never met) is the author behind this brilliant little book. When I asked her favourite recipe picks, she named some dishes, but diplomatically suggested my recipe-first approach needed a tweek. She wrote:
My advice? Pick a wine you like, then pick a recipe in that wine’s chapter… I think you’ll be most likely to find something that’ll really turn you on that way.
She was right. While it’s not hard to get me excited about a delivery system for shiraz or cabernet frac, I get sulky when confronted by a chardonnay. But with a mom and two sisters more inclined to off-dry-pushing-sweet whites, I figured this was an opportunity to compromise. So I gave Gewurztraminer, my mom’s favourite, a try. And I’m glad I did.
While Jill intended to write a book on wine pairing, I am going to suggest she wrote a book that could broker peace talks. After all, she convinced this red wine lover to see things from the other side. With 100 Perfect Pairings as an aide, I’ll have a diplomatic dish at the ready for future encounters with viognier, riesling and even (gulp) rose. Only one question remains. Is my spice-phobic family willing to come to the table and negotiate in good faith?
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Awww, shucks, Charmian! Thank you so much for enjoying my book, and my recipe, and for using it to enjoy time with your Gewurztraminer-loving family! Thanks, mostly, for your interest. I appreciate it.
As always your post made me think and smile. I really like the idea of starting with the wine first and then choosing the dishes. By the way what have you got against rose?!
As for rose? For many years, the rose wines in Ontario were little more than fermented cream soda. I associate them with sickly sweet wines. Intellectually, I know they’ve advanced, but have a mental block on them. If anyone can recommend a really good rose, I’m willing to experiment!
Rose, I’m not afraid to say, is my absolutely favorite wine – probably because it goes with so many of my favorite foods. There are two that I tend to recommend – both relatively inexpensive, easy-drinking, and readily available – Red Bicyclette and Menage a Trois.
Jill Silverman Hough
Posted at 13:39h, 16 MayAwww, shucks, Charmian! Thank you so much for enjoying my book, and my recipe, and for using it to enjoy time with your Gewurztraminer-loving family! Thanks, mostly, for your interest. I appreciate it.
Happy pairings!
Jill
Sally - My Custard Pie
Posted at 01:29h, 18 MayAs always your post made me think and smile. I really like the idea of starting with the wine first and then choosing the dishes. By the way what have you got against rose?!
Charmian Christie
Posted at 09:38h, 24 MayThanks for creating such a great book. I’ll be experimenting more this summer, for sure!
Charmian Christie
Posted at 09:43h, 24 MayGlad to make you smile. I aim to please.
As for rose? For many years, the rose wines in Ontario were little more than fermented cream soda. I associate them with sickly sweet wines. Intellectually, I know they’ve advanced, but have a mental block on them. If anyone can recommend a really good rose, I’m willing to experiment!
Jill Silverman Hough
Posted at 13:16h, 24 MayRose, I’m not afraid to say, is my absolutely favorite wine – probably because it goes with so many of my favorite foods. There are two that I tend to recommend – both relatively inexpensive, easy-drinking, and readily available – Red Bicyclette and Menage a Trois.