Thanksgiving

I'm sticking with two wines for this holiday, Pinot Noir as my red and German Spatlese as my white. Mom's cooking the main meal, so it will be the traditional turkey, honey baked ham, candied sweet potatoes, greens, green beans, baked beans, dressing and corn bread.

We'll probably have some apple pie, and or sweet potato pie courtesy of our next door neighbor. The wines won't be served at dinner because my parents don't drink wine. That's why I'm being selfish with my choices. I'm saving the wines for later in the evening for when I visit my cousin.

My cousin's table will also be traditional, but the libation, well the libation is more varied, from wines to scotch or bourbon, with maybe some vodka cran thrown into the mix. The second meal is also a pot luck so, my chosen wines have to be versatile, since I do plan to share.

I talked about pinot noir in my last post, so I will just name a couple of good ones that I've had recently....Try the 2007 Fess Parker, of Santa Clara or the 2006 Mia's Playground from the Russian River Valley. Both of these wines come in right around 20-bucks a bottle. I originally chose these wines because of their names. Fess Parker is an actor who used to play Davey Crockett on television and I just like the sound of Mia's Playground..

The German spatlese is a bit pricey, but a very good complement to roast turkey...I like the mosel-saar-ruwer, Germany area for this type of wine. Germans color code their wines in either brown or green glassed bottles. I prefer the brown bottle wines. Expect to plunk down 30-40 bucks per bottle. If you like, go for the kabinett which is also made from riesling grapes and costs about 20-bucks a bottle or less.

If you need a turkey recipe check out my earlier posts. There is a really nice grilled bird that you might want to try.

Happy Thanksgiving to all.

Salud!

Want Some Wine with that Hummus?

There are some foods that are hard to pair up with wine. For instance, I have this wonderful recipe for a vegetable wrap sandwich with chicken and hummus. Although I learned about hummus when I was in college, many years ago. It is not usually on the food radar for most of my family and friends. Hummus is an arabic spread or dip, made of cooked and mashed up chick peas, tahini, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic and salt. So, I decided to try a few couplings to see what I could come up with.

I did some reading on the subject and found that hummus and wine is not so unusual in Europe...the french seem to like it with fume blanc, gewurztraminer rules in Germany....the sweetness of the wine contrasting with the saltiness of the food, maybe, while Italians, I'm told prefer pinot grigio... but not one of my favorite wines...

I decided to fall back on an old staple for me....when in doubt....I go for a pinot noir...pinot noir grapes are the grapes of Burgundy, France, but they can and are grown all over the world. Pinot is french for "pine." Noir is of course, french for "black." America is really just getting the hang of cultivating pinot grapes. The best seem to be coming out of Sonoma County. I would suggest finding a label that says something about the Russian River on it or just look for Sonoma. That's what I do. You'll spend maybe 15-20 bucks for a decent wine. Try the pinot noir, or if you like, go ahead and make your own combination. As I said this is about what tastes good...not what's right according to some wine expert.

Recipe: Vegetable Wraps with Chicken and Hummus

Servings: 4 Preparation Time: 15 min. Cooking Time: 0 min.

Ingredients:

1 cup diced cooked chicken 1/2 cup chopped cucumber 1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper\raw 1/2 cup chopped sugar snap peas\raw 1/2 cup chopped arugula 1/2 cup hummus 4 flour tortilla 4 leaf or butter lettuce leaf

Cooking Directions:

Combine the chicken, cucumber, bell pepper, peas, arugula, and hummus in a bowl. (You can add different vegetables according to the season and your family's preferences). Lay the wraps on the counter and cover each with a lettuce leaf. Divide the vegetable mixture among them and spread, leaving at least a 0-1/2 inch border around the edge. Roll up tightly, tucking in the edges as you roll. Cut in half and wrap in plastic food film.

* thanks Nubella

salud!