Food & Wine

Welcome to Vine to Wine this is your host Linda Moran and today is Food & Wine pairing day. On this program I am going to share some recent inspirations for using the garden fresh produce now in season and of course the wines that go with them.

This past weekend we were visiting Seattle Washington and had dinner at Canlis Restaurant, a Seattle institution, and on my top ten in the Northwest. While we were perusing the menu I couldn’t help but be inspired by the use of ingredients which are now in season. One such dish was a roasted orange and yellow bell pepper soup. It was garnished with tiny cubes of fried eggplant and it was to die for. I came home and searched through my cookbooks and found many recipes for soups of this nature. What I liked about the soup was how well it retained the smoked character that came from roasting the peppers over a flame and then peeling them to puree for the soup. To me it made it a great companion to the 2005 Oregon Pinot Noir we were sipping. Another ingredient used widely throughout the menu was melon, both chilled and grilled. I enjoyed a grilled melon and arugula salad. The combination was refreshing and again went well with Pinot Noir this time from California. Many of you have likely had a warm spinach salad with strawberries – try substituting them for grilled peaches like my friend Holly did and you will be so impressed with how well it goes with red wine! Be inspired by the bounty use your imagination and lots of fresh ingredients, and thank you for joining me on today’s Vine to Wine.