10/13/05 Food and wines - French Fries

Welcome to Vine to Wine this is your host Linda Moran and today is Food & Wine pairing day. We recently visited Ashland Oregon to attend the Shakespeare Festival and, while dining in a lovely little restaurant, I was reminded of one of my favorite food and wine combinations. Now, I know that this may sound crazy but, I love really crisp French Fries and wine, specifically Champagne or sparkling wine. Once you experience it for yourself, you will see what I mean. While on holiday I eat whatever I want, no dieting, no conscience. On one such recent occasion I had some of the best parmesan fries you could imagine. They were crisp, and not oily, and were dusted perfectly with freshly grated parmesan cheese. I enjoyed them with a glass of California sparkling wine, a Blanc de Blanc that was very good and became stunning when combined with the fires. At another restaurant, I had to try it again so I had garlic fries with a Brut Rose and went straight to food & wine pairing heaven. There are many ways to prepare fries and although I enjoy that, I must say there is nothing like plain salted French fries accompanied not by catsup but by gourmet mustard. Tarragon mustard is excellent and so is horseradish mustard. They are both good with brut Rose. Then if you like a nice creamy Dijon mustard reserve it for a cremant style of Champagne as it has softer effervescence and it is a sublime combination. Sounds Crazy? Well you never know until you try it! Remember to send your wine questions to Linda at vine to Wine dot net and thank you for joining me on today's Vine to Wine.