Monday, May 24, 2010

Gluten-Free class

Last week, Angie held a special “Gluten Free” class and I thought the menu might be interesting to see how she creatively came up with some tasty alternatives.

This class, the topic of aging wines came up and as usual I learned something new. For red wines, the higher the tannins, the better it will age. For white wines, the higher the acid, the better it will age.

Course 1:
Vegetable Stir Fry
2009 Kung Fu girl Riesling $16.99
Washington State

I definitely found a new favorite Riesling with Kung Fu Girl which is made by Charles Smith. This was paired with a vegetable stir fry so both food and wine balanced each other nicely but neither stood out. But it’s all about what you prefer.

Course 2:
Black Bean & Shrimp Tostada
2008 La Cana Albarino $14.99
Rias Baixas, Spain

Moving to a little more kick, the black bean and shrimp tostada was spicy enough to chill out the white wine that was paired with it. The wine had a mineral taste and was too dry for me. I think the wine would have gone well with a cream sauce too.

Course 3:
Parmesan Chicken & Quinoa
2008 G.D. Vajra Dolcetto d'Alba $16.99
Piedmont, Italy

The best meal of the night was the Parmesan Chicken and Quinoa...and definitely in the top 5 of meals I've had by Chef Scott. The chicken had such a creamy, cheesy sauce…WOW. It was so good that Chef Scott has won awards for this gluten-free number using a cheese coating instead of bread crumbs. The wine that was paired with it was low in tannins but still too dry for me.

Course 4:
Open Face Chili-Cheeseburger Polenta Cake "Bun"
2007 Rombauer Zinfandel $26.99
California

I was quite happy to see that for the third course in a row, cheese was a factor in the dish! And there was NO bacon OR ham throughout the whole meal! What a treat! The chili went great with the cheese on top and polenta underneath, almost like cornbread. The sharp cheese and spices held up great with a dry red!

Course 5:
French Vanilla Creme Brulee
2005 Le Tertre du Lys D'Or Sauternes $18.99
France
Dessert was also tasty and sweet (even though it wasn’t chocolate) but unfortunately the Crème Brulee was a little runny. Something creamy was definitely required to go with the dessert wine!

Angie is already planning her summer course schedule…BBQ is next, then burgers, and beer vs wine!