Rad, White, and Brews Celebrations
Retro Rad Mixologist Emily Ellyn, here to give you the dish on food and drink pairings to shake up fun in your kitchens!
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Catalina Island Independence Day Water Skiers
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For this July Fourth, I'd like to share my tips and tricks for pairing Red, Whites and Brews, and...Booze with barbecue:
#1: Drink What You
Enjoy!
I am giving you permission to drink white wine with an ice
cube with your steak! To each his own, ESPECIALLY at a barbecue and, that means
if you want lemonade, iced teas, sweet teas, or twisted teas you go right
ahead.
Below, you will find that I am just giving you advice to
take the guesswork out of pairing wine and beer and selecting drinks for your
party.
#2: BBQ Means Stress Free Dining AND Drinking.
When pairing drinks with food for outdoor dining always
think simplicity. This means don’t choose a fussy stuffy wine that requires too
much thought. You are sipping on drinks
and/or wine in the beautiful outdoors or the comforts of your home. The drinks
should fit the food, but they should also fit the casual mood of the gathering.
I love doing a sangria or punch for a BBQ. Tasty, cool and the ease of portability and
accessibility for guests make it a win/win!
Try this refreshing beverage:
Summertime Citrus
Sangria
Recipe courtesy of
Emily Ellyn, more at www.EmilyEllyn.com
Yield: Party Serving
Ingredients:
1 (750-milliliter) bottles Sweet Champagne or Sparkling
Wine, chilled
1 (1500-mililiter) pouch LiDestri White Sangria (or sub a
sweet white)
¼ cup honey (or organic stevia)
3 tablespoon chopped ginger
3 large sprigs, rosemary, crushed
1 (34-oz.) bottle
fresh orange juice
1 cup peach nectar
1 orange sliced thin, to garnish
1 cup fresh or frozen peaches sliced, to garnish
6 sprigs Rosemary, to garnish
Directions:
Prepare Ginger Rosemary simple syrup by bringing ¼ cup White
Sangria and honey to a boil in a small saucepot. Add the ginger and rosemary and bring back to
a boil. Remove from heat and steep the mixture off heat for 20 minutes.
Strain the syrup through a fine mesh strainer into a
container and use immediately or refrigerate for future use.
Make Citrus Sangria:
In large pitcher mix simple syrup, orange juice, peach nectar,
grapefruit juice, sparkling wine, and sangria.
Serve over ice and garnish with sliced oranges, peaches and fresh basil.
#3: Fireworks, Sparklers AND Sparkling Wines
Always Make a Meal More FESTIVE!
I must confide that the right glass of bubbly will just
about pair with any dish. I personally
love Iron Horse Blanc de Blanc as well as their Brut Rose!
I have always enjoyed sipping on these sparkling wines, BUT
they are really spectacular with food.
The Blanc de Blanc is 100% Chardonnay and it is like a buttery piece of
toast that radiates with it’s effervescence.
Sparkling wine
suggestions: Prosecco, Cava, a
light-bodied California sparkling wine, or a Lambrusco are always good bubblies
for a backyard barbecue.
#4: Blush if you
will, Rosés are a MUST!
Rosé is ANOTHER must have when dining out on the deck! There is no question that rosés lift flavors
and spirit to casual outdoor gatherings. Served brisk and cool, these wines
have a bit more acidity than white wines to combat the grilled flavors of the
food.
Rosé suggestions: California Rosés made with the Sangiovese
grape, Bandol from Provence, Tavel from the Rhône Valley, Lambrusco from Italy
The Brut Rosé from Iron Horse is my go-to! This is a bold and vibrant SPARKLING rosé and
I like drinking it with food! Sweet
pulled pork to a juicy steak.
#5: What They Have Always Said Still Stands!
White wine with fish and chicken still hold true when at a
barbecue.
White wines pair well with grilled fish and chicken, and
some pork recipes, even those that call for blackened preparations or spice
rubs.
White wine
suggestions: Choose Chardonnay or a white Burgundy wine for the fattier
fish (tuna, salmon, or trout). White Riojas and Chardonnays are the best pick
for veggie burgers, and sometimes regular hamburgers. Sauvignon Blanc (with higher acidity) or
Sancerre (made from the same grapes as Sauvignon Blanc), Riesling, and
Gewürztraminer pair with spice rubs and blackening seasonings.
Note, that changing things up is not a bad thing…Zinfandel
with its smoke and fruit would be a nice pairing with barbecued chicken too
(Remember Rule #1).
#6: Weight of the Wine Pairs with Weight of Food:
Red wine
suggestions:
Pork, smoked meats, bacon, and even salmon = Lighter to
medium weight reds like Pinot Noir and Tempranillo.
Hamburgers, steak, barbecued ribs, or beef tenderloin, only
the big red wines will do. Bordeaux, California Cabernet, and Barolo are
perfect matches. If meat is more heavily spiced try a Zinfandel or Zinfandel
Blends, Australian Shiraz, Australian blend of Grenache, Shiraz and Mataro,
Argentine Malbecs OR, my favorite this year is a Rioja from Spain made from
100% Graciano grape.
#7: Bring Brews to
the Barbecue!
I love BREW-B-Qing (i.e. barbecuing with beer) but I also
recognize that beer pairs great with barbecue and it is cool and refreshing. But, just like wine each protein (whether
surf or turf) or vegetable has a singular flavor profile and deserves to be
carefully coupled with a beer!
Beer suggestions:
Hefeweissbier/hefeweizen or Belgian-style witbier with a
light citrus twist cuts through the salty, fatty cured meats, while bringing
out the fresh flavors of the fixings (the lettuce and tomato on burgers and all
the potato and pasta salad sides). Also,
pairs good with grilled vegetable or shellfish and with light citrusy
mayo-based dishes like lobster rolls and potato salads.
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| Vintage Schlitz Poster 1952 |
Schwarzbier or black lagers with their slightly smoky finish
matches well with grilled foods like burgers and steak
Farmhouse style to fruit forward ales pair nicely with
grilled chicken.
Double Malts, Belgian-style dubbel, Stouts with lots of malt
hold up to strong, gamy flavor of lamb and dominate the tangy vinegars and heat
from some barbecues.
Imperial Porters are great with dry rubbed and/or smoked
ribs.
Pilsner, unfiltered German-style lagers, and Ciders will
pair with all of the sides from coleslaw to ceviche to creamy potato salad.
Belgium Saison, Indian Brown Ale, Scotch ale, India pale
ale, and American brown ale pair good with sweet and acidic barbecue (mustard
based sauce) and with the pies with sweet and bitter fruit (raspberry and
rhubarb) and buttery crust.
#8 Bourbon and BBQ
Barbecue is a product of the American South therefore it
makes sense to pair it with an American spirit that is also from the
South. But, bourbon is so much more than
just a good pairing it is trendy!
Bourbons are getting a lot of attention and you will be
seeing this combo on many a menus (in BBQ and paired with BBQ) in the
future. The way bourbon is made lends
well to pairing perfectly with barbecue.
By law, bourbon must be made of a grain mixture that consists of at
least 51 percent corn, making it taste sweeter than spirits created with a
greater percentage of barley, rye, or wheat. After it is distilled, bourbon is aged
in new American oak barrels whose insides have been charred, which imparts a
sweet woodsy, vanilla flavor that complements meats that have been smoked or
cooked. Plus, the mild sweetness of the brew pairs well with both the sweet and
the spice of barbecue.
Here's my patriotic July 4th party punch that packs a
punch!
Smoking Cherry &
Bour-bomb
Recipe courtesy Emily
Ellyn
Yield: 6 servings
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Marilyn Monroe, 1953
www.missavagardner.tumblr.com |
Ingredients:
1 quart fresh lemonade
15 ounces bourbon (to taste preference)
6 ounces LiDestri’s Pink Limoncello
1 cup large cherries preserved in syrup (Bada Bing is a good
brand)
1 Tablespoon liquid smoke
Directions:
The night before add liquid smoke to cherries and the syrup
in jar or sealable container. Allow to
marinate over night.
To assemble drinks, pack six rock glasses with ice. Pour 2
1/2 ounces bourbon, 1 ounce Pink Limoncello, a splash of the Smokey cherry
juice (from marinated cherries) into glass.
Then, top with lemonade. Garnish
each drink with smoky cherry.
