Squash Soup and a California Viognier

If you are still looking for a tasty soup as an appetizer for Thanksgiving, look no further. Try this fabulous Thai Red Curry Squash Soup. It must be honestly one of the best soups I have ever made. While a pumpkin or squash soup is fairly traditional during this time of year, this recipe, which includes Thai-inspired ingredients such as red curry paste, coconut milk, and lemongrass, really makes the orange vegetable stand out, without being too unusual.

I used a golden hubbard squash in the recipe, which in my opinion gave the soup an even more intense orange color than the photograph in the magazine. It looks very festive and is oh-so-yummy. F&W magazine suggests a Riesling with this soup, which is the usual suggestion for Asian-flavored dishes, aside from Gewurztraminer. Yawn... Can we try a different white wine for a change?

I happened to have the 2010 Cline Viognier from the Sonoma Coast in California on hand. This is not the most opulent viognier I have ever had, but also not one of the real crisp and edgy ones, it is more in the middle, if that makes any sense. For hubby it was actually too lean, while I really loved it. It also happened to mention on the back label that it would pair nicely with curried Thai dishes. Right on!

This was very close to a perfect pairing. As you can tell, I am already in love with this soup recipe all by itself, but the pairing with the viognier, which had just the right acidity and fruitiness, really elevated the entire experience. Please try out the soup recipe and let me know if you love it as much as I do! And Happy Thanksgiving.

Mid-Atlantic Smorgasbord: MD Crab Cakes and VA Viognier

I am staying with a regional and seasonal theme here. It is summer and hot outside, and I therefore do not feel like spending a lot of time in the kitchen. The other day we picked up some crab cakes at a local seafood market, and all I had to do to them was put them under the broiler.

There are very few places where I would buy pre-made crab cakes, as I am not a big fan of fillers (usually bread crumbs), but love the lump crab meat. So you might have to do some searching before you actually find a place whose crab cake recipe you like. The ones we found were huge. Almost monstrous. I was convinced that I would not be able to finish mine in one sitting. But you know how that is, when something tastes really, really good…

I also boiled some fresh corn-on-the-cob and mixed together a quick coleslaw. Sometimes dinner can be so simple, yet so delicious.

I decided to match this Maryland-inspired food with the 2009 Barboursville Reserve Viognier from the Monticello region in Virginia. The wine has elegant aromas of white flowers, green pear, mango and the usual tropical fruit one would expect from this white wine varietal. The taste of this Viognier was somewhat of a surprise, as it has a lot of crisp citrusy acidity with a long finish.

When tasting Viogniers in Virginia, I have often found them to be in a style that almost reminded me of over-ripe fruit. Personally, I prefer my white wines very lean and crisp, and therefore really appreciate the style that Barboursville went for. Unlike my better half, who likes his Viognier very viscous and opulent. I assume that the Barboursville tastes the way it does because it was stored in stainless steel tanks exclusively (no oak barrels at all).

The sweetness of the crab meat and the corn, as well as the creaminess of the coleslaw dressing actually brought out more fruit flavors in the wine.  I enjoyed this meal tremendously. Final verdict: an amazing combination!

Strawberry Tarts and a Late Harvest Viognier

I know you couldn't stand the suspense any longer, so here's the solution to what we had for dessert after our Easter dinner. I made some individual strawberry tarts, you know, the kind you find in the grocery store's display case, for about $5 a piece... As part of the recipe, I first made a pie crust, then a pastry cream, and finally topped the tarts with fresh strawberries and pistachio nuts. Strawberries are just another one of those signs that spring is here. If the recipe sounds like a lot of work, let me tell you, it is. But it's well worth it!

For the wine pairing, we picked the 2008 Hillsborough Vineyards Moonstone, which is a late harvest dessert wine, made from the viognier grape. (Important note: it's MoonSTONE, not MoonSHINE.) We had purchased this wine on a recent visit to the winery in Loudoun County, Virginia, and for my husband the motto usually is "It's a viognier? Wrap it up!"
The pairing was great, and it definitely kept the residual sugar of the wine in check. The wine itself had flavors of apricots, peaches, and honey, and that worked well with the apricot glaze I had brushed on the strawberries. As I have learned from various pairing seminars, the secret of pairing a dessert with wine, is to make sure that the wine is sweeter than the dessert. It was a lovely finish to a great meal. Have you ever had wine with dessert?