A new wine party menu plan for our next event is in the works with the theme Old World versus New World wine. The idea is to compare Old World wines to their “New World” counterparts at each course in a six-course pairing menu. I know, it’s a lot of wine. Small sips though, small sips.
Classic wines of France, Italy, Germany and Spain make up Old World regions. And New World is just about anywhere else. Likely we’ll lean heavily on U.S. Westcoast. Being in the PNW, those wines are in great abundance.
I plan to round it out a bit with some other areas like New Zealand or Australia. We discovered several excellent Southern Hemisphere wines a couple parties back. Perhaps we will repeat some favorite brands, like New Zealand’s Oyster Bay.
For the food pairings, I have already drafted a menu. I’m taking traditional dishes from the Old World countries and making some inspired updates.
Theme Brainstorm
As we were cleaning up the last party, my mother was already discussing a plan for the next one. She wanted to reduce courses but have more than one wine option per course. However, my mind (and body) were exhausted and lacked immediate ideas.
After a good rest period, I started searching for various wine themes for inspiration. From the theme, the wine party menu plan would flow.
To be fair, the Old World vs New World is a borrowed idea. In just a quick search it came up. I realized that was a great platform for a double wine pairing approach for the menu.
Next, I started listing out all the “Old World” areas that seemed friendly to wine and food, available in our stores, and within budget. France and Italy were a given. We’ve had some lovely reds from Spain. The big wild card was Germany, as I’m least familiar with their wines. I learned they are known for Riesling that are food friendly. The trick was finding a German dish I could modernize and elevate a bit.
As for the courses, there are still six because of the dishes and wine I want to fit in. But I’m doing a salad course– so will not add a lot veg to the other courses. This will keep each course a small plate approach.
Menu First Draft
First course: France vs. NZ(?) white
❧ The dish: Layered Smoked Salmon Terrine (jump to details below)
❧ Pairings: French vs New Zealand TBD white (thinking Oyster Bay)
Second course: Germany vs CA(?) Riesling
❧ The dish: Potato Pancakes with Apple Chutney (jump to details below)
❧ Pairings: German vs California? Riesling
Third course: Italy Pinot Grigio vs TBD
❧ The dish: Antipasto Salad with Chickpea Bruschetta (jump to details below)
❧ Pairings: Italian vs. TBD Pinot Grigio
Fourth course: Italy Chianti vs Oregon Pinot Noir
❧ The dish: Stuffed Paccheri Pasta (jump to details below)
❧ Pairings: Italian Chianti vs Oregon Pinot Noir
Fifth course: Spanish Red vs. WA red
❧ The dish: Spanish Beef Stew (jump to details below)
❧ Pairings: Spanish Red vs Washington Red
Sixth course: French vs California Sparkling White
❧ The dishes: Raspberry Macaron, Tarte Tatin Rose, Streusel Ice Cream
(jump to details below)
❧ Pairings: French Champagne vs California Sparkling White
Vegetarian Alternatives
For dishes that have meat, I will make a vegetarian version with a similar flavor profile. Initial thoughts are a mushroom pate in place of smoked salmon mousse for the terrine. For the salad, I can merely omit the salami topping.
The greater challenge is the Spanish Stew. I don’t have a full idea yet what to offer in place of beef that will keep the same flavor profile. A standard beef substitute is mushrooms, but I’m using those for the first course. Maybe it’s time to consider some impossible meat.
Food and Wine Testing Matrix
I will focus on one dish at a time, testing about four (or more) wine options each time. Sometimes I test up to four wine at a time just to select one for a dish. It’s going to be tricky to get two head-to-head wines for the same dish.
I also try various versions of the dish to play around with key flavors. So it becomes a matrix of wine to food options just for one dish. I may encourage my neighbors to help with testing. Have little tasting parties to care for a dish or two.
Any leftover wine we don’t like will be offered up for general cooking or vinegar making. Flavored vinegars make lovely home-made gifts.
Deep Food Thoughts
For each dish, I have ideas for a starting point. I make notes and create a framework for testing. As I noted before, to keep to the theme, I’m looking a traditional dishes from the Old World countries, then modify it with New World elements or execution.
It’s important to think of flavor but also how it will look. Plating is very much a part of a modern feel of the dish. Below is more detail on my approach to each dish.
Layered Smoked Salmon Terrine
Terrines are a traditional French dish usually made with a meat paste or aspic cooked in a long loaf dish. Mine will use smoked salmon and no cooking required. It will include a series of five colorful and flavorful layers.
I am not using this book “Pate, Confit, Rillette” for my recipe, I just liked the picture as a good example of what a terrine traditionally looks like. It is highly rated though, so feel free to get it.
The bottom layer will be a savory tomato cake base. Then a generous layer of herb infused soft cheese (whipped feta or goat cheese). In the middle will be a thin layer of bright marinated beets. Next a thick, creamy layer of salmon mousse. The top will have blanched asparagus spear tips set in a lemon gel. Each guest will get a thin slice (an asparagus spear per serving) along with gluten-free bread rounds.
The inspiration of this dish comes from watching the Great British Baking Show: The Professional series 2. One episode had the pastry chefs make these incredible savory slices. Which sort looked like a tiered tea sandwich. All sorts of layers of meat pastes, savory mousses and gels.
The savory tomato cake idea comes from a particular French chef pair (who won the competition). However, they don’t really share the recipes or explain them, so I have to work it out on my own.
Potato Pancake with Apple Chutney
From what I’ve read, there are two general types of German pancakes. One starts with cooked potatoes and one starts with raw (it all ends up cooked in the end). I haven’t decided which one to use yet, likely the raw start.
Usually these are served with apple sauce or sour cream. But I want to spice things up a bit by doing a tangy apple chutney (sandwiched between the cakes). I may bring in some heat to it as well. It will depend on the wine.
Instead of a dollop of sour cream, I will drizzle it around the plate. Then also some dabs of a red fruit – something tart like cherry, cranberry or pomegranate. It could be pieces of fruit or just a thick sauce reduction.
Antipasto Salad with Chickpea Bruschetta
The idea of this is to have an antipasto plate served over dressed greens. It will feature marinated mushrooms, artichokes, smoked mozzarella, salami and olives. But these are all drab colored elements so I want to bring some color with dark red lettuces (radicchio, ruby lettuce, fennel
The “greens” will be tossed with a lemon vinaigrette. Then, for some oniony flavor, it will be garnished with crispy fried shallots and chive blossoms.
To round out the dish, it will be served with a piece of gluten free garlic bread with chickpea spread (not exactly hummus, and yet, not unlike hummus).
Stuffed Paccheri Pasta.
When it comes to Italian food, there options are endless. I looked for a very traditional dish that had a level of comfort food that I could maybe elevate and serve in a new way. Lasagna was an initial thought (I’m good at that). Then to consider how to do a neat, individual serving, which then turned into considering lasagna roll ups. But that can be tricky, so naturally, I moved into the idea of manicotti.
At first, I searched for gluten-free manicotti shells without much luck. Then I found gluten-free pasta called Paccheri that look like mini manicotti tubes. It is a little bigger than rigatoni (a potential backup option).
I dislike most gluten-free pasta that use rice, lentil or chickpea. I don’t like the flavor and they seem to dissolve easily. This Paccheri pasta is made mostly using corn flour. I have high hopes. Again, we will test.
The stuffing will be a ricotta cheese blend with spinach. The sauce will be sun-dried tomato cream sauce (or vodka sauce) for rich coating. To add more color and texture, I will top with oven-roasted cherry tomatoes and dabs of pesto around the plate. I will probably just buy the pesto from Costco – I like their pesto and use it all the time. Then a pile of basil chiffonade to garnish.
Spanish Beef Stew
The traditional Spanish dish I am basing this on is an oxtail stew. However, I don’t want the guests to deal with the little bony bits. So, I will be using short ribs, taking the bones out. Maybe mix in some basic chuck roast to round it out and make sure there is enough meat per person.
The stew will be cooked down so it’s a thick sauce, not brothy. The plan is to serve it with a small pile of Spanish potatoes and topped with oven roasted red bell peppers. They will be placed on top, not in the stew itself, because bell peppers hurt my stomach. I generally don’t make food I can’t eat myself. Garnished with a sprinkling of parsley (used sparingly, but enough to add color).
Raspberry Macaron
Very French and naturally gluten-free, macarons are lovely little dessert element. I love the flavors of raspberry with champagne. The filling will be a dark chocolate ganache. I thought of just doing a plate of different flavored macarons, but I really wanted to do another type of dessert as well.
Tarte Tatin Rose
One of my favorite desserts in Paris was at a Normandy Restaurant with a beautifully simple apple tart. It had an apple brandy glaze (Calvados) and every bite was wonderful. My hope is to recreate a bit of that experience.
To do this as individual tarts, I am going the route of making apple roses in puff pastry. Yes, its been done by a lot of people. Not terribly new. But it is the little extras I will attempt to make it special.
I hope to find a decent gluten free puff pastry. And baking the apples inverted in muffin tins with some caramel to get that tarte tatin effect. I am musing over some potential marzipan or other nut spread filling. Definitely going to hunt down some Calvados to drizzle liberally. I have big ideas, we will see if I can make it happen.
Streusel Ice cream
Almost every apple tart recipe I’ve seen out there says to serve it with ice cream. As I like odd numbers on a plate, adding an ice cream element makes a happy trio. I plan on molding individual servings into little domes ahead of time, so it is neat and easy to plate.
I considered a simple vanilla ice cream with a bit of toasted walnut sprinkled on top. You can’t go wrong with a good-quality, creamy vanilla.
But then my mind wandered onto thoughts about French apple pie with a streusel topping. So, I’m inspired to create that experience with brown sugar, cinnamon and walnut. If that doesn’t pan out, I will fall back on a really good vanilla.
And now I need to dive in and start testing. While the party will be some time in May/June, I like to take the time to vet each dish. I will write some updates as it progresses.