Pairing brownies with wine...hmmm

Thanks for the emails and the tweets! I couldnt believe  all the love after I posted my  instagram pictures during the past months!! Thank you!! I even got comments and followers from Russia!!wohoo!Im excited, and I ve been so busy that I couldnt reply right away!! Sorry I love you all and  keep drinking vino and asking questions!!;) I love it! 

Ok,for all of you that know me, you  know  that I am a HUGE fan of pistachios.....So in the light of making happy  my  wonderful- soon to be - ex flatmate, Sol ( she doesnt like them as much as I do- but she loved the recipe), I decided to suprise & delight her... Yes, my two  favorite words.... So, here you go!! Thats for you  Matti, that you personally  requested the recipe ( Hopefully  your  girl will do them for you!)!!

Bon  appettit, mon cheries!! ;) Oh! I must say  that I also  served it with my  lavender ice cream and salted pistachio Gelato!!!! If you  want the recipes, please let me know! I ll be happy to give it to you!!

 Of course!! the wine pairing for this  amaze  brownie are after the recipe!(Please read below my vino suggestions ;)

Prep time: 15-20 minutes
Bake time: 40 minutes
Cooling time: the recipe says 3 hours, but at least 30 minutes (if you can wait that long)(we couldnt, Sol even burned her  tongue!) 

Makes 24- 32 squares
Ingredients:
12 oz/340g (1½ cups) unsalted butter, cut into 9 pieces; more softened for the pan
3 ¾ oz/106g (1¼ cups) unsweetened natural cocoa powder, sifted if lumpy
2 ¾ cups granulated sugar
1/2 tsp. table salt
5 large eggs
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
7 ½ oz/212g (1 2/3 cups) all-purpose flour
½ cup dried blueberries (or chopped dried cherries or cranberries)
½ cup pistachios (pecan or whatever nut you prefer), toasted and coarsely chopped
½ - ¾ cup chocolate chips (because there can never be too much chocolate)

Directions:1. Preheat oven* to 325°F/170°C. Line the bottom and sides of a 9x13-inch straight-sided baking pan with heavy-duty aluminum foil, leaving about a 2-inch overhang on the short sides. Lightly butter the foil.

2. Put the butter in a large (4-quart) saucepan over medium-low heat and stir occasionally until melted, about 2 minutes. Off the heat, whisk in the cocoa powder until smooth, 1 minute. Add the sugar and salt, and whisk until well blended. Use your fingertip to check the temperature of the batter—it should be warm, not hot. If it’s hot, set the pan aside for a minute or two before continuing.

3. Whisk in the eggs, two and then three at a time, until just blended. Whisk in the vanilla until the batter is well blended. Sprinkle the flour over the batter and stir with a rubber spatula until just blended. Fold in the nuts and/or dried fruit and chocolate chips.

4. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with small bits of brownie sticking to it, 35 to 45 minutes. For fudgy brownies, do not overbake.

5. Cool the brownies completely in the pan on a rack, about 3 hours.

6. When the brownies are cool, use the foil overhang to lift them from the pan. Invert onto a cutting board and carefully peel away the foil. Flip again and cut into 24 squares.

The result!!!!

!Voila!!

Everybody loves the idea of pairing chocolate and wine, and with good reason. But the flavors of chocolate and wine aren’t always that compatible. And the culprit is the chocolate.

 This  recipe is a pure  joy when served with Vino-! ;)

My easy  wine pairing tips and general notes! ;)

* Pair these  brownie with a wine that’s equally fun, and also goes great with chocolate—Banfi’s Rosa Regale This Italian sparkling wine is lightly sweet with appealing raspberry fruit notes, and goes great with chocolate of all types. I love  the  idea of  different  textures and the crunch, it gives it a  french patisserie  flair that J'adore!

  *When it comes to desserts—especially super rich, decadent, chocolate desserts—don’t even try to pair them with a table wine. They’re much too sweet. Instead, pour a sweet dessert wine. Ruby port, which is sweet and full of berry flavors but is also firm and powerful, is a classic match for chocolate. For instance, pour the Dow’s Ruby Port( I recently had this wine sent and thought it is a perfect match!!)

 Well, I hope  you  enjoy this  recipe as much as I did!! 

Dont forget to  surprise & delight  someone today!!!

Happy thoughts and loads of  smiles coming your way from me!

Stay tunned!Hopefully  sooon I will  post  the recipe and  wine pairing with my  fave lemon,passionfruit and coconut cheesecake!! I went that extra mile, and It was worth it!! ;) 

Dont forget to enjoy  your Dolce Vita & sharing through the senses! 

Ciao  ciao!!xxxxxxx

Carolina

The art of Wine pairing.....

Sharing through the senses....

As I always say its fun to experiment and fine-tune, with time you may be able to create spectacular matches that  will dramatically improve both the dish and the wine.This is not rocket science..:)! 

I kindly invite you to merge yourself in to the vino pairing world and enjoy life ! Salud!

KEEPING IT SIMPLE

The three most important rules when it comes to wine-and-food pairing are:

1. Drink and Eat What You Like
Choose a wine that you would want to drink by itself, rather than hoping a food match will improve a wine made in a style you don’t like. That way, even if the pairing isn’t perfect, you will still enjoy what you’re drinking; at worst, you might need a sip of water or bite of bread between the dish and the glass. The same holds true for the food: After all, if you detest liver, there is no wine pairing with it on earth that will work for you.

GETTING MORE ADVANCED

Once you’ve considered these three important rules, you can get more detailed if you want and consider other subtleties of the wine.

First it’s useful to understand the components from the grapes that make up a wine’s structure: the fruit flavors and sugar, which give wines a soft feel in the mouth, and the acidity and tannins, which give wines a sensation of firmness. And of course, there’s the alcohol, which can feel softer in smaller amounts, harder in higher ones.

Red wines are distinct from whites in two main ways: tannins and flavors. Tannins are compounds that provide structure and texture to a wine; they’re responsible for that astringent sensation you feel on the sides of your cheeks, much like when you drink a strong cup of tea. Many red wines have tannins; few white wines do, unless they have spent extensive time in oak barrels.

White and red wines share many common aromas and flavors; both can be spicy, buttery, leathery, earthy or floral. But the apple, pear and citrus flavors in many white wines seldom show up in reds, and the dark currant, cherry and plum flavors of red grapes usually do not appear in whites.

Here are some other pairing principles to consider:

4. Structure and Texture Matter
Ideally, a wine’s components are in balance, but you can affect that balance, for better or worse, with the food pairing. Elements in a dish can accentuate or diminish the acidity and sweetness of a wine, and the bitterness of its tannins.

High levels of acidic ingredients, such as lemon or vinegar, for example, benefit high-acid wines by making them feel softer and rounder in comparison. On the other hand, tart food can turn balanced wines flabby.

Sweetness on the plate can make a dry wine taste sour, but pairs well with a bit of sweetness in the wine; as long as a wine balances its sugar with enough natural acidity (such as German Rieslings and demi-sec Champagnes), it can work very well with many dishes.

Tannins interact with fats, salt and spicy flavors. Rich, fatty dishes such as steak diminish the perception of tannins, making a robust wine such as a Cabernet seem smoother, as do lightly salty foods like Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. However, very salty foods increase the perception of tannins and can make a red wine seem harsh and astringent; salt likewise accentuates the heat of a high-alcohol wine. Very spicy flavors also tend to react badly with tannins and high alcohol, making the wines feel hotter; such dishes fare better with fruity or lightly sweet wines.

5. Look for Flavor Links
This is where pairing can be endless fun. The aromatics of wine often remind us of foods such as fruits, herbs, spices and butter. You can create a good match by including ingredients in a dish that echo—and therefore emphasize—the aromas and flavors in a wine. For a Cabernet, for example, currants in a dish may bring out the wine’s characteristic dark fruit flavors, while a pinch of sage could highlight hints of herbs.

On the other hand, similar flavors can have a “cancellation effect”—balancing each other out so that other aspects of a wine come out more strongly. Serving earthy mushrooms with an earthy red might end up giving more prominence to the wine’s fruit character.

6. Give Consideration to Age
Aged wines present a different set of textures and flavors. As a wine matures, the power of youth eventually subsides; the tannins soften, and the wine may become more delicate and graceful. Fresh fruit flavors may give way to earthy and savory notes, as the wine takes on more complex, secondary characteristics. When choosing dishes for older wines, tone down the richness and big flavors and look for simpler fare that allows the nuances to shine through. For example, rather than a grilled, spice-rubbed steak with an older Cabernet, try lamb braised for hours in stock.

Entire books have been written on the subject of food-and-wine pairing, and you can have a lifetime of fun experimenting with different combinations. If you’d like to learn more, become a WineSpectator.com member and take our Wine Spectator School online Wine-and-Food Pairing course.

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WEIGHING YOUR OPTIONS: LISTS OF WINES BY BODY

Matching by weight is the foundation of the old rule about white wine with fish and red wine with meat. That made perfect sense in the days when white wines were mostly light and fruity and red wines were mostly tannic and weighty. But today, color-coding does not always work.

Like human beings, wines come in all dimensions. To match them with food, it’s useful to know where they fit in a spectrum, with the lightest wines at one end and fuller-bodied wines toward the other end. For perspective, we offer the following lists of commonly encountered wines.

OK, purists, you’re right: Some Champagnes are more delicate than some Rieslings, and some Sauvignon Blancs are bigger than some Chardonnays, but we’re painting with broad strokes here. When you’re searching for a light wine to go with dinner, pick one from a category at the top of the list. When you want a bigger wine, look toward the end.

To make your own classic matches, start off on the traditional paths and then deviate a little. Don’t get stuck on Cabernet with red meats—look up and down the list and try Zinfandel or Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Instead of Burgundy or Pinot Noir with sautéed mushrooms, try a Barbera or a red Bordeaux. That’s the way to put a little variety into your wine life without straying too far from the original purpose.

Selected dry and off-dry white wines, lightest to weightiest:

Light

• Muscadet
• Orvieto
• Pinot Blanc/Pinot Bianco
• Pinot Grigio (e.g. Italy)
• Prosecco
• Rioja (white)
• Soave

Light to medium

• Chenin Blanc, dry or off-dry
• Gewürztraminer, dry or off-dry
• Pinot Gris (e.g. Alsace, Oregon), dry or off-dry
• Riesling, dry or off-dry
• Vouvray, sec or demi-sec

Medium, leans toward herbal

• Bordeaux, white
• Grüner Veltliner
• Sancerre or Pouilly-Fumé
• Sauvignon Blanc
• Sémillon
• Verdejo

Medium, leans toward minerally

• Albariño
• Arneis
• Cava
• Champagne and other dry sparkling wines
• Chablis (or other unoaked Chardonnay)
• Falanghina
• Gavi
• Greco di Tufo
• Mâcon
• Vermentino

Full / creamy

• Burgundy whites, Côte d’Or
• Chardonnay (e.g. California or other New World, oaked)
• Rhône whites
• Viognier

Selected red wines, lightest to weightiest:

Light

• Beaujolais (or other Gamay)
• Dolcetto
• Valpolicella (not Amarone)

Medium, more acidity than tannins, tends toward red fruits

• Barbera
• Burgundy
• Cabernet Franc
• Chianti (or other Sangiovese)
• Côtes du Rhône
• Grenache/Garnacha
• Pinot Noir (e.g. California, New Zealand, Oregon)
• Rioja reds (other Tempranillo)

Medium to full, balanced, tends toward dark fruits

• Bordeaux
• Brunello di Montalcino
• Malbec (e.g. Argentina!!!!)
• Merlot
• Rhône reds, Northern
• Pinotage
• Zinfandel (also Primitivo)

Full, more tannic

• Barolo and Barbaresco
• Cabernet Sauvignon (e.g. California, other New World)
• Châteauneuf-du-Pape
• Petite Sirah
• Ribera del Duero
• Shiraz/Syrah

Selected sweet wines:

Lighter

• Gewürztraminer, late-harvest
• Moscato d’Asti
• Muscat
• Riesling, late-harvest
• Rosé, off-dry
• Sauternes and Barsac (other botrytized Sauvignon Blanc-Sémillon)
• Vin Santo
• Vouvray, moelleux (late-harvest Chenin Blanc)

Heavier

• Australian Muscat or Muscadelle
• Banyuls
• Madeira (Bual or Malmsey)
• Port
• Recioto della Valpolicella
• Sweet Sherries (Cream, Pedro Ximénez, Moscatel)
• Tokaji 

Bon appetit! & Chin chin!

Carolina.

Observando, cocinando y disfrutando !!

En este último tiempo, siguiendo la guía de Edward Tolle ( en el poder del ahora) me he estado observando profundamente, he estado observando lo que pienso, hago, digo cómo y cuándo actuo.....


Entonces,decidí dejar de intentar de obsvervar  todo lo que está pasando a mi alrededor y me puse a cocinar.¿Por qué? Porque es lo primero que me  hago  cuando empiezo a  saborear la vida, disfruto todo lo el proceso de cocinar ....




Con  los cantos celtas de compañía, me dispuse a ordenar mi   la cocina de casa.Una vez terminada la consigna de ordenar, me puse  a cocinar!

Buscando inspiración, recordé las recetas del genio Jean-François Rouquette ( Nota:la primera vez que probé sus platos con flores en el 2005 en Paris, casi muero de la felicidad!), las sensaciones que me produjeron cuando las probé, uf!!, me quedo sin aliento. ...

Si bien no estaba en Vedome, pero con mi espíritu , mi mente creadora y observadora ( já, vieron com aplico todo lo que leo y aprendo) empezé a recrear la vie en rose gourmand en casa, ( repetí mil veces el tema fivre de verre, que me en can ta de la colección Putumayo french cafe!)*: 

 Tenía el plato de entrada casi listo, sí sí,así funciono, un poco de música, recuerdos increibles y voilá!
Resultado: un panini bien tostado  con queso de cabra, peras caramelizadas al torrontes con endivias, berros, rúcula, albahaca de mi querida prima,y almendras al curry ( almendras tostadas con curry, azucar rubia,sal marina y nuez moscada yummers!) Hice un dressing que me llevó dos minutos con menta, aceite de oliva y vinagre de vino blanco al romero.. Sin palabras! Rápido, fácil y muy rico... Te lo recomiendo, me lo tomé con un Torrontés bien fresquito de Cafayate ....
...Pero para el postre no sabía que hacer...entonces dije tengo unas flores ( siempre , siempre me guardo flores bien escondiditas y fresquitas para algun momento especial!) Tenía higos en almibar, lavandas confitadas, y  poco de chocolate........
En dos minutos ya tenía el postre y estaba empezando a saborearme con mi imaginaciónde  cómo saldría-
Derretí el chocolate  y le agregué oporto,cardamomo, canela un poco de clavo de olor y como no tenía crema le puse queso crema--- Me quedó buenísimo!!.. En un plato coloqué los higos con un chorrito de malbec( que me habia sobrado de alguna otra ocasión ) y mezcle los higos con la crema du chocolat  inventada per moi, Carolina O. y le agregué por encima las lavandas caramelizadas con hojitas frescas de menta , para darle el touch  le puse por encima pimienta negra !
Cualquier duda, me avisan, pero se los super super recomiendo fue un parigi getaway rápido, fácil, barato y sin jet lag! :) jeje
*Prima, van especialmente dedicadas para vos que siempre me pedis !

La inmensidad de Mendoza, su gente, su tierra .....

 Como siempre dije creo que lo que mas deseo en esta vida es compartir a traves de los sentidos...
 Luego de  deslumbrarme con millones de imagenes, paisajes, almas, vibraciones, energías,sabores,olores,volví a Mendoza..

Con muchas ganas de descubrir qué mas podía hacer desde mi  voluntad y gracias a mucha gente querida este año lo puedo terminar feliz de haber compartido con los pacientes del Instituto Zaldivar, Bodegas mendocinas , delicias gourmands y lo más importante, los artistas que nos deleitaron los sentidos con sus obras.....

¡Muchas gracias por compartir tanto este año !
Carolina.

Wine pairings with Carolina Orozco

Wine Pairing nights with Carolina Orozco

HosteriaSenderos, proposes a different evening, a menu with diverse courses paired with emblematic wines fromall the wine regions of Argentina.

From North to South you will experience through your senses a gastronomic tour that will allow you to discover the different characteristics of each varietal from each region, appreciating the meaning of pairing between flavours.

We suggest to R.S.V.P.

Wine Events.Patagonia /tasting journals.

TASTING JOURNAL

A Pair of Whites

Pinot Grigio Wine Chardonnay

Blend

Producer

Region

Vintage

Alcohol

Price

Brilliant — Clear — Hazy

Clarity Brilliant — Clear — Hazy

Green Tinge — Straw — Gold — Amber

Color Green Tinge — Straw — Gold — Amber

Pale — Medium — Dark

Color Intensity Pale — Medium — Dark

Faint — Pronounced

Legs Faint — Pronounced

Lemon, Lime, Grapefruit, Orange Peel, Tangerine

Citrus Lemon, Lime, Grapefruit, Orange, Citrus Peel, Tangerine

Apple, Pear, Quince, Peach, Apricot, Fig

Tree Fruit Apple, Pear, Quince, Peach, Nectarine, Apricot, Fig

Melon, Guava, Pineapple, Passionfruit, Banana, Mango, Papaya

Tropical Melon, Guava, Pineapple, Banana, Mango, Papaya

Fresh Flowers, Orange Blossom, Honeysuckle

Floral Fresh Flowers, Orange Blossom, Honeysuckle

Green Tea

Herbal Sage, Mint

Stone, Chalk

Mineral Stone, Slate, Flint, Chalk

Cinnamon, Nutmeg

Spice Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Allspice, Clove, Spiced Apple, Ginger

Almond, Marzipan

Nut Hazelnut, Walnut

Vanilla, Oak, Toast, Coconut

Wood Vanilla, Oak, Smoke, Toast, Burnt Toast, Coconut

Baked Bread, Bread Dough, Pie Crust, Brioche

Yeast Baked Bread, Bread Dough, Pie Crust, Brioche

Honey

Sweets Butter, Honey, Caramel, Butterscotch, Custard, Crème Brûlee

Low — Medium — High

Acidity Low — Medium — High

Dry — Off-dry — Sweet S

weetness Dry — Off-dry — Sweet

Light — Medium — Full-bodied

Body Light — Medium — Full-bodied

See above in Sniff

Flavor See above in Sniff

See above in Sniff

Aftertaste See above in Sniff

Short — Moderate — Long

Finish Short — Moderate — Long

Unbalanced — Balanced

Balance Unbalanced — Balanced

Simple — Moderately Complex — Complex

Complexity Simple — Moderately Complex — Complex

Poor — Good — Excellent

Quality Poor — Good — Excellent

Dislike — Like — Love

Preference Dislike — Like — Love