482410 Wed Jan 23 19:25:36 -0800 2008 9 34 Wine 0 3326445 I am hosting a wine club meeting in a few weeks and will feature a French syrah called La Guiraude by Alain Graillot. (Guests are asked to bring other bottles of syrah of their choosing.) I've been looking for some appetizer recipes that would compliment the wine but have come up rather short...any ideas? Wed Jan 23 19:25:36 -0800 2008 158780 Aspiring Foodie 1 3326492 Lamb samosas (go light on the chile) Slices of boudin noir Terrines, especially game terries Pâté de foie gras Smoked duck breast Venison carpaccio Croutons spread with tapenade Mushroom caps stuffed with lamb, duck confit, etc. Baba ghanoush with thyme-spangled pita chips Wed Jan 23 19:47:00 -0800 2008 3326445 10520 carswell 2 3330581 Those sound wonderful. One problem with pairing Syrah is that the ingredients that pair well usually lend themselves more to main dishes (beef, lamb, venison) than to appetizers. French Syrahs often have a meaty sausage or pepperoni quality (truly) and some smokiness. That's often easy to mirror in foods. That being said, here are some flavor and ingredient ideas. How you translate these into appetizer form I'll leave to your imagination! Bacon, sausage, pepperoni, etc. Smoked meats, grilled meats Venison, especially (the carpaccio is a great idea) Duck preparations, smoked, carpaccio, sliced duck breast Black beans, black bean puree, black bean cakes with bacon Mushrooms, duxelle Mini wild mushroom and bacon risotto cakes Black olive, black olive tapenade Spice: The wonderful smoked paprika of Spain -- pimenton Spice: Pepper, but just a touch of it; green peppercorn sauce Accents: dried cherries, pickled red onion, rosemary Thu Jan 24 21:22:25 -0800 2008 3326492 18222 maria lorraine 3 3335146 How could I forget bacon? Your post brings to mind a stuffing Patricia Wells suggests for guinea hen: - fry chopped bacon - brown chopped shallots in the bacon fat - sear a chicken/duck/guinea fowl liver in the fat, then cool and chop - combine above with chopped black olives and fresh thyme. Now, if you tinkered with that a little -- maybe added some fresh breadcrumbs -- stuffed mushroom caps with it and baked until warmed through, you might have a pretty impressive pairing for a savoury French Syrah. Sat Jan 26 09:27:21 -0800 2008 3330581 10520 carswell 4 3336854 Yay! I have the dish for our next wine tasting group meeting! Taking a page from Formosalily's bacon tasting challenge, we had decided to combine this concept with wine tasting and do an evening entitled "bacon dishes and wine that goes with them". This recipe sounds perfect! But here's a question. I have heard that E. Guigal's single vineyard Cote Roties are not typical Northern Rhone Syrah. Is this true, and if that is the case, would we be better off sticking to something more traditional? I have some nice Hermitage and Cornas floating around... Sat Jan 26 22:35:03 -0800 2008 3335146 89969 moh 5 3339915 With the possible exception of La Mouline in certain vintages, Guigal's Lalas are not your typical Côte-Rôties. But while made in a Parker-pleasin' somewhat international style, they're undeniably Syrah, haven't completely lost their sense of place and would probably work as well with the pairing ideas as, say, a Hermitage. Mon Jan 28 06:30:37 -0800 2008 3336854 10520 carswell 1 3326650 Lamb, venison, steak among red meats... Turkey is great as are game birds in general... As for cooking... Barbecue is generally excellent with a wide range of syrah... grilling, especially kebabs... Rich stews with the above meats are excellent... Syrah is a very cheese-friendly red wine... especially nice with Appenzel, Beaufort Savoyard, Chevre, Gruyere, Aged Goudas, Montasio Mezzano, Parmesan, Roncal. Pecorino is probably my single-fave cheese match... Wed Jan 23 20:52:16 -0800 2008 3326445 42549 Chicago Mike 1 3326672 Syrah has a peppery quality to it. As others have suggested, anything with game is likely to be compatible. Duck Confit salad, maybe? Rillettes of Duck and/or Pork would be tasty and seasonal. Wed Jan 23 21:04:06 -0800 2008 3326445 52499 ChefJune 1 3327246 To add to the above posts... Dry cured saucisse a l'ail. Thu Jan 24 06:56:02 -0800 2008 3326445 91415 hungry_pangolin 1 3330280 Thanks for all of these wonderful suggestions! Now the dilemma is which to pick... Thu Jan 24 19:37:34 -0800 2008 3326445 158780 Aspiring Foodie