Everyday Dining with Wine

Book excerpt: Andrea Immer has one of the world's best, and least pretentious, wine palates. In her debut cookbook she proves that her taste in food is just as finely honed and down-to-earth. Presenting 125 recipes that pair magnificently with wine, she shows how to bring these great flavor combinations to the dinner table—with minimum fuss and at minimal cost. Her food and wine matches are guaranteed to make even weeknight meals special occasions. Wine enthusiasts and epicures alike could not be in better hands: World-renowned Master Sommelier Andrea Immer is also a graduate of the French Culinary Insitute, where she refined her already formidable cooking skills and understanding of food flavors, and where today she is dean of wine studies. In her new book, she solves that most vexing dinner dilemma—which wines to serve with what foods. Drawing on her sophisticated understanding of tastes, she offers up internationally inspired delicacies like Cumin-crusted Lamb; Fettucine with Proscuitto, Sage, and Mushrooms; or Tarte Tatin with Bourbon and Vanilla. She also offers down-home dishes like Fast-Track Baby Back Ribs, Turkey Quesadillas with Sesame Sweet Potato–Mole Sauce, or Cheese Grits with Shrimp and Chorizo. Everyday Dining with Wine is filled with recipes emphasizing a robust harmony of flavors for every course from soup to dessert. Andrea believes that wine should be a part of everyday dining—for both pleasure and health. With this book in hand, you can choose a recipe and then find the wine that complements it best, or start with a special bottle and discover its perfect food partner. Here, too, are Andrea’s answers to such common and perplexing questions as “Where should I store my wine?”; “Once I open a bottle, how long will it be good?”; “Does the shape and quality of glassware matter?” Wine and food belong together, whether for a weeknight meal or a dinner party. With Everyday Dining with Wine there is no guesswork involved in making any meal a cause for celebration.