Grilling & Wine

It’s grilling season. Bring on the barbecue. And in my opinion, nothing pairs better with BBQ than wine. Regular readers of this blog know how much I love to grill, on both a BBQ and my pellet grill. I’m going to share a recipe for the BEST potatoes I’ve ever eaten in this blog, stay tuned. But first, let’s pair some great wines with grilled food.

I’m on my week off from chemo treatments, so my appetite has been good and I’ve been firing up both my BBQ and my pellet grill. I did a stuffed butterfly pork chop the other evening. Stuffed with bread crumbs, sauteed onions & carrots, apples, salt and pepper, and good old Newfoundland Savory. The best

This stuffed pork chop turned out so good and there are a few wines that would pair well with it. Some recommendations for pork would include a Pinot Noir, Zinfandel and a Riesling. Here’s what I had with it

I went with the Cigar Box Pinot Noir from Chile. A very light to medium pinot noir, that didn’t clash with some of the bold flavors I had in my stuffed pork chop. As you can see from the above picture I put my pork chop low on my pellet grill for about 30 minutes to add some smoke flavor and then seared it on the BBQ. Yum! This pinot noir also has some smoky notes and is really well priced at just $18 a bottle here.

Now the potatoes…..

I cubed the potatoes and boiled them for about 5-8 minutes to cook them halfway. My friends Fred and Arla picked me up some fresh garlic from the Annapolis Valley when they were there this week, and it was so good.

So I put cream cheese, mayonnaise, cream cheese, 2 cloves of the fresh garlic, salt and pepper, and shredded cheese. Then I put them on my pellet grill on low for about an hour to finish cooking and absorb all those great flavors.

I added some parsley towards the end. I grow my own, and you don’t want to add fresh herbs too early or they will char. You could finish these in the oven or on the BBQ, just be careful about having them on direct heat. On the BBQ, I would light one side and put the potatoes on the other side, the side with no heat.

We are getting a warm weekend here. Supposed to be 22-degrees today and 27-degrees tomorrow. It also may be our first 30-degree day. And warm weather means Rose. Here’s a Rose you may want to try this weekend.

At a mere $617 a bottle, it’s truly a weekend treat. If you’re like me, this may be more along your price point

This Arrogant Frog Rose wine is a delicious crisp wine that comes in at $18 a bottle, a little more affordable for most of us. It’s light and tasty and a great example of Rose.

One last wine before I go.

Look at that color. That dark purple says one thing….. Malbec

I try new wines all the time, and more and more I’m reaching for a Malbec, a wine that I really didn’t drink a lot. This wine appealed to me because of the Gran Reserva, which is aging. And the $17 price point. Gran Reserva wines tend to be aged and this one was delicious. It’s a big wine bursting with flavors of plums, vanilla and tobacco. Definitely worth a try and definitely a great wine for BBQ.

That’s it for me for this week. Have a wonderful weekend, and a great week,

Darlene