Comfort Food for our Red Mountain Releases

I am one of those annoying 3rd generation Seattleites that does not mind the start of fall. Sure, I am always sad to see the warm days fade away (although we have had a gorgeous fall) and am even more bummed out by the dark, dark mornings and nights. However, cooler temperatures and heavy rain mean evenings tucked inside with a glass of red wine and something warm to eat. So, we present a set of comfort food recipes to pair with the two new Fidelitas releases. I am calling them “his and her” comfort food, created to meet the things my hubby and I like to eat.
For HIS comfort food, I made something that Ben has been requesting for quite a while. One particularly cold evening not too long ago I created individual meatloaves for Ben and our friends and found that it is a perfect pairing for the 2009 Red Mountain Merlot. Flecked with fresh thyme and served with smashed red potatoes and spicy, garlicky broccoli, we found that mini meatloaf is wonderful companion for this juicy, elegant merlot. Grab the recipe and learn more about the pairing HERE.

HER comfort food came next when it was my turn to host my wine loving book club. I am always looking for vegetarian dishes to pair with red wine, especially with this group. Eggplant parmesan is one of my favorite things that my mom would make when we were growing up, so I adjusted her recipe to make it (just a little bit!) lighter and pair with the Ciel du Cheval Vineyard Cabernet Franc. Earthy sautéed eggplant, homemade tomato sauce and an herby breadcrumb topping not only paired excellently with the Cab Franc but also gathered rave reviews from the book club. Find the eggplant parmesan recipe HERE.  I also have to recommend - we served a raw kale salad from Epicurious that was a GREAT accompaniment for the eggplant.  Note that I chose to skip the parmesan on the salad since there was so much with the eggplant.  It was not missed.

Coming up! Some wine friendly finger foods for holiday entertaining and my favorite gifts for wine lovers (yes – most of it is just wine).