Tomorrow is my fourth wedding anniversary, and I’m planning to prepare a nice dinner for Mr. Nightingale and myself. The main dish will be linguine with portobella mushroom and garlic cream sauce; it may or may not have artichokes in it as well. I’ll probably serve it with a green salad and French bread.
What kind of wine should I serve with this dinner? We don’t drink wine often, and so I’m not particularly well versed in what wine goes with which food. Cream sauce gets a white wine, right? What kind of salad dressing should we use? And can anyone recommend an appetizer? I like to cook but don’t do the gourmet thing often, so I’m not sure what type of wine will best complement the meal.
P.S. I didn’t know if this belonged in Cafe Society with the recipe threads, or in IMHO with the polls. Apologies to the moderators if it’s in the wrong place.
It would probably do better in IMHO. I would go with a nice brand of Gewurztraminer white wine, a Caesar or Italian dressing, and maybe do an artichoke for an appetizer instead of adding it to the cream sauce.
Since you are having Italian food, please consider a nice Frascati or Bolla Soave. A Frascati’s youth and vigor should cut through the rich cream sauce you are serving, although the Bolla will probably be easier to find. If you are unable to locate either wine, Champagne is always appropriate for a wedding anniversary. I recommend a brut or blanc de noir to avoid any undue sweetness. Cordon Rouge or a Schramsberg will have the character to stand up to the strong flavors of Italian food.
A perfect appetizer that is fall-off-a-log easy to make is grisinni con prosciutto. Get some paper thin slices of fine Parma prosciutto ham and spiral wrap them around thin bread sticks. Be sure to let them rest for thirty minutes before serving. The crust of the bread should soften slightly from the ham’s moisture. If you wish to be utterly classic, drape slices of the prosciutto over a wedge of ripe melon. Cantaloupe or honeydew varieties will work just fine.
For a delicious salad that will hold its own with your pasta please consider Hearts of Palm with Creamy Vinaigrette. The delicate palm hearts are a perfect compliment to the artichokes or mushrooms in your main course. If these do not suit your fancy, please let me know of your preferences and we’ll work out some other selections.
Thanks for the advice and recipes. The menu now consists of: a steamed artichoke with lemon butter for an appetizer (excellent suggestion, dreamer!), Zen’s delicious sounding salad, and the mushroom linguine.
Should the suggested wines be available at most wine merchants? None of them sound like something I could just pick up at the local grocery store. I know of a couple of wine shoppes in town, but I’ve nver purchased anything there.
blushes And frankly I feel like an ignorant rube not knowing this stuff, but most of the wine I buy is used for cooking, not drinking. Thanks for helping to alleviate my ignorance.
I don’t disagree with the above recommendations (especially Champagne!) but would also like to add that you are not limited to white wine just because it’s a creamy sauce. In fact red wines compliment very well with creams, cheeses & meats (because the fats they contain counteracts the tanin - necessary for maturing - in the wine). I find a smooth, lightly spicy red such as a Syrah (Shiraz), or a Chateauneuf-du-Pape if you can get one, goes very well with rich, garlicy pasta dishes (especially if your mushrooms have a strong flavour).
Watch the artichokes with the wine. Artichokes tend to make things taste sweeter than they really are - you can see for yourself by sipping water after you eat artichokes, it’ll taste sweet! Many people discourage eating artichokes with wine because of that, but I think you can do it as long as you anticipate it. Pick a heavier wine to go with the artichoke dish, or serve an aperitif or cocktail with that dish and save the wine for the main dish.
I’d go for champage at some point in the meal. It’s a celebration! You want champagne! I don’t know what your price range is, but Domain Ste. Michelle makes a variety of really excellent inexpensive sparkling wines. They sell for $8-$12 around my neck of the woods, and are available at most decent grocery stores.
Your pasta is heavy enough to stand up to either a red or a white wine. Go with what you like! If you’d prefer a red, Guigal Cotes-du-Rhone is easy to find, inexpensive, and would work with that dish.
Go for a prosecco (a lightly sparkling Italian wine). Astoria Prosecco is my personal favorite, though not widely available, I think. Anything from Mionetto (widely available) is a safe bet. Proseccos are much more interesting than the vast majority of champagnes, IMO.
Where do you live, Nightingale? I’m hugely in favor of supporting local vintners. Aside from the aforementioned prosecco and the occasional zinfandel or chianti, I rarely drink anything but New York State wines. (There’s still so much I need to learn about them all…)