Wine Food Pairing - Cracked Conch in Guanaja?

Wine Food Pairing is an everyday occurrence for us. Whether we are in the United States, Europe, Bahamas or now our favorite Guanaja Honduras, it is always something to consider. Below is a picture of the local Guanaja "conch dude". He plies these crystal clear Caribbean waters with his dug out canoe and pulls up some of the tastiest conch around. This slow moving mollusk hangs out in the turtle grasses mainly and is just ready for the taking as they are pretty slow movers! For just a few Lempiras (less than a dollar) we obtained the evenings dinner for six people.

My husband decided that he would assist with the prep and passed out a few tips to the Castaways Resort staff..... after all he has had a lot of practice from conching in the Bahamas!


Once the conch is totally cleaned and all of the the orange and black “parts” have been removed, slice into ¼ inch slices so that you have small fillets. Next, bring out the conch “whacker”….. we had to buy one for the resort on the cay, as conch "whacking" was new to them. Place the fillets on a plastic cutting board and begin to “whack” the heck out of them….tenderized to the point of being able to read a newspaper through it.

Now dredge in seasoned flour, dip in beaten egg, then re-dredge and place on a plate…..in the meantime heat some butter in a sauce pan.

Kevin, the Castaways manager ,is manning the stove top. Gently sauté the fillets on both sides until golden brown and place on a paper towel to drain. When you plate this up, garnish with fresh lime quarters. Just a squeeze brings out the best of flavors.

Now for the next question, what wine to pair with our Bahamian cracked conch served in Honduras, prepped by an Austrian and sauteed by an American? YIKES! We found a nice Pinot Grigio from Italy in one of the local stores on the cay and it worked perfectly. The crisp pionot with the buttery conch ... totally the BEST!

Wine Food Pairing ...... Aventura en Honduras. CHEERS!

Wine Food Pairing - Red Wine under the Guanaja Stars!

Wine Food Pairing in Honduras is an adventure and a challenge. Our second night in Guanaja we went up on the "widows walk" with a bottle of Frontera Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot. We purchased this Chilean wine at Price Smart in San Pedro Sula, a Costco look-a-like type store. Who would have thought they existed in Honduras?

Anyway, Guanaja, this tiny island gem, has the most exquisite stars at night. I have traveled many places, but never have I seen such expansive twinkling in an inky black sky. My husband and I just enjoyed this medium bodied, ruby red wine almost as much as we enjoyed the starlit sky.

As for pairing it with food, not this time.....sometimes all you need with a good glass of wine is great company in a wonderful atmosphere.

Wine Food Pairing for lovers. CHEERS!

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Wine Food Pairing - Fried Green Bananas in Guanaja!

My Wine Food Pairing adventures have taken me back to the Bay Island paradise of Guanaja Honduras. This tropical gem called us back sooner rather than later, and let's face it, why resist?

We arrive at our destination of Guanaja after touring the mainland of Honduras for one week and one of the first things on my mind was a chilled glass of something dry and white! Hmmm ... what to do? I asked the manager at the Castaways Resort, where we were staying, for an appetizer and he surprised us with one of their house specialties. He served up a fresh tomato salsa laced with onions and peppers. To scoop up this tasty treat were thinly sliced fried green bananas ... YUMMO!

We paired this with a chilled Chardonnay from Chile and soon my toes were tapping out the beat to La Bamba!

All of this and the stunning water views! Life is good.

Wine Food Pairing, go for the local favorites and enjoy. CHEERS!

Wine Food Pairing - Birthday Celebration in Trujillo Honduras!

Wine food pairing can be done anywhere in the world. This year my birthday, April 5th, was celebrated in Trujillo Honduras. Trujillo is a small city on the coast of northern Honduras. It just so happens that our innkeeper and new friend Gunter was celebrating his birthday also ..... what a co-inky-dink!

Gunter and his wife Paula own Casa Alemania, a homey hotel right on the beach. Gunter hails from Germany and his wife is Honduran, but actually spent many years living in US, both were wonderful hosts. As soon as we realized that we shared our most important date, Gunter broke out the sparkling wine, a French Montparnasse, demi-sec. What a tasty way to start the day. We paired this up with a typical Honduran breakfast of ranchos huervos, plantains and frijoles.

Everyone, even Houdini, agreed that this is the way to do wine food pairing! CHEERS!