Wine Food Pairing - Goodbye '08 ... !

Wine food pairing is really in its element on New Years Eve ... after all, what's not to love about champagne and sparkling wines that tickle your nose as well as the taste buds?

While we always enjoy a good party with wine and food, this year we decided to spend the evening at home, relaxing next to the Koi pond, listening to the waterfall and Jimmy Buffett crooning his ballads in the background.

BigAl and I have discussed many times that the best restaurant is at home and I must agree that he is probably right.

We began the evening by toasting the Austrian New Year at 6:00pm Florida time with a Crane Lake Brut. This sparkling wine is light bodied with fresh lemon, lime and grapefruit notes. The perfect way to begin the evening .....
Planked salmon was on the menu for this New Years Eve ..... untreated cedar planks are terrific for a light smoking of salmon ... really brings me back to my Pacific Northwest roots. I get my planks from: Tomlinson Cedar Plank 12 Pack, 1/4 Inch x 6 Inch x 8 Inch are great to use and no hassle at all!

Be sure to soak the planks for about an hour before placing on the barbie ... you want smoke, not fire ... lol!

I oiled up the fillets and then rubbed on a bit of LuLu Buffett's Crazy Sista seasoning (Jimmy's sister) for an awesome flavor. Get the grill up to about 350 then put them on for about 15 minutes for a "medium" salmon. You NEVER want to over cook salmon and dry it out.

We were in the mood for a garlic overload so I whipped up some garlic smashed potatoes to go along with ... I always leave the skins on my taters, that's were all the vitamins are, finely chopped up a handful of garlic cloves, and clipped some fresh chives from my herb garden ... YUMMY!

Now, I had made some tzaziki the day before and we used this over the cooked salmon and even used a dollop on the potatoes. For you guys that are scratching your head about now and asking what the heck tzaziki is, I'll share my "quick and dirty" recipe ....

Tzaziki is a Greek thing .... the base is plain or Greek yogurt, grated cukes, pressed garlic, S & P along with fresh dill from the garden ... now some people use mint instead of the dill, just personal choice. This makes a great appetizer along with warm pita bread, but can be used as a sauce or condiment for many things.

Well, by the time we had everything set on the table it was time to "pop" the cork on another Crane Lake ... what a great way to send off 2008!

Wine food pairing by the pond .... Happy New Year! CHEERS!