By ensuring that you get your food and drink pairings on point, your next dinner party will be taken to the next level. Here are some of the most crowd-pleasing pairings for you to try out:
White wine and seafood
You can never go wrong with providing a bottle (or two) of white wine whenever you serve up a seafood dish. This is because, regardless of how heavy your fishy dish is, you can always be sure that there’s going to be a white wine out there that makes for the perfect accompaniment.
If you offer up a light recipe, such as shrimp tostada bites, then Pinot Grigio should be the wine that you turn to — light dishes always seem to become more flavorsome when paired with a white wine that matches them in delicacy. On the end of the seafood spectrum, if you were to dish up a heavier or saucier recipe, such as salmon, then a silky Chardonnay would go down far better. When offering up scallops that come drowned in a tart and tangy dressing, you should make Sauvignon Blanc available to your guests.
Dry rosé wine and cheese
If you find yourself serving up a cheese dish at any point during your dinner party, be it during the main or for dessert, then you should make sure to have a few bottles of dry rosé wine on hand. Nearly all cheeses pair incredibly well with dry rosé due to how acidic and fruity this kind of wine is; it combines the best of white and red wine in that instance. If you’re looking for the best cheese dish to partner your dry rosé of choice, try a triple-decked Italian cheese sandwich.
Red wine and meat
Be it red, poultry, spicy, or even on a pizza, when you serve up meat, you should make red wine available for your guests.
With regards to juicy red meat, there really is only one route to go down: Cabernet Sauvignon. This kind of wine is filled with firm tannins that get to work instantly in refreshing the palate in-between bites. Whether you serve up steaks or lamb chops, a Californian Cabernet or a Bordeaux blend will make for the perfect accompaniment.
To accompany poultry dishes, go for a Burgundy wine, regardless of what bird you serve up, a red wine from within this category will work wonders for the palate. If the meat you serve is at all spicy, Syrah, a red that is itself incredibly spicy, will go down a treat. To accompany sweet and spicy barbecue tastes, go for a crisp Malbec, a Shiraz or a Côtes-du-Rhône. If you whip up a meat-feast pizza for your dinner party, then make sure all of your guests have a rich and fruity Pinot Noir to drink. This is a particular strand of Burgundy red wine that complements tomato-based dishes like nothing else.
Sparkling wine and anything salty or fruity
If you serve up a salty dish, like udon noodles that are covered with nori salt, then you should make sure that fizz is made available to your guests. Whether it’s a simple sparkling wine, prosecco, Spanish cava, or a bottle of the finest Champagne, the sweetness of these drinks will offer your guests some much-needed refreshment after they take their salty bites.
It’s not just salty bites that sparkling wines partner perfectly, however. Fruity dishes, typically served for dessert, can also be made a whole lot tastier by a glass of fizz. If you choose a sweeter sparkling wine like Moscato d’Asti, especially, the taste of your fruit dishes will become far more emphasized and, thus, far more pleasant on the pallet.
IPA and Mexican dishes
If you and your guests are not big wine or fizz drinkers, fear not, as IPAs also partner certain foods perfectly. In fact, this kind of hoppy beer probably accompanies the biggest range of foods, as different cuisines from around the world have the potential to be bettered by it. Some of these cuisines include Thai, Indian, and, most notably, Mexican.
‘New world’ hops, as they are affectionately known, help to create particularly herbaceous tasting IPA, and this kind of taste goes incredibly well with Mexican dishes that are packed full of coriander. If you want to go all out at your next dinner party, try creating your own Chorizo tacos with pico de gallo and whip up your very own batch of IPA. To find out more about creating your own hoppy beer, make sure to head to Woody’s Home Brew.
Mojito and small appetizers
If you want your dinner party to turn into a full blown party eventually, then you might want to consider placing cocktails on the menu. If your cocktail of choice happens to be a rum-based one, such as a mojito, then you should know that they are plenty of small appetizers that go perfectly with it. Such appetizers include spicy smoked Marcona almonds, the paprika balances amazingly well with the rum’s smokey tones; parsnip and sweet potato crips, the sweetness of these appetizers sit perfectly with the mojito’s acidity; and salt cod croquettes, the freshness of the mojito works brilliantly when consumed alongside the saltiness of the fish.
If your goal is to make your next dinner party as amazing as it can be, then you need to pay just as much attention to the drinks that you make available as you do the food that you serve. By doing so, you and your guests will be sure to have a culinary experience that nobody will forget in a hurry.
Brought to you by our friend, Carol.
