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Vanessa, also known as Chefdruck, is a foodie, writer and mom living in Chicago with her husband and four children. Whether you're planning a holiday dinner party or small impromptu get together with friends, Vanessa has easy menu ideas and helpful tips to minimize your time in the kitchen so you have more time to spend with your friends and family. Vanessa's personal blog can be found at chefdruck.com

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4 Easy Food and Wine Pairing Ideas

Food & Wine for Your Next Party

When my girlfriends come over for book club or a girls’ night out, they never say no to a nice glass of wine. Food and wine pairing can sound a little daunting, but every wine brings out a different flavor component in your food. Our four food and wine pairings will make these delicious and easy to assemble appetizers taste even better.

Food and Wine Pairing Recipe Ideas

1. Caramelized Onion, Roasted Pepper and Cinnamon Cheese Spread + Chardonnay

Prep time: 35 mins. Total Time: 35 mins.
The mellow toasty flavor of a Chardonnay pairs well with subtle cinnamon spice and sweet caramelized onions in this cheese spread. Instead of overpowering the flavors in the spread, the Chardonnay will intensify them. This food and wine pairing is the perfect blend of sweet and salty and your guests will keep reaching for more. Get Recipe

2. Roasted Cremini Mushrooms with Ricotta-Parmesan Spread + Merlot

Prep time: 15 mins.
Total time: 35 mins.
The rich cherry overtones in the Merlot grape will stand up nicely to the assertive cheesiness of the Ricotta and Parmesan cheeses used in this spread. The rich roasted Cremini mushrooms will be the star of the show, serving up a thrilling dose of flavors to your guests' tastebuds at your next wine party. Get Recipe

3. Spicy Horseradish Mustard with Kielbasa + Cabernet Sauvignon

Prep time: 25 mins.
Total time: 25 mins.
When you pair bold flavors with a bold wine like Cabernet Sauvignon, all the flavors blend together beautifully. Serve this Cabernet Sauvignon with this Spicy Horseradish and Kielbasa snack. It's a dish that both men and women will love. Get Recipe

4. Shrimp Cocktail with Mustard Butter + Pinot Grigio

Prep time: 10 mins.
Total time: 10 mins.
Pair this Pinot Grigio with this sweet yet spicy shrimp appetizer, it highlights the flavors of the shrimp beautifully, adding a whole new citric flavor component to this fun appetizer. This is the kind of appetizer that your guests will remember long after your evening is over, and it can be thrown together in a flash! Get Recipe

Once you start playing around with food and wine pairings, you'll develop your own intuition of combinations that bring out the best in each other. Pretty soon, all your friends will be turning to you for wine party ideas. When working with food and wine pairing, there are no right or wrong answers. You are the only important judge of a good food and wine combination. If it tastes great to you, then you've found a winner!

Looking for more appetizer party ideas? Check out these Party Foods.

1 Comment for Easy Food and Wine Pairings

Thanks for the pairing ideas. As the holidays get closer my wife and I are always curious to see how others are pairing food items with their favorite wines, so it ended up being a good read.

Thanks!

- Winery Sage on Dec 18, 2012