Three Wintertime Food and Wine Pairings Guaranteed to Warm You Up

It's hard to think about wintertime, but the snow, ice, and sleet is just around the corner. Growing up in the Midwest meant lots of cold weather and warm meals. My mom was the Queen of soups, stews, and chili. We always had a pot of something warm waiting on the stove after a hard day of sledding and building snow forts.

As an adult, I spiced-up mom's original wintertime recipes by adding a variety of chilies and warm spices such as cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, and ginger.

In 2001, my husband (then fiancé) took me to Napa Valley where he proposed to me at a romantic Italian restaurant. Since then, I have dabbled in the art of food and wine pairings. The following are three of my favorite winter-blues-busting, warm-your-soul, wintertime foods.

Spicy Beef and Bacon Chili with Syrah Wine
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Yields: 6 servings

Ingredients:

4 thick slices Peppercorn Bacon
1 pound Ground Round Beef
1/2 medium White Onion, chopped
4 cloves Garlic, chopped
2 medium Jalapeno Peppers, minced (remove seeds for less spiciness)
1 cup Macaroni pasta, uncooked
1 (64-ounce) can Tomato Juice
1 (15-ounce) can Dark Red Kidney Beans, drained
2 Roma Tomatoes, chopped
1/4 cup Chipotle Hot Sauce
4 ounces shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat large stockpot over medium-high heat. Add bacon slices and cook 3 to 4 minutes per side, or until crisp. If necessary, cut raw bacon in half to fit in pot. Transfer cooked bacon to paper towel lined plate. When cool, crumble into small pieces.

2. Crumble hamburger into bacon grease and cook over medium heat for 10 to 12 minutes, or until browned. Drain ground beef in colander and rinse with warm water to remove excess grease.

3. Add onion, garlic and jalapeno peppers and cook for 5 minutes.

4. Add pasta and tomato juice. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes.

5. Add kidney beans, tomatoes, and chipotle hot sauce. Simmer for 15 minutes.

6. Transfer to serving bowls and top with cheddar cheese. Serve with crackers, corn chips, or warm bread.

Syrah wine is the perfect accompaniment with beef and bacon chili because it brings out the smoky flavors. Syrah wines incorporate black grapes which have a smoky, spicy, peppery flavor with super-ripe fruits of plum, cranberry, and black cherry.

Lemon Chicken Stew with Spicy Chardonnay
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Yields: 4 servings

Ingredients:

1 pound skinless, boneless Chicken Breasts, cut into bite-size cubes
2 Tablespoons Whole Wheat Flour
1-1/2 teaspoons Sea Salt
1-1/2 teaspoons freshly ground Black Pepper
2 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 cloves Garlic, minced
1 Tablespoon Capers, drained and minced
Grated zest and juice of 1 Lemon
1/2 cup Spicy Chardonnay Wine
2 cups Chicken Broth
4 medium Yukon Gold Potatoes, cubed
1 (8 ounce) jar Artichoke Heart quarters, drained
1 cup fresh Parsley, finely chopped
1 cup pitted Kalamata Olives
1 Lemon, cut into 4 wedges

Directions:

1. Rinse chicken breasts and pat dry with paper towel. Cut into bite-size cubes.

2. Place chicken pieces in resealable plastic bag. Add flour, salt, and pepper. Gently shake to coat chicken pieces.

3. Heat olive oil in large stockpot over medium-high heat. Using tongs remove chicken pieces and shake off excess flour. Arrange chicken in a single layer. Cook 2 to 3 minutes per side, until golden brown. Place 2 paper towels on a plate and transfer chicken pieces to drain excess grease.

4. Reduce heat to medium and add garlic, capers, and lemon zest. Cook for 1 minute and add wine. Scrape chicken bits from pan and simmer wine until reduced by half, about 2 to 3 minutes.

5. Add chicken broth, potatoes, and chicken pieces. Reduce heat to low, cover pot and cook for 10 minutes.

6. Add artichoke hearts and cook for 10 minutes. When potatoes are fork-tender, add parsley, lemon juice, and olives.

7. Transfer to serving bowls and garnish with a lemon wedge.

Serve with a spicy Chardonnay such as Bodega Catena Zapata Chardonnay Alamos. This aromatic varietal offers notes of apples, citrus, nutmeg, and allspice and is reminiscent of a brisk fall day in the apple orchard. It presents with a spicy vanilla aftertaste which marries well with the lemon zest of the chicken stew.

Bowtie Pasta with Andouille Sausage and Sly Dog Cabernet Sauvignon
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Yields: 6 servings

This is a hardy pasta dish packed with protein, fiber, iron and Vitamin A. It can also be made as a vegetarian dish by eliminating the Andouille sausage and increasing the amount of crushed red pepper.

Ingredients:

2 cups Bowtie Pasta, uncooked
1 teaspoon Sea Salt
1/4 cup Sundried Tomatoes packed in oil
1 medium White Onion, chopped
4 Andouille Sausages, diced into 1/4-inch cubes
6 cloves Garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon dried Oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried Basil
1/2 teaspoon crushed Red Pepper
1 (14 ounce) can Chicken Broth
4 cups fresh Spinach leaves
1 (15 ounce) can Cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
1/4 cup fresh Parmesan-Reggiano Cheese, thinly shaved

Directions:

1. Fill medium saucepan 2/3rd full of water. Add sea salt and bring water to a boil over high heat. Add pasta and cook for 10 to 12 minutes, until pasta is soft to the tooth. Drain and reserve 1 cup cooking water.

2. Place small sieve over a bowl and drain tomatoes. Reserve 2 teaspoons of packing oil. Slice tomatoes into thin strips.

3. Heat large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add tomatoes, oil, onion, and sausage. Cook 8 to 10 minutes or until sausage is browned.

4. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute. Stir constantly to prevent burning.

5. Add herbs, crushed pepper, and chicken broth. Stir in spinach leaves and simmer for 5 minutes.

6. Stir in pasta, reserved cooking liquid, and cannellini beans. Simmer for 5 minutes.

7. Transfer to serving bowls and top with cheese shavings.

Sly Dog Cabernet Sauvignon is a multi-layered wine consisting of dried raspberry, wild cherry, rose petals, and cassis with notes of vanilla, anise, and cracked white pepper. It is sweet, yet tart. The pepper flavor is enhanced when paired with the Andouille Sausage, but the rose petal notes soften the burn.

Sources:
Novus Vinum Syrah Wine Reviews
Catena Wines
Sly Dog Cabernet Sauvignon