Michael Austin – Page 14

A double dose of chiles -- fresh jalapeno and chipolte -- brings heat to a burger. Both are cooled off by a tomatillo and avocado salsa.

Double-chile burger with cooling salsa needs smart wine match

June 4, 2018 at 11:57 p.m.

When spice and smoke come together on the plate, you know it's going to be good. In this burger, both types of chile provide the heat while the chipotle brings...

Albarino is a dream match with seafood, such as these pan-fried smelt.

Everything you need to know about albarino, the wine to pair with your lobster rolls this summer

December 17, 2018 at 9:44 a.m.

Despite the different spellings and expressions of wine styles, as far as one universally beloved wine grape is concerned, all roads lead to the sea. I'm talking about the renowned...

Bold onions, peas and mushrooms unite with mild sauteed chicken in a quick skillet dinner.

Bold wines for an easy, quick chicken skillet dinner

June 5, 2018 at 1:59 a.m.

We love a skillet dinner — when all the elements come together in one pan. It's easier, sure, but also the flavors of the elements enhance one another as they...

Kusanya Cafe is the kind of place where you can get a cup of coffee, check out the community board, print a school paper or simply jump on the internet. You'll see people huddled together over papers strewn across the wood tables or someone walking in simply to say hello to the small staff. Because the nonprofit cafe roasts its own coffee on-site in small batches, don't hesitate to order that lavender iced latte ($3.49) or a plain cup of coffee. The breakfast and lunch menu is lush with references to famous musicians, like the Lupe Tabasco breakfast sandwich ($2.29). It features a thin egg patty, with melted cheese and Sriracha on ciabatta, and you can add sausage, spinach and tomato for an extra charge. The cozy and brightly lit environment is exactly where you want to catch up on some work or meet up with friends. 825 W. 69th St., 773-675-4758, <a href="http://www.kusanyacafe.org/">kusanyacafe.org</a> — Grace Wong

16 Russian River pinots that will set you back but deliver for the cost

July 2, 2019 at 3:59 p.m.

You can find good examples of pinot noir in nooks up and down the California coast — it's a big place — but one of the state's most renowned spots...

When the pasta is bright and light, the wines should be too

July 2, 2019 at 3:59 p.m.

This simple pasta recipe takes its title and culinary inspiration from the iconic song, summoning the city with the flavors of crisp French-cut green beans, aromatic herbes de Provence and...

A lesson learned while drinking wine in the Arizona desert

July 2, 2019 at 3:59 p.m.

There's no better place to drink wine than at a winery, the place that brought it to life. Cellars are better than the tasting rooms, if you ask me, and...

19th-century Viennese chef Franz Sacher would be pleased, I think, by the version of his eponymous chocolate cake served at Café Selmarie in Lincoln Square. First, the top of each slice of Sacher torte is decorated with his name, elegantly written in chocolate script. Second, the cake is a real looker: Layers of chocolate cake are mortared with raspberry preserve and chocolate buttercream; the whole thing is then frosted with more buttercream and wrapped in a smooth sheet of bittersweet chocolate — firm enough to be eaten on its own, if you like, with a fork. Third, every bite is delicious. The devil's food cake is firm and pleasant, while the raspberry offers a deep berry counterpoint to all the chocolate. $4.20. 4729 N. Lincoln Ave., 773-989-5595, <a href="http://cafeselmarie.com/" target="_blank">www.cafeselmarie.com</a>. — Bill Daley

How to make pesto-loaded lamb chops, and which wines to pair

June 5, 2018 at 6:05 a.m.

Lamb isn't exactly the type of meat to hang back in the shadows. You're eating it because you like its assertive, gamey flavor — but what wine to pair? A...

Chorizo and roasted poblano torta needs a wine that matches the rustic nature of the sandwich.

Sandwich and wine for dinner? Yes, please, when they’re this good

June 5, 2018 at 7:53 a.m.

Why don't we make a sandwich our dinner more often? Especially when it's as good as this poblano and chorizo torta? Congratulate yourself for your good sense with one of...

Not bound by tradition, winemakers living in their own private Idaho

July 2, 2019 at 3:59 p.m.

Any Idaho agricultural story, even a story about wine, has to begin with potatoes. The state turns out 13 billion pounds of spuds a year. Go ahead, read it again...

Salmon cakes with red onion, lemon zest and fresh dill.

Bracing European white wines for crisp salmon cakes

July 2, 2019 at 3:59 p.m.

A lemon wedge is the ubiquitous companion to a serving of fish, whether pan-seared or coated and fried. That spritz of acid the citrus provides also can come from wine,...

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