Michael Austin – Page 22

How I fell in love with pinot noir

June 10, 2018 at 7:21 a.m.

I first fell in love, or at least was infatuated, with pinot noir as a young restaurantgoer many years ago. I did a fair amount of appreciating back then, before...

Pair these burgers with red wines with herbal notes.

Mustard-butter burgers: How to make them and what to drink with them

June 11, 2018 at 9:33 p.m.

Ketchup is always good but rarely exciting — like that "Friends" episode you've watched 100 times. If you're looking for some new programming, try the burger recipe below, which has...

No, that's not exactly a full-size whiskey barrel (it's for aging cocktails), but you get the idea. A few winemakers are playing with the practice of aging their grape juice in whiskey barrels, borrowing from the spirits industry doing the opposite.

What’s that wine doing in a whiskey barrel?

June 10, 2018 at 10:38 a.m.

Care for a wee dram to go with your shiraz from Oz? Only heaven knows if the marriage of wine and whiskey barrels will last, but a handful of these...

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

3 aromatic white wines stand up to spicy grilled chicken

June 10, 2018 at 10:37 a.m.

Fragrant spices and some heat transform rather plain ingredients (chicken, carrots), into something altogether different. You'll enjoy the interplay of textures, too — the chicken against the crisp carrots, cool...

10 wines to wash down that grilled burger tonight

May 2, 2019 at 1:05 p.m.

I'm sure it happens now and then, but it must be a rare occurrence when someone says, "You know what? I could really go for a turkey sandwich." Turkey sandwiches...

Corn and tomatoes make up a summery salsa for a grilled chicken wrap, an easy dinner for lazy days.

Tomatoes and corn pair up in an easy wrap

June 10, 2018 at 10:02 a.m.

Two of our favorite summer foods — corn on the cob and fresh tomatoes — come together in this simple wrap as a salsa for grilled chicken. To complement the...

Tuck Thai-spiced ground chicken into lettuce wraps, and pop open a bottle of wine.

3 wines to pair with Thai food

June 10, 2018 at 11:43 a.m.

Making Thai food at home doesn't have to be hard. Laab, a simple dish of ground meat, rice and spices, can be on the table in less than 30 minutes....

A beautiful barrel room at a winery can leave a lasting impression, but if you've gone on a lot of tours, the details may start to run together.

What you need to know before you plan a winery visit

June 10, 2018 at 11:36 a.m.

If you've visited one winery ... you haven't visited them all. Winery tours, however, can start to run together if you go on enough of them. For the most part,...

The marinated grilled lamb takes some thinking ahead, because you'll want to let it rest overnight, but the yogurt and spice marinade comes together quickly.

Curry yogurt marinade brings spice to grilled lamb

June 11, 2018 at 9:31 p.m.

When you want to change up your grilling standards of burgers or brats, leg of lamb is a great way to go as you can feed a crowd with one...

Double magnum quadruples the fun: How big wine bottles equal a party

June 11, 2018 at 9:51 p.m.

When I was a kid, and all books were made of paper, it was cause for celebration when the new Guinness Book of World Records (new Guinness World Records) started...

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