Classic Pairings for the Veggie Soul: Pairing Two

Our resident herbivore Ellen Clifford is back, but instead of discovering the perfect shower wine (each to their own), she searches for the perfect veggie alternative to popular meat and fish focused food and wine pairings. Throughout this series, Ellen breaks down the components of classic dishes and offers vegetarian alternatives that echo the flavors, textures and acidity that make them pair so well with certain wines. Enjoy Ellen's veggie twists on classic pairings! In Part 1 , Ellen notes that no culinary combination can come close to surpassing French fries and rosé, but nevertheless offers the first of her wine orientated vegetarian recipes, a simple egg based appetizer inspired by oysters and paired with Muscadet . Read on for her second recipe in the series, which is inspired by fois gras with Sauternes. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ CLASSIC PAIRING INFLUENCE #2: SAUTERNES AND FOIE GRAS I wanted silky yet rich. And not totally dessert but sweet. I’d seen a lot of foie gras dishes with some sort of sweet fruit sauce, even when being served with savory components, so I settled on a cream biscuit, lathered with butter and topped with cherry preserves to toe the line between savory (biscuit and butter) and sweet. And if you have leftovers in the morning, well you have not just a swell pairing but one hell of a way to breakfast. Veggie solution: Cream Biscuits and Toppings adapted from “Baking Illustrated” by the Editors of Cook’s Illustrated • 2 cups (10 oz.) unbleached all-purpose flour • 2 tsp. sugar • 2 tsp. baking powder • ½ tsp. salt • 1 ½ cups heavy cream • assorted toppings but most importantly cherry preserves. Butter and peanut butter are also great options Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit with the rack in the upper middle position. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt together. Add 1 ¼ cups of the cream and stir with a wooden spoon until dough forms, about 30 seconds. Transfer the dough to a countertop leaving floury bits in the bowl. Tablespoon by tablespoon, add cream to the dry bits in the bowl until moistened. You may not need all the cream. Add the moistened bits to the dough you already turned out and knead them in just until the dough is smooth. Don’t go overboard, this dough gets overworked easily. Pat the dough out into a ¾ inch think circle and cut in wedges. Place on parchment-lined pan and bake until golden brown, about 15 minutes. Serve with the toppings and Sauternes. Revel.

Château de Fargues

Sauternes Sémillon-Sauvignon Blanc Blend 2006

Sean Christensen

9.3

Drink this instead of dessert, not with it! Lovely smooth spice, great gold color. Could put away for years more and it'll only get better. — 7 years ago

Château Rieussec

Sauternes Sémillon-Sauvignon Blanc Blend 2015

Ellen Clifford

9.1

Racy honeycomb. Apricot-y acidity. Orange blossom water that is saline and refreshing and sweet and just the thing you want to wash down biscuits with butter and cherry preserves. Dinner of champions for two. — 7 years ago

Serge, Severn and 33 others liked this

Scorewine

Lovely Sauternes, I have the 2005 in my cellar , it starts to show its character.. this sweet nectar simply needs time to evolve

Ellen Clifford

@MaJ CappS it was pretty great!

Ellen Clifford

@! !Yarivyo Wine Score! Ooh nice! I’ve not had the opportunity to taste Sauternes so dream of getting to know the vintages better!

Lieutenant de Sigalas

Sauternes White Bordeaux Blend 2010

Willie Carter

8.9

A deep golden hue with honey, peaches, and floral notes on the nose. This is a decidedly standard Sauternes, which is to say it’s wonderful. Sweet, almost to the point of excess but not quite, with something of an elegant mouthfeel. A little spice on the mid palate. Oranges, peach cobbler, apricots, white pepper, and honey. Long finish with even more sweetness. Not the most complex Sauternes I’ve ever had but who cares, this is too much fun to drink. — 7 years ago

Kevin, Trixie and 1 other liked this

Château Doisy-Védrines

Sauternes Sémillon Sauvignon Blanc Blend 2015

Dan Howell

9.4

I first have to note that I tend to like sweet wines. On the nose it had notes of ripe stone fruit and if you can smell honey it would be there as well. Now the tasting is where this wine shines. The “Noble Rot” is there in its full glory! The sweetness is not over the top. I happened to have this wine with a spiced pork roast with a nice layer of fat and this wine matched up lovely with it. Back to the flavor profile, you have the ripe stone fruit and honey notes. You will enjoy this wine. — 7 years ago

Château d'Armajan des Ormes

Sauternes White Bordeaux Blend 2013

Ryan Vento

9.1

Christmas Eve Dinner at the Four Seasons.

Served as a digestif for the dessert bar. Pretty delicious as a pairing with spiked egg nog creme brûlée. — 7 years ago

with Krystal

Krystal, Hermes and 7 others liked this

Lieutenant de Sigalas

Sauternes White Bordeaux Blend 2010

Muralee Murugesu

9.2

Two years after the first trial, this wine has lost a little bit of fresh youth but turned into mature flavours of semillion. The acidity through the pineapple has changed into more of a ripe melon and honey with hints of nectarine. This second wine from Sigalas-Rabau is still delicious liquid gold that goes well with fresh fois gras and caramalized pears and hazelnuts. — 8 years ago

P, Chris and 4 others liked this

Château Suduiraut

Sauternes Sémillon-Sauvignon Blanc Blend 2016

Natalie Rubino

9.5

Wow- delicious and luscious. A classic Sauternes with flavors of apricot, peach and honey. Great acidity to balance the sweetness. — 7 years ago

with Pat

Rita liked this

Château Villefranche

Sauternes Sémillon-Sauvignon Blanc Blend 2015

Jordan Hawker

9.1

Floral, orange peel & passion fruit aroma, candied orange syrup on the tongue, passion fruit finish. Citrus notes balance the sweetness nicely. — 7 years ago

Château Bastor-Lamontagne

Sauternes Sémillon-Sauvignon Blanc Blend 2007

Deb Dellaposta

9.0

Always a favorite- mango, honey not cloyingly sweet. Perfect with brownies, cookies and pumpkin roll.
— 7 years ago

with Chris and Ryan

P, Guy and 2 others liked this

Château Raymond-Lafon

Sauternes Sémillon-Sauvignon Blanc Blend 2006

Shay A

9.2

January Wednesday Wine Committees are always a great as the red wines are required to be 11yrs old, making all of the reds 2008 vintage. 1 sparkler, 2 whites, 4 reds and 1 dessert wine were served today, all blind.

Another wine that was hard not to get...quintessential Sauternes. Honey comb, honeyed nectarine and peaches, orange blossom. The acidity from this producer (being fairly low), in my experience, lends me to think these are best enjoyed on the younger side (15yrs) as opposed to others than can go 20+. — 7 years ago

with Jeff and Weston

Jason, Kirk and 28 others liked this

Château Filhot

Sauternes Sémillon-Sauvignon Blanc Blend 2015

Riccardo L.

9.0

A sweet wine with an acidic edge. Love. — 7 years ago

Serge, Sharon and 2 others liked this

Château Laribotte

Sauternes Sémillon-Sauvignon Blanc Blend 2011

michael pandolfo

9.3

Amazing. Wet nectarine pit in the nose. Not cloying at all. Delicious honeyed stone fruit. Hinting at a roasted marshmallow..... Short finish with caramel overtones — 8 years ago

Château d'Yquem

Sauternes Sémillon-Sauvignon Blanc Blend 1998

Peter van den Besselaar

9.2

Vintage 1998 / apricot, excellent balance, lively / a treat to taste, we tried it next to crème brulee (very good) and foie gras (absolute perfection) — 7 years ago

Willem, Sander and 23 others liked this

Château d'Yquem

Sauternes Sémillon-Sauvignon Blanc Blend 2008

Scott Wren

9.3

So we drank this on a root day and it was really good but not outrageous especially for the price. Drinking at 10 years was also probably not the smartest decision 😬. But it was one of those rare convivial evenings where a dessert wine was the perfect finish! — 7 years ago

with Brooks and Anthony

Velma, Iwan and 3 others liked this

Château Guiraud

Sauternes Sémillon-Sauvignon Blanc Blend 1981

Brian Kelly

9.4

Paired with foie gras and Captain Crunch. Perfect pairing. Great wine still holding up despite the cork falling apart. It is sexual and violent! — 7 years ago