One of the most generous people I've interviewed is author Leslie Mansfield. For the interview she invited me to her home in St. Helena, California. A wonderful setting, a hundred year old house, set in a remote valley, across the road an old ghost winery. She and her husband, Richard plan to renovate the old winery.
She knows what makes a wine good is the food that it is served with. Here the rules are simple: light foods, light wines, heavier food and big bold red wines
Her series of 9 books (the first three of the series are to the left) called "Recipes from the Vineyards of Northern California" each have over 40 recipes (that's at least 360 recipes for the entire series, whew!). More than 60 wineries contributed recipes that showcase their wines. So, what started out as 3 books; Appetizers, Main Dishes and Deserts, turned into 6 more including Pasta, Asian Pasta, Barbeque, Picnic and Vegetarian.
One of the things I like about the books, is you pick your favorite winery (say you have a bottle of Beringer Vineyards wine), look it up and then cook the dish that goes with that wine. And although the book does talk about the "traditional" food and wine pairings. Leslie encourages people to strike out on their own and break the rules from time to time. Her motto: If it's wet, drink it!
Her credentials include graduating with honors from the acclaimed Ritz-Escoffier cooking school in Paris. She is also a world traveler, spending 2 years in France and five years in Asia. All the time garnering more and more recipes and cooking techniques.
We chose a couple of recipes to whet your appetite:
