fandomhigh | Beginning Gourmet Cooking Techniques

Today, the students would find themselves standing around what looked suspiciously like a (classy, wooden) bar. There were bits of appetizers and small plates of food on it, as well as a series of glasses.

"Part of any good meal is knowing what drink to serve with it," Hannibal told them. "The precise intricacies are far beyond what we can cover in one class, but a few basics should prove useful." He nodded at the glasses. "I'll be sampling these for you. If you prefer not to drink, you needn't do so." He nodded at Rilla. "Just be aware of the flavors and character in the abstract." He eyed the rest of them seriously. "If you do choose to drink, I expect you all to know your limits. I have no intention of cleaning up after you."

Yes, Hannibal was everyone's favorite teacher today.

"In general, white wines have a lighter taste, and go more readily with delicately flavored foods. Seafood particularly, as well as greener foods and some fowl." He passed around a dish of squid in tamarind brown butter with green mango and poured a bit of chardonnay to go with it.

"Cheeses will go well with most wines, but rosés work particularly well." He served asparagus-cheese tartines and poured a dry rosé with it.

"The earthier the food, the more robust the wine can get without overpowering it." He hesitated and grimaced at the oversimplification, and resolved to go more in depth in later classes. "One wine common with red meats is cabernet sauvignon." He passed around chorizo poached in red wine and poured the cabernet. "This also illustrates another principle - cooking with wine. If you intend to do so, the wine you cook in and the wine you serve should be, if not the same, then close.

"The two other main categories of wine are dessert wines - which are, as you might expect, best with sweet foods or fruits - and sparkling wines such as champagne, which are very good with salty foods as well as sweet." He illustrated the point with a good moscato and stone-fruit panzanella with zabaglione, followed by crispy udon noodles with nori salt and a decent brut.

"If you don't care for wine, or can't find anything to match your meal, there are also guidelines for pairing foods with beer. The rules are much the same - you don't want your drink to overpower your food. The more robust your beer, the stronger the food must be. A lager is lighter, fruitier." He poured a bit of that and nodded toward the squid. "An ale, particularly a darker one," and they were not getting his homemade beer, just a decent craft beer, "will go better with the earthier foods." He pointed out the chorizo.

"You should also keep in mind both your own and your guests' likely tolerance." He cocked his head at them. "Know when to switch to water."

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It's all very nicely paired. Feel free to try things with the wrong pairings to learn why they're wrong.

Flick would be staying far away from the wine for reasons. He knew how well wine went with fancy dinners but he'd seen what wine also did to certain people so again, staying away.

He'd just eat the food.

Rilla smiled over at him as she also just ate the food.

"Not a wine drinker?" Flick asked when he caught her smile.

"Water, tea, and juice are enough for me," Rilla said.

"Yeah," he agreed with a nod. "Me too."

Unless he was overstressed, then he did tend to drink just to block all that out. Oh well. Didn't happen often.

"Though, I can do coffee too. Get the caffeine fix."

"Coffee's too bitter for me," Rilla confessed.

"I hear it's not for everyone," Flick said, nodding. "Sure you can get the caffeine fix a variety of other ways."

"Tea," Rilla said, nodding vehemently. "A lot of tea. Rafts of it."

Hannibal nodded to them both. "Just remember which wines go with which flavors. You may have to plan a meal with them whether you drink yourself or not."

Rilla looked a bit dubious about that, then thought about her work with Bruce and nodded. "The terribly wealthy would notice, wouldn't they?"

"Some of them will," Hannibal agreed. "And the less wealthy but more familiar with cooking or wine will also notice. Even for those who don't, it's best to follow these guidelines. If you're serving beer or wine, you don't want your food to suffer or be overpowered because of the drink."

Rilla carefully wrote that down, then explained, "I work for Mr. Wayne--it feels odd to call him that--and we're planning a few charity functions."

"In that case, then yes; such galas are often very fancy, and you want to entice people to return for the next one, so there are expected standards," Hannibal noted. "And there may be other times the knowledge comes in useful. For example," he said, smiling, "should you ever find yourself planning a wedding."

Rilla blushed, her thoughts turning immediately to Ken. "I already have: it was a war wedding for a friend and her soldier before he went to the front. It wasn't nearly this formal. The mother-in-law brought a pie for dessert, put it on a chair and forgot about it, then sat on it at the reception. She wasn't pleased."

"Oh, dear." Hannibal chuckled. "I should imagine not. Perhaps I should add that to dinner instructions: keep food on the table."

Sparkle loved this class. Loved it. And not just because he got free food with his booze. Though that was a bonus.

This was... actually kind of awesome to know. Believe it or not, he was taking notes.

Billy had had some wine with Thanksgiving dinner, so he was used to serious moderation with drinks and he didn't really mind. He was way more interested in trying the squid (squid!!) and trusted that the little bit of white wine he got for himself was the right addition.

Beginning Gourmet Cooking Techniques | Tuesday, 1st Period

Eat the food and drink the wine

Re: Eat the food and drink the wine

Re: Eat the food and drink the wine

Re: Eat the food and drink the wine

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Re: Eat the food and drink the wine

Re: Eat the food and drink the wine

Re: Eat the food and drink the wine

Re: Eat the food and drink the wine

Re: Eat the food and drink the wine

Re: Eat the food and drink the wine

Re: Eat the food and drink the wine

Re: Eat the food and drink the wine

Re: Eat the food and drink the wine

Re: Eat the food and drink the wine

Re: Eat the food and drink the wine

Re: Eat the food and drink the wine

Re: Eat the food and drink the wine