A rather subdued Pinot Gris, featuring mild aromas of peach, lemon and sweet honey. Smooth, with a short finish. Not bad, bit nowhere near great. Drink tonight with friends on the patio.
Price: $19.95
Vintage: 2013
Region: Marlborough, New Zealand
Varietal: Pinot Gris
Abv: 14.5%
Mike’s Score: 88
If you live in Ontario, Canada you have the luxury of walking into an LCBO and picking up a copy of the Food and Drink magazine, that is filled with great wine recommendations and delicious recipes. This month, they released a “What’s for Dinner?” magazine, click here to check out the magazine. While flipping through the pages I found myself wanting to make all the recipes, the first one that caught my eye was the Fancy Mac and Cheese with Cauliflower and Chorizo. My girlfriend and I decided to pair it with the 2012 Firesteed Pinot Gris from Oregon, see review here. I highly recommend the pairing as the wine played nicely with the spicy chorizo and saltiness of the cheese. This meal was an interesting take on mac and cheese, I would recommend trying out the recipe for yourself.
Now onto the recipe.
Pair with a nice medium bodied Pinot Gris like we did, or a Sauvignon Blanc to play with the buttery flavours of the dish.
Serves 6 to 8
Ingredients
3 tbsp. all-purpose flour
3 tbsp. cold unsalted butter
1 tsp dried Italian seasoning
2 cups shredded old cheddar cheese
1 tbsp. Dijon mustard
3/4 cup diced cured chorizo
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
1 tbsp. olive oil
Finely chopped parsley for garnish
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In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta for 5 minutes. Add cauliflower to pot and bring back to boil. Cook until pasta is al dente and cauliflower is just tender, 3 to 4 minutes. Drain well and return to pot.
- Preheat oven to 400 F. In a large saucepan over medium-high heat, whisk together milk, flour, butter and Italian seasoning. Bring to a boil, whisking constantly, about 4 minutes. Simmer, whisking constantly, until sauce is smooth and has thickened slightly, about 2 minutes.
- Remove saucepan from heat and stir in cheddar until melted. Whisk in mustard.
- Add sauce and chorizo to pasta and stir gently. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and then spoon mixture into a greased 10-cup baking dish.
- In a small bowl, stir together bread crumbs, Parmesan and oil. Sprinkle crumb mixture evenly over pasta. Bake, uncovered, until bully and browned about 20 minutes. Sprinkle with parsley.
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