Pairings
Explore food pairings created to match the wines from our club offerings and wine shop. Each recipe pairing has been tested in the FOOD & WINE Test Kitchen.
Recipe Search
Select Recipes By:
Perfect Pairing Rules
- Serve a dry rosé with hors d'oeuvres.
- Serve an unoaked white with anything you can squeeze a lemon or lime on.
- Try low-alcohol wines with spicy foods.
- Match rich red meats with tannic reds.
- With lighter meats, pair the wine with the sauce.
- Choose earthy wines with earthy foods.
- For desserts, go with a lighter wine.
Popular in the Middle East, Aleppo pepper
has a mild, sweet heat. It’s terrific on this
chicken or tossed with roasted vegetables.
PAIR WITH:
Andrew Zimmern got addicted to this dish
while traveling in Asia, calling it “the tastiest,
saltiest, sweetest, spiciest rib recipe I know.”
The Alsace region of France is known for rich quiches like this one.
PAIR WITH:
This comforting dish combines succulent
shredded pork, pasta and a tangy tomato-wine
sauce. The mixture is topped with cheese.
PAIR WITH:
Flank steak gets powerful flavor from a
24-hour marinade in balsamic vinaigrette.
Any extra can be drizzled on top after grilling.
This luxurious porterhouse steak contains both the New York strip and the tenderloin.
Australian chef Pete Evans uses green mango—which is firm and a little crunchy—for the salad that accompanies this salmon.
PAIR WITH:
Chef Naomi Pomeroy uses barley to make her
hearty version of risotto, packed with sautéed
oyster mushrooms.
Sometimes referred to as “mock tender,” teres
major is a cut whose similarity to tenderloin
makes it a great stand-in for filet mignon.
This rich, wintery braise gets its intensity
from hours of hands-off simmering and is
fantastic over polenta or pasta.
PAIR WITH:
These salty-sweet skewers get a boost of flavor from nutty miso.
PAIR WITH:
Chef Jonathan Waxman’s fantastic beef
tenderloin Stroganoff is enriched with créme
fraîche and dotted with sautéed mushrooms.
PAIR WITH:
This beef tenderloin gets cooked sous vide—a restaurant technique that home cooks can easily replicate (a thermometer is essential).
PAIR WITH:
The lamb in this juicy burger adds a complex flavor.
PAIR WITH:
Despite the spicy intensity of the homemade
barbecue sauce, the pork and beer flavors here
come straight through.
Browning the meat first, then
slowly braising it in an herb-infused
amber ale, results in a
meltingly tender roast fragrant
with thyme, parsley and bay leaf.
PAIR WITH:
Beef tenderloin works equally well in this
elegant recipe for bison steaks, and using
store-bought demiglace makes it superfast.
Apricot jam makes for an irresistible sweet-tart dressing tossed with bitter greens.
PAIR WITH:
Instead of using mayonnaise in this salad, cookbook author Joy Manning blends the basil-inflected vinaigrette with soft tofu.
PAIR WITH:
Adding capers, dill pickle and toasted
caraway seeds to store-bought mayonnaise
creates a flavor-packed condiment in a flash.
PAIR WITH:
Dan Barber’s brilliant recipe makes braised
carrots the star and lamb the accompaniment.
PAIR WITH:
Try sandwiching any leftover meat and
juices from this super-tender lamb with
pickled vegetables and focaccia for lunch.
Lamb shoulder becomes incredibly tender
and flavorful when slow-cooked with wine,
stock, herbs and vegetables.
Slow-cooking these pork shoulder chops
with wine, bacon and rosemary gives them
incredible flavor and keeps them juicy.
PAIR WITH:
Perfect with the creamy leeks and fennel,
Michel Nischan’s braised sweet-and-savory
pork simply melts in your mouth.
PAIR WITH:
Braised very simply, these succulent short ribs
from chef Tom Colicchio are a great showcase
for good quality beef and hearty red wines.
PAIR WITH:
These beefy short ribs braised in an
intensely savory broth are a variation on
the Korean soup known as kalbi tang.
PAIR WITH:
Toasting cubes of olive bread in the chicken
pan juices turns them custardy on the inside
and crunchy on the outside.
PAIR WITH:
Mario Batali makes this meaty, slightly creamy
ragù from ground beef, pancetta and ham, and
uses tomato paste instead of canned tomatoes.
In this luscious brunch recipe, chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall layers baguette and lump crabmeat, then pours custard on top.
PAIR WITH:
Beef jerky is a clever approximation for carne
seca, the dried beef in feijoada, Brazil’s dish of
stewed, smoked meats and black beans.
Rubbing a vibrant jerk paste on chops before a quick 20 minutes on the grill gives them an insanely good, peppery heat.
PAIR WITH:
This take on the French classic features white beans, duck confit, sausage and bacon. Resting the beans overnight develops their flavors.
PAIR WITH:
Chef Laurent Tourondel brushes burgers with butter while they grill. The natural sugars in the butter caramelize, adding rich flavor.
PAIR WITH:
Umami Burger’s Adam Fleischman creates
these slider-style beef patties by f lattening
balls of ground meat on the griddle.
PAIR WITH:
The chopped fresh herbs in the biscuits that
top this comforting chicken stew add another
layer of flavor to the dish.
PAIR WITH:
Veronica Salazar of El Huarache Loco in
San Francisco bumps up the flavor of this
fajita-like alambre with chorizo and bacon.
PAIR WITH:
Cookbook author Melissa Clark’s version of
this mustardy chicken stew—made with only
drumsticks—is thickened with crème fraîche.
This quick chicken sauté steals the flavors
from a classic French pan sauce: mustard,
tarragon, white wine and cream.
PAIR WITH:
These delicious pounded, breaded and fried
chicken cutlets, with their crisp golden crust,
are enriched by a silky butter sauce.
This sweet and spicy chicken dish is inspired by the Basque stew called piperade.
PAIR WITH:
While there are thousands of versions of
tinga—the smoky Mexican tomato sauce—
this one calls for only a few ingredients.
PAIR WITH:
Mario Batali learned to make pollo casero—chicken in white wine and pepper sauce—while filming Spain...On the Road Again.
PAIR WITH:
Marcia Kiesel, a self-described mushroom freak, uses porcini to make her delicious, earthy chicken thigh sauté with roasted garlic cloves. She finishes the dish with a sprinkle of chopped tarragon, which adds a light, herbal sweetness.
The spicy shrimp for this dish can be
prepared in the time it takes for the couscous
to cook, making it an incredible time-saver.
Marcia Kiesel adds a southern French
touch to this luscious cold roast with the use
of Picholine olives and herbes de Provence.
PAIR WITH:
To create this Southwestern-inspired dish, Melissa Rubel Jacobson tosses shrimp with chipotle chile powder (made from dried, smoked jalapeños), grills them, then layers them on top of crunchy fried corn tortillas and crisp, citrusy slaw.
PAIR WITH:
Marcia Kiesel updates a diner staple by using
ground lamb instead of beef and serving it
with wilted spinach and warm goat cheese.
PAIR WITH:
This smoky Spanish sausage, cooked in red wine until plump and juicy, makes a wonderfully simple party snack.
These pork chops get coated with cocoa and chile powders for a rub that’s like a deconstructed version of Mexican mole sauce.
PAIR WITH:
A glaze of cider vinegar and sorghum syrup
(or, alternatively, molasses) gives this slow-roasted
pork a tangy-sweet glaze.
San Francisco sommelier and trained chef
Rajat Parr adds spice-driven complexity from
his native India to juicy, tender duck breasts.
PAIR WITH:
New Orleans chef John Harris uses coriander seeds to make a simple, citrusy crust for his French-influenced rack of lamb.
PAIR WITH:
Studded with potatoes and peppers, this
tomato-rich, chunky hash makes a great
change of pace for a weeknight supper.
PAIR WITH:
Grape-sized caperberries are the mature fruit of the caper bush. Sliced thin, they perk up this silky mousse.
PAIR WITH:
Instead of serving this stew with crackers,
Boston chef Jeremy Sewall dunks a crisp slice
of rosemary-scented toast in each bowl.
This luxurious crab and shrimp risotto
gets its creamy texture from arborio rice and
a dollop of mascarpone cheese.
It takes about only three minutes to make this thick, creamy semolina on the stove; the mushrooms cook in the oven unattended.
These amazing, light and simple crab
cakes are bound with fish, not cracker
crumbs, for a deep seafood flavor.
PAIR WITH:
The wonderfully citrusy dressing for the salad here is made with fresh lemon and orange juices and whisked with a little olive oil and mayonnaise until creamy.
PAIR WITH:
The tart-sweet flavors of lingonberry jam
make it a delicious complement to these
crispy fried veal cutlets.
PAIR WITH:
Pea shoots are the tender leaves and tendrils of pea plants. They have a spinach-like flavor that’s delicious.
PAIR WITH:
In these plump, juicy burgers, caramelized
onions and Gruyére add a sweet, rich edge
to succulent ground beef.
PAIR WITH:
This recipe is best when made with a fragrant herb-infused oil, but it’s also delicious with high quality extra-virgin olive oil.
Store-bought confit duck legs make these
tacos really easy. Another shortcut: crisping
the skin in a microwave.
PAIR WITH:
Here’s an easy sauce for duck: After roasting
the legs until crisp, thicken the cooking juices
with hazelnuts, bread and garlic.
PAIR WITH:
Smoked paprika is a key to the great depth
of f lavor in this straightforward, incredibly
flavorful chorizo- and seafood-studded dish.
PAIR WITH:
A good sauce is the bridge between the meat and the wine. This one gets extra-deep flavor from veal stock.
PAIR WITH:
Olive, canola and hazelnut oils give depth to
the dressing in this fantastic winter salad. For
more color, use both red and white endives.
PAIR WITH:
This quick-cooking staple of Ethiopian home
cooking gets its kick from berbere, a fragrant,
chili-based spice blend.
Roasted almonds, parsley and Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese create a nutty, fresh-tasting pasta dish that’s terrific warm or cold.
PAIR WITH:
Toasty marcona almonds, tangy goat cheese
and sweet dates help give this colorful raw
salad its incredible flavor.
Sweet Italian sausage and fresh fennel have a natural affinity.
To get the most from a marinade—like the fennel-garlic one used here—slash the skin and meat so the flavors can seep in.
This aromatic pork roast is super-versatile:
Excellent right out of the oven, it’s also great
at room temperature or cold for sandwiches.
PAIR WITH:
Topped with fig jam, pungent blue cheese and salty prosciutto, this flatbread is a staple at Todd English’s Olives restaurants.
The style is called free-form because the pasta can be arranged in different ways—for instance, folded over the filling—instead of traditionally layered.
PAIR WITH:
The secret to this luscious pork ragù is a little
cocoa powder, which deepens the savory flavor
of the meaty sauce.
PAIR WITH:
For this summer stew, use “field seconds”—the perfectly delicious, less beautiful tomatoes often sold for less at farmers’ markets.
PAIR WITH:
Coconut milk gives this fragrant curry a satiny richness.
PAIR WITH:
Fish tacos meet a Reuben sandwich in this
combination of flounder, sauerkraut, Jarlsberg
cheese and Russian dressing.
PAIR WITH:
A superfast pan sauce of leek, cream and spinach makes a fantastic complement to this fast and simple pasta.
PAIR WITH:
In a state often known for heavy reds,
Waters makes lithe, elegant wines, as fluid and
graceful as the winery’s name suggests.
PAIR WITH:
Chef Kenny Rochford’s favorite way to prepare rack of lamb is to simply rub it with garlic, rosemary and olive oil before roasting.
For this recipe, F&W’s Grace Parisi creates
layers of flavor with Chinese chile-garlic
sauce and matchsticks of fresh ginger.
India Star chef Sanjeev Kapoor prepares this shrimp curry from Goa, one of his favorite beach regions, so it’s tangy, spicy and vibrant.
PAIR WITH:
This classic preparation adds tang to
succulent flank steak with strong flavors
of thyme, pepper and balsamic vinegar.
PAIR WITH:
Whole beef tenderloin feeds lots of people and cooks remarkably fast.
PAIR WITH:
Two Japanese ingredients—white miso and soy sauce—add great depth of flavor to this lush and very French sauce, yet are barely identifiable.
PAIR WITH:
An abundance of wild mushrooms gives this crispy, smoky chicken an earthy depth.
A potent blend of Sichuan peppercorns and store-bought Chinese black bean–garlic paste seasons these fast, fantastic steaks.
PAIR WITH:
The sweet and tangy glaze for these flavorpacked
fish fillets has just three ingredients:
horseradish, honey and mustard.
PAIR WITH:
A perfect weeknight meal: Hanger steak
cooks quickly and the garlicky brandy butter
served alongside takes minutes to prepare.
PAIR WITH:
A hearty mix of stewed peppers, onions,
raisins and anchovies makes this peperonata
more of a side dish than a condiment.
PAIR WITH:
Sweetly caramelized heads of roasted garlic are delicious with the cumin-scented marinade for these loin chops.
PAIR WITH:
Coconut water and a touch of sour cream
stand in for overly rich coconut milk in this
Thai-style vegetable curry.
PAIR WITH:
Serve these juicy shrimp with a citrusy dipping sauce.
In this savory steak preparation, Asian fish sauce takes the place of salt, a surprising use that adds an extra dimension of flavor.
PAIR WITH:
Lee Hefter, chef at Spago Beverly Hills, serves
his extravagant steak with peppercorn sauce
and two-cheese mashed potatoes.
PAIR WITH:
Wine Newsletter
