I would like to tell you about a recent and wonderful experience we had pairing red wine and pizza. This wine and dinner event was highlighted by a savory Chilean Carménère. We have a saying here, that a good wine can turn any gathering or meal into an event and that’s exactly what happened on this occasion. Our already great night with our friends was turned into an amazing night that has me thinking about what wine and food pairing we can do next.
Wine and Dinner – Turn any night into an event!
Let’s start with the wine….. which if we’re being honest with ourselves is what brought this night together. On this particular night, we had a Carménère from Central Valley, Chile. Pinned between the Andes and the Pacific Ocean, this fertile strip of land is home to Chile’s famed wine regions.
When I saw that this red wine paired well with pepperoni and mushroom pizza, I was thrilled. Homemade pizza was something we make often and I knew we could invite friends over and turn this into an experience!
Now let’s get to the pizza. We made pepperoni and portobello mushroom pizza. To make it even better we grilled the pizza on our wood-fired pellet grill.
Ingredients:
The ingredients we purchased for this occasion were from Trader Joe’s. I happen to really like their pizza ingredients, but you can definitely use whatever grocery store you like!
- 1 package TJ’s Pizza Dough
- TJ’s Pizza Sauce
- Portobello Mushrooms
- TJ’s Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
- TJ’s Shredded Cheddar Cheese
- Corn Meal (optional)
Preparation:
Marinate the mushrooms with enough red wine to give a generous coating and season with salt and pepper. Place in refrigerator for at least an hour. Sauté mushrooms on the stove with butter and add some minced garlic if you like. Be careful not to add too much of the wine marinade to the pan. Once mushrooms get tender and are caramelized remove from heat and set aside.
Take pizza dough out of the package and start to form into the desired shape. What I love about the Trader Joe’s pizza dough is you just take it out of the bag and it’s all ready. I like to add a little cornmeal to the bottom of the crust for some added texture. The cornmeal also keeps the crust from sticking to the cooking surface.
Once your dough is ready, begin adding your sauce, pepperoni, cheese and mushrooms. If you really want to take this to the next level don’t be afraid to add some freshly chopped herbs like basil or oregano.
Baking:
Your pizza is now ready for baking. Simply place in your oven or as I mentioned earlier you can put your pizza on your grill. Bake at 350°F for about 12 minutes, or until cheese is bubbly and the underside of the crust is a little charred and crispy. This should happen at approximately the same time.
This minor detail makes a major difference in the crust. You simply cannot accomplish this in a conventional oven. The grill brings the pizza to an entirely new level. The top of the crust is left a little soft and chewy while the underside is slightly charred and crispy. The contrast of the crust alone is just plain amazing! In addition, everything else picks up the delicious smoke flavor from the grill. The only thing left to do is cut this pizza up and enjoy it with a nice fine red wine from Our Incredible Wine Club!
Want to learn how red wine is good for your health? Check out our page on the amazing health benefits of red wine!
Side Salad:
In addition, I would like to point out that we made a little salad to go with the meal as well. If you are looking for some ideas just copy this. In a large bowl add Arugula, dried cherries, pecans, balsamic vinegar, olive oil and whatever cheese you like to go with it. Mix it together and you have a nice light side salad that goes perfectly with a wine and dinner meal like this.
If you have little ones present and if they are anything like ours they won’t eat the mushrooms. No problem, we simply made an extra cheese only pizza which turned out awesome as well. They gobbled it right down and I might have even grabbed a piece or two for myself.
Wine and dinner can totally be done in a kid-friendly environment. This evening was with some lifelong friends and their children at our house. We caught up, had some laughs and enjoyed good food paired with great wine!
The Wine Club
Each month, we receive fine wine from all over the world’s finest regions. The wine is shipped to us directly from our Wine Club where we receive fine wine at member pricing. These are truly fine wines that typically retail for $40 – $125 per bottle.
Perhaps the best part of the club is you can earn your wine for free every month. Simply refer three others into the wine club as customers and you qualify. As long as your referrals stay active your wine is free each and every month. So you could actually get four bottles of wine shipped to your door for free every month for life by doing this. If you know three people who already spend money on wine, this might be a very lucrative company for you to consider.
In addition to the wine, we receive tasting notes that describe the wine and tells us what it pairs well with. Without these notes, I would not have thought to pair pizza and red wine.
In conclusion, I hope this gave you a little inspiration to possibly have your own wine and dinner event. Why not turn an ordinary night into a great one? Life is short and we tend to go way too long without seeing the people we care about. So call up some old friends, grab some great wine and have them over for a nice meal. I promise you will not regret it.
Response Magic