Wine, Cheese and Soup

For great entertaining, here's how to pair the right wine with the right cheese - and create entire meals around them! Wine, Cheese & Soup shows you how to pair 10 classic soups with the perfect wine, cheese and accompaniments to dazzle guests all the way from appetizers through dessert. Each menu takes the guesswork out of what to serve. Prep notes and serving tips make it easy to present dishes that look spectacular - and the red wine that makes all those delicious flavors sing. Menu by menu, you'll learn the characteristics of 10 cheeses and 10 red wines. Each menu showcases one cheese and one wine, with dishes chosen to complement those flavors and to show the cheese in a variety of forms (melted, baked, sliced, etc.). For the wines, the focus is on California reds so you'll learn the basic characteristics of varieties like Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, Nebbiolo, Malbec, Grenache, and more - plus additional qualities (like boldness) that make the California versions unique. Plus, tasting notes for each type of wine and cheese show you the aromas and flavors to expect, plus the fascinating stories behind them. Savor classic soups like Baked Potato, Avgolemono, Beefy Mushroom, Spicy Pumpkin-Sausage, Tomato-Basil, Onion, Rustic Tortellini, New England Clam Chowder, and more. Discover accompaniments like Chevre-Asparagus Tartlets, Emmental-Apple Cider Fondue, Baked Fontina, and Asiago Cheese Puffs. Plus, mouthwatering desserts: Blackberry Pound Cake with Zinfandel Glaze, Parmesan Cheese Truffles, Cheddar-Apple Galette, Smoked Gouda Puff Pastry Roses, and more. For each, the book provides the URL to find the specific recipes online - or adapt the menu to your own tastes by substituting similar recipes. Brimming with more than 100 gorgeous photographs, Wine, Cheese & Soup also includes at-a-glance guides to pairing, storing and serving wines and cheeses, plus a mini-history of California winemaking.