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By The Glass By Chuck Furuya |
Food and wine pair
temptingly at fund-raiserA good food and wine event offers a golden opportunity to stay in touch with culinary trends. It's also a fun way to taste various wines with the creations of top chefs.
Taste of the Stars, a benefit for Leeward Community College's culinary programs, is one of my favorite events and it's is right around the corner, on Saturday. This year's event will feature 19 cooking stations, as well as a host of wine and beer stations. Sounds like fun, doesn't it?
To tempt you, here are of a few of the dishes, created by chefs who serve on the culinary school's board of advisors. For those who already have tickets, this list includes wine pairings you can try as you negotiate the cooking stations on Saturday:
Alan Wong's BBQ Shortrib & Shrimp with Foie Gras & Spicy Korean Sauce: Most people would tell you to drink a lighter red, such as a California pinot noir. My suggestion would be to compare that choice with a rich, fruity and minerally German Riesling from the Rhein region. This wine will not clash with the dish's sweetness or spiciness, as the pinot will.
D.K. Kodama's Crab Beignet with Asiago Cheese & Crab Relish: Try a good, dry rosé. Another interesting pairing would be with Spanish albarino. Never heard of or tried either? You are in for a treat!
Göran Streng's Grilled Scallop & Kahuku Shrimp with Oven Dried Tomato & Nicoise Olive Confit: A dry, very fruit-driven rosé from Italy or southern France will show you why the more progressive restaurants across the country have quite a few rosés in their wine programs.
Hiroshi Fukui's Misoyaki Butterfish: Normally, I pair a dry German pinot gris with this dish. It is reminiscent of my uncle serving freshly squeezed lime over miso butterfish. The wine should be light in weight and have a lime-like edge to the finish.
Roy Yamaguchi's Crispy Moi with Edamame Purée and Truffle-Daikon Ponzu: For a study in contrasts, try this dish with a medium-dry German Riesling and perhaps a dry pinot gris from Oregon. This will remind you that there is a whole world of wine to play with out there. Why limit yourself?
Tickets to Taste of the Stars are $80 through today, with a $15 discount when charged on American Express. Price is $100 beginning tomorrow. Call 455-0298 or 455-0475.
Master sommelier Chuck Furuya is a member of the Board of Advisers for Leeward Community College's culinary program.
This column is a weekly lesson in wine
pairing written by a rotating panel of wine professionals.
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