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By The Glass Lyle Fujioka |
Dine with wine
on Valentine’sI've come to the conclusion that the majority of people view Valentine's Day as Excedrin headache No. 10. You know what I mean: Cupid's annual day of honoring and reinforcing love often becomes a test of a relationship instead.
Why? With all of Hawaii clamoring for a table at a special restaurant, what starts off as romantic dining quickly turns into the meal from hell that never ends -- or begins, as it were.
Traffic, parking, reservations at 8 p.m. that quickly turn into 9:30, sold-out dinner selections and stressed-out staff are all a part of the reality of going out for Valentine's Day.
After sharing war stories, the Fujioka's staff has come up with these easy, "out-of-the-box" stay-at-home alternatives for a blissful evening. Because Valentine's Day falls on a Saturday this year, the workday stress load has been eliminated, allowing ample time to plan a home celebration.
When asked for the best food pairings for his champagne, famed producer Remy Krug's favorite is popcorn. We agree, and after thorough experimentation, we've come up with two great recipes to start out your Valentine's evening.
For the pork-fat-rules person in your life, pop a batch in bacon, applying a healthy amount of fresh ground black pepper, salt and crumbled, crisp bacon as a finishing touch. For those horrified by such excess, drizzling a little truffle oil over freshly popped kernels is also exquisite. Complete this popping-good experience with Krug Grand Cuvee ($125), the perfect champagne choice. Billecart-Salmon Cuvee Nicolas Brut 1995 ($59) or Dampiere Blanc de Blancs NV ($31) are also stupendous.
A wonderful alternative for this course is Sterling Classic Caviar ($36.95 an ounce) spooned onto your favorite potato chips. Yes, it's domestic, but a truly delicious alternative to the frozen Russian options available today.
Or keep things easy with a cheese platter that includes a double cream gouda, Italian truffle cheese and perhaps some Sonoma Smoked Magret of Duck ($15.95). The wines? Northstar's Stellar Maris Red 2000 ($24.95) or Ajello Furat 2000 ($14.95).
Finally, what would Valentine's Day be without chocolate? Scharffen Berger Cacao Mocha Bars ($3.50) or Valrohna Carré de Guanaja Dark Bittersweet Chocolate ($7.95) are perfect paired with Domini Vanett Vigneti di Moron Recioto Della Valpolicella Classico 2001 ($24). This ultimate chocolate wine oozes sweet, syrupy pomegranate and red raspberry flavors guaranteed to ignite your hidden passions.
So there you have it. Add sexy loungewear, fresh flowers, soft music and a favorite romantic movie for a perfect at-home Valentine's Day. We bet you'll have so much fun that Cupid may be firing arrows at you more than once a year!
Lyle Fujioka owns Fujioka's Wine Merchants.
This column is a weekly lesson in wine pairing written by a rotating panel of wine professionals. Write to features@starbulletin.com
