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Food and wine pairing ideas

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Meal families

Sea fish

Salmon a l’unilateral

A l'unilateraly : cooked on one side only, usually for fish cooked only on the skin side.

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Cooked meats

Rillettes de Tours

France. Centre-Val de Loire. Indre-et-Loire. Pays de la Loire. Loire-Atlantique. Maine-et-Loire. Saumur. Nouvelle-Aquitaine. Poitou-Charentes.
Cold cut made from shredded pork meat, slowly cooked over low heat in fat and seasoned with salt, pepper, spices, and Vouvray wine.

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Game birds

Grilled wood pigeon à la goutte de sang with porcini mushrooms

Cooked à la goutte de sang : quick sear over medium-high heat to brown the surface of the meat while keeping the inside pink.

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Veal

Veal stew Marengo

Marengo : cooked in a casserole with mushrooms, onion, tomato and white wine.

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Sea fish

Sole with beurre noisette sauce

Beurre noisette (brown butter) : butter cooked until it reaches a light brown color and a nutty aroma, then strained into a cold container to stop the cooking.

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Poultry

Tandoori chicken

Tandoori : meat or fish marinated and coated in yogurt mixed with spices (garam masala, ginger, garlic, cumin, cayenne pepper).

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Offal and tripe

Lamb’s brain with black butter

Beurre noir (black butter sauce) : butter cooked until it takes on a dark color, in reaction with an acid (capers, lemon juice, white wine, vinegar).

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Cold starters

Fish in a shell with mayonnaise

Cold dish made of mixed diced vegetables (macédoine) with lettuce, cold fish (hake, salmon) and mayonnaise.

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Appetizers

Arancini al burro

Italy. Sicilia.
Breaded and fried rice balls or cones, 8 to 12 cm in diameter, filled with ham and mozzarella.
Served hot.

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Game animals

Venison fillet with peppercorn sauce

Peppercorn sauce : melted butter with shallots deglazed with Cognac, enhanced with crushed pepper, reduced veal stock, and heavy cream.

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Shellfish and Seafood

Langoustine bisque

Bisque : creamy soup of clear, shellfish stock.

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Cheeses

Crottin de Chavignol

France. Centre-Val de Loire. Cher. Sancerre.
Soft-ripened cheese made from raw goat's milk with a bloomy rind.

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Pork

Pork chop with charcutiere sauce

Charcutière sauce  : reduction of shallots, white wine and vinegar deglazed with demi-glace (a rich brown stock-based sauce), finished with mustard and julienned pickles.

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Cheeses

Curé nantais

France. Pays de la Loire. Loire-Atlantique.
Raw cow's milk cheese with pressed uncooked paste.

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Sauces

Madeira sauce

Madeira sauce : demi-glace (reduced brown stock) with Madeira.

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Sea fish

Lemon sole goujonnettes

Goujonnette : small fish fillet cut on the bias.

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Sea fish

Grilled salmon a l’unilateral

A l'unilateraly : cooked on one side only, usually for fish cooked only on the skin side.

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Shellfish and Seafood

Whelks with mayonnaise

Mayonnaise : emulsion of oil with egg yolk, mustard, pepper, and sometimes a dash of lemon juice or vinegar.

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Cheeses

Caillebotte

France. Brittany. Nouvelle-Aquitaine. Pyrénées-Atlantique. Basque Country. Poitou-Charentes. Pays de la Loire.
Cow's milk curdled with rennet.

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