Toasting the Turkey 🥂
Beverage Pairings, Octopod Knives and Sharpening!
Greetings, 🦃 🍂
T-Minus 48 hours away from one of the biggest Food Holidays on the Modern Calendar!
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If you haven’t already, sign up as a paid Subscriber as 🐙 Octopod is going to be dropping even more quality recipes.
Just $5/month will have you:
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For today’s Free Post we’re going to talk all things ‘beverages’ to compliment your feast! [Alcohol & Non-Alcohol]
Before we dive in… most Founders have now received their “Few” knives!
Founders Knives:
It’s a joy to see so many excited people that now have a top-tier blade to slice, dice and finesse anything on the cutting boards in their kitchens!
The Official “Octopod Classic Blade” should be launching on Octopod Culinary in the next 2 weeks!
Just in time for Holiday gifts, and I have a special collaboration coming up with a good friend that will be extra sweet! <hint hint>
Beverage Pairings:
Today we’ll briefly explore all things “beverages”!
One thing that 🐙 learned from years in fine dining is that a great meal can be taken the next level, with thoughtful an smart beverage pairings.
This can be an extremely nuanced (and fun!) endeavor when you’re talking about an 18 course tasting menu progression, but it doesn’t have to be complicated!
So we’re going to keep things simple, smart and efficient.
*note: The topic of beverage pairings will be revisited from time to time, and you can always drop a comment with any specific pairing questions or hypotheticals. 🐙 enjoys building pairings!
Approach:
When scheming for a beverage pairing, it’s often helpful to think in terms of Complimentary or Contrasting pairings.
These are somewhat self-explanatory.
-A complimentary pairing would add depth or roundness by having similar flavors.
-A contrasting pairing would be taking the approach of juxtaposing flavors/tastes.
Example 1: Acid contrasts Fat, so these are often good matches.
One of my fave examples of Contrast Pairing is: High Acid Riesling with BBQ.
Breaks all the rules by serving a racy white wine with smoked with smoked brisket… and it’s insanely delicious.
Example 2: residual sugar with spicy foods. Take a Spatlese or Kabinett Riesling that has some residual sugar, and it absolutely sings with spicy Indian Curries, Thai or Sichuan Food.
We could keep going on and on, and maybe 🐙 will host a Twitter Spaces on Food & Wine Pairings… sounds fun… but lets’ get to Turkey 🦃 Day Pairings!
For context most Feast will consist of Roasted Turkey, and plenty or starches/richness (mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing (corn bread or white bread), sweet potatoes)… so that’s what will use for the basis of pairings below.
Most heavy reds will not be a good fit with the poultry aspect. And you don’t want a light bodied/high acid white that will taste vinegar-y against all the starch/richness.
So here are some ideas!
ALCOHOL:
Pinot Noir: This grape is a relatively easy choice. Low tannin makes it great for the poultry aspect, and mild acid will be a great contrast to the starch from potatoes, etc. Look for a Pinot from Santa Lucia Highlands (CA) or Willamette Valley (OR) which will have a nice balance of forward fruit (berries, cherry etc) and a subtle background of earthy-woodsy richness.
Cru Beajolais: One of my favorite categories to revisit over and over, because it’s so food-friendly and the quality can be truly stunning for great value. Made from the Gamay grape, look for Fleurie or Morgon as great Cru’s with good value. A light bodied red that is very much fruit forward and a very mild acid/tannin structure (lighter than Pinot mentioned above). This is close to perfect for Thanksgiving, IMO
Hard Cider: This often-overlooked category is a perfect pairing. Anything with bubbles is automatically more food friendly as the carbonation scrubs your palate. Pick a cider that is Dry or Off-Dry. You don’t want something too sweet. Isastegi is a Basque cider that has some funk and great acid. It’s one of my favorite to reach for.
For a Classic cider that check out Tin City Cider, they also have a Rose Cider that is reallllly tasty too. All solid options to try and enjoy!
NON ALCOHOLIC:
This is an interesting category and one I’ve explored more this year since 🐙 is going N/A for a while! After years, and years in F&B with restaurants… wine tastings, whiskey barrels, and socializing in general revolves around alcohol. AKA: Easy to become a way of life. This fun detour in exploring N/A options continues to be interesting and refreshing!
One thing that’s very noticeable is the use of high sugar as a crutch for NA options… the below has some sugar, but a lot less than most, giving you a well balanced and refreshing NA “Spritz”
Here’s a Punch-Spritz that combines Cranberry and Ginger.
These flavors go really well together, especially for Fall/Winter meals.
*Note: If you want to adjust down the level of GingerAle, feel free to use some sparkling water. If you do, you can take a knob of peeled fresh ginger, smash it, and add to the serving vessel to infuse. You can refreeze the cranberries to keep the temperature cool. Also pre-chill gingerly and cranberry juice if you want a cold beverage when serving.
Cranberry-Ginger Spritz
64 ounces Cranberry Juice
1 liter Ginger Ale
3 Limes, Thinly Sliced
2 cups Fresh Cranberries
*Optional: Fresh Ginger, Sparking Water
Prepare by simply combining the Cranberry Juice and Ginger Ale. Stir in the lime slices and cranberry… ready to serve!
Wishing You & Yours a Wonderful Thanksgiving! 🦃 🍂 🥂
Until Next week Frens!
*NOTE: Next Week will be a Substack dropping for keeping your knives sharp!