The Wine Knows

How would you like to hang with celebrity chef Bobby Flay in New York City? Flay and Columbia Crest are teaming up with a contest called "Flayvors of Washington." All you have to do is come up with an original recipe that uses ingredients from Washington state and is inspired by a Columbia Crest Grand Estates wine.

Sinclair Philip, the force behind the fabulous Sooke Harbour House, also is a national leader in Canada's Slow Food movement.

Eric Degerman, Wine Press Northwest managing editor, sat down recently with Philip to talk about the Sooke Harbour House, Slow Food and a number of other subjects. Watch the interview here:

Braiden Rex-Johnson, Wine Press Northwest's food-pairing columnist, appeared on Whole Food's Secret Ingredient, an online cooking show. She demonstrated how to make Wild King Salmon with Dried Cherries.

My wife pointed out an article in the recent issue of From House to Home magazine that pairs Jell-O with Moscato D'asti. As we have a 4-year-old and Jell-O is a major food group in our home, I took note.

This afternoon, we had two couples over for an Easter meal. As the various toddlers screamed through the house, the adults enjoyed a glazed ham, green bean casserole and freshly baked bread.

For me, ham means rosé. I haven't gotten around to drinking up all my '06 rosés, so I rooted around in the cellar and found a Joie Wines 2006 Rosé, a pink blend of Gamay and Pinot Noir.

My wife is testing some samples from local caterers for an event. Tonight, she brought home a dessert truffle filled with blue cheese, Chukar Cherries and chocolate.

Melissa wanted to try it with a wine. I'd already popped the cork on a Snoqualmie Vineyards 2003 Whistle Stop Red, Columbia Valley (under $10) to go with tonight's pasta. While I thought it would be an OK pairing, I realized I had a recently opened bottle of Barnard Griffin's 2005 Syrah Port.

I've now made this meatless lasagna twice (including yesterday while watching the Super Bowl). It's delicious, stupidly simple and relatively healthy. Last night, I made two pans so we would have plenty of leftovers.

We are giving away four copies of Braiden Rex-Johnson's latest book, Pacific Northwest Wining & Dining. Braiden, our longtime food-and-wine-pairing columnist, has penned a beautiful book that helps to further define Pacific Northwest cuisine, especially as it relates to Northwest wine country.

Last night, Melissa wanted scrambled eggs for dinner. We'd had chicken tikka masala the prior night, so I decided to get a little creative.

I chopped up the leftover chicken breast and added it to the eggs as they cooked. I topped the finished eggs with masala sauce and served with a dry Gewürztraminer.

Braiden Rex-Johnson was on National Public Radio this morning, talking about her new book, Pacific Northwest Wining & Dining.

Braiden, who is entering her eighth year as wine/food pairing columnist for Wine Press Northwest, spoke about the various regional cuisines she's encountered, first living in Pennsylvania, then Texas and now the Northwest for the past 18 years.