Wine Dinner - Homemade Stuffed Pasta Shells

Ethan and I, both taking Geography of Wine

My boyfriend and I are taking Geography of Wine together this semester, and we decided to do the first wine and food pairing together and cook (most of) the food together. On January 31st, we (on a whim) decided to challenge ourselves in the kitchen and find a recipe that caught our eye; we both agreed on making a special, baked pasta as our main course, specifically chicken alfredo stuffed shells. We then decided that we'd stick to something on the easier/lighter side for our appetizer (crackers, cheeses and meats) and something simple and easily achievable for dessert (chocolate chip cookies). 

Coffee table set for appetizers, dinner and dessert with the three wines we paired with each dish

Since we were baking and cooking in a not so large kitchen, we were definitely using up more of the island/counter top space than expected, so we decided to set up the coffee table in my living room for a relaxed dinner instead. Limited on the number of wine glasses we had, Ethan used his full red wine glass for all three wines and I used a full white wine glass with a thicker stem I got as a souvenir from Bristol for the three wines.

Course 1: Crackers with meats and cheese

Our first course was crackers with cheese and meats, something super easy and simple so that we could have time to focus on the main course (which was challenging to say the least). We picked this up at Kroger- it included Ritz crackers, salami and pepperoni for the meats, and colby jack, cheddar, and pepper jack cheese. Even though this was simple, it was a great appetizer to have before a heavier main course, and it was great to pair this with wine and really focus in on the wine tasting without an overpowering dish.

Course 2: Chicken alfredo stuffed shells

Our main course was challenging, most definitely not perfect, but so much fun to make! We found a recipe online by delish that immediately caught our attention, so we instantaneously went to the grocery store to get all of the ingredients to start this dinner experience! We first had to cook the pasta and cheese sauce simultaneously, then stuff a mix of shredded chicken/cottage cheese/spices into the shells and drizzle the cooked cheese sauce all over the pan before baking it. I accidentally forgot to add two whole cups of milk into the cheese sauce (which I highly regret due to the cheese sauce being more solid-like than it should've been), but the pasta was surprisingly still pretty good nonetheless. The major flavors that came out of this dish were definitely the ricotta and mozzarella cheese with shredded chicken, as well as garlic and butter hints.

Course 3: Chocolate chip cookies

Our final course/dessert was easy and simple chocolate chip cookies. We definitely wanted to focus on the main course (which I ended up messing up) so we picked up Nestle Tollhouse Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough in the dairy section of Kroger and figured it would be an easy way to not mess up dessert and have our stomachs be happy! We were highly satisfied by the cookies as we expected, and the wine paired amazingly with them.

Wine 1: F.J. Serra Chardonnay

Name: F.J. Serra
Variety: Chardonnay
Region: California
Country: USA
Year: 2017
Price: $11

Label Description: Ripe and creamy, with flavors of pineapple candy, honey, brown sugar, buttered toast and cinnamon. It's just what millions of Chardonnay lovers want.

Ethan chose this chardonnay because it was a great price and because we knew we wanted to start off with a white wine before having a red for our main course. The wine and cheese/meats gave us the ability to try this wine by itself first, then see how it paired with the snacks which went surprisingly very well!

My review of the wine on its own: This chardonnay wasn't as dry as I expected it to be, it was definitely buttery and creamy with hints of vanilla, potentially from being in oak barrels. It was light, refreshing and quite fruity on scents. I actually quite enjoyed this wine.

Wine 2: Anciano Reserva - 5 Years Tempranillo

Name: Anciano Reserva
Variety: Tempranillo
Region: Castilla La Mancha
Country: Spain
Year: 2012
Price: $13.95

Label Description: A ruby coloured wine shading to brick red towards the rim. Complex aromas of balsamic and liquorice combine with vanilla, spice and rich fruit compote on the nose. Appealing ripe berry and cherry fruit flavours come through at first taste, followed by balanced tannins and a smooth, satisfying finish.

Ethan also chose this Tempranillo because we talked about how we wanted a red wine for our main course (but we did end up choosing this red wine a day or so before we picked our pasta dish). It's a wine that didn't seem too astringent or bitter, but maybe a little lighter in body than a heavy red wine so we decided that maybe we could use this wine for our wine dinner pairing.

My review of the wine on its own: This red wine was maybe a bit stronger than I imagined it would be with a quite a long, tannic aftertaste. It had hints of darker berries, cherries, plums and oak. Definitely worth every penny and it was on the shelves for a great price. 

Wine 3: Crane Lake Gewurztraminer

Name: Crane Lake
Variety: Gewurztraminer
Region: California
Country: USA
Year: 2016
Price: $5.95, Regular Price $9 Sale

Label Description: Slightly high-toned notions of rose petal mingle with lemon on nose and palate of this lightly sweet, richly textured yet balanced Gewurztraminer. This is not as heady as you may expect and will be a treat with spicy Asian dishes. Lychee and rose petal make another very fetching appearance on the finish.

I know what you're thinking! This was one of the free wines we tasted a week or two ago at the Vintage Cellar, although I knew instantaneously that I wanted to buy a bottle of this for a food pairing of my own since I loved it, I decided to not do a wine tasting post for this wine that week and did another wine tasting at Kroger for that week so I could save this specific wine for this dinner (since I know there's no double dipping allowed!).

My review of this wine on its own: This wine was sweet, but definitely not too sweet or overwhelming. It was floral, aromatic, and you could definitely taste hints of apple (almost like a Granny Smith apple). The finish wasn't as sweet as the taste of the wine itself, which was a wonderful surprise. Again, absolutely love this wine.

Intentional pairing for the first course

Crackers/cheese/meat with Chardonnay: The chardonnay paired with the crackers and meat definitely brought out the more oaky, buttery flavor and made the after taste less fruity and more creamy. The one pairing that confused me in a not-so-positive way was the pepper jack cheese with the chardonnay. The pepper jack cheese was too spicy in a sense for the chardonnay and brought out salty, spicy flavors and overwhelmed/overpowered the flavor of the wine. After trying the chardonnay with the pepper jack cheese, I steered way clear of the pepper jack cheese and kept trying the wine with crackers, the 2 meats and the other 2 cheeses (colby jack and cheddar).

Intentional pairing for the second course

Chicken alfredo stuffed shells with Tempranillo: The tempranillo paired with the chicken alfredo stuffed shells definitely brought out the more fruity flavors like cherries and plums. The creamy, white cheeses (ricotta and mozzarella) had a little bit of a funky after taste with the wine, definitely making my mouth feel dry and puckery, so I could pick up on the amount of tannin in the wine. It wasn't too bad, I think if I had the chance to choose another wine for this dish or choose another dish for this wine, I'd choose differently.

Intentional pairing for the third course

Chocolate chip cookies with Gewurztraminer: I absolutely loved this pairing, the chocolate chip cookies did not make this wine even sweeter, in the best possible way! The Gewurztraminer brought out good-ness in the apple and lemon scents. The cookies surprisingly didn't overpower the wine and the wine also didn't overpower the cookies. I thought this was a wonderful surprise, very complimentary of one another, and both the wine and cookies weren't too sweet altogether.  

A different angle on the whole set up for dinner

Overall, I think the exercise of actually sitting down, enjoying the wine and then seeing the difference in pairing wine with particular foods and how both the food and wine can be affected was eye-opening. I was able to decide, for myself, what wines and foods I enjoyed better together or better separately. I am excited to take this knowledge that I've learned this far and hopefully apply it in a better way for the next wine dinner pairing (hoping I don't mess up the pasta or choose the wrong wine for the main course)! On top of gaining more knowledge about wine and this course, I think this was overall such an enjoyable and fun experience to share and learn from.