Homemade American Dinner

My friend Katelin (who is also taking this class) and I thought it would be fun to make our own American style dinner for our boyfriends. We decided to make some American favorites: buffalo chicken dip, steak and sweet potatoes and a chocolate lava cake/ice cream. It was all delicious. However, we didn't hit the nail on the head with every wine that we paired with our different foods. We aren't experts at that quite yet.

Some great friends enjoying a great meal together

For our appetizer, we made Franks Red Hot Buffalo Chicken dip- http://www.franksredhot.com/recipes/franks-redhot-buffalo-chicken-dip-RE1242-1

We paired our appetizer with a Rex Goliath Chardonnay.

Bottle Review: At the turn of the century, HRM( His royal majesty) Rex Goliath was a treasured civics attraction. Weighing in at 47 lbs, Rex was billed as the worlds largest rooster. Our wines are a tribute to Rex's larger than life personality with big, fruit-forward flavors sure to please. Our Chardonnay is like enjoying a day at a tropical beach-bright and sunny, with aromas of pineapple and citrus. 

My review: This wine smells like pear and citrus, with a slight smell of nail polish remover. It was not strong on the palette but had a very strong aftertaste. Eating the buffalo chicekn dip with the wine makes it taste REALLY spicy. The taste in my throat after eating the buffalo chicken and then drinking the wine was very strong. 

Our delicious Buffalo Chicken Dip.

For our main entree we made Steak and Roasted Sweet Potatoes-http://www.bunsinmyoven.com/2013/11/11/honey-cinnamon-roasted-sweet-potatoes/ We wanted a red wine with our meal but none of us are big fans are reds, so we went with a Barefoot Sweet Red Blend- made of Zinfandel, Pinot Noir, Barbera, Grenache and Petite Sirah. 

Bottle Review: Smooth and sweet red wine blend with Lucious aromas and flavored of black cherry and plum. 

My review: This wine smells like honeyed plum and red berry. It was much sweeter than I was expecting for a red, even though I should have known considering the title. It was not strong on the palette at all, but stronger in the throat. When I first tried the wine with the steak, I thought that the steak made the wine taste a little less sweet however after I tried it a few more times, I thought that the steak was actually making the wine more sweet. The wine didn't add any flavor to the steak but it definitely didn't take any away.

The boys actually cooked the steak for us. 

A delicious steak with a yummy red wine. 

  

And finally for the dessert. By this time I was so full, I was just barely getting the food in my mouth, but it was so good. We had a Chocolate Peanut Butter Lava Cake with Vanilla Ice Cream-https://www.buzzfeed.com/ngnathan/this-chocolate-peanut-butter-lava-cake-is-the-perfect?utm_term=.xgK06G9Kb#.loQ5X2pZa. We paired this with a Arbor Mist Mango Strawberry Moscato. I was very interested to see how this would pair because it seemed like a strange combo--but I didn't pick it out. 

Bottle Review: Arbor mist mango strawberry Moscato is a refreshing new way to enjoy wine. This delightfully sweet blend of light-bodied Moscato, juicy mango and lucious strawberry delivers a delicious taste that is perfect for parties, picnics and relaxing with friends. 

My review: This wine smells like melon, mango and sprite. It definitely tastes very sparkling and is very refreshing. It had a very strong citrusy taste in the throat and tastes exactly like Trident Layers gum. Like I said, I was interested to see how this wine would taste with chocolate but to my surprise, it wasn't that bad. The chocolate cake definitely made the wine less sweet and diminished the fruit flavor to almost nothing. The wine didn't really taste like anything when I drank it while eating the cake, but it also didn't ruin the flavor of the cake. 

Overall, our dinner experience was truly a delight. Our foods came out just they way we wanted and for the most part our wine pairings worked out. Besides the Chardonnay at the beginning, I actually enjoyed drinking the wines, especially with the food we made. I told my dad about our tastings and dinner and he was surprised that I was able to detect different flavors and smells in the wines. He wants to become better at it! I guess I have a lot to teach now.