Another Friday, another delicious dilemma: what wine pairs best with homemade pizza?
Our tradition is simple — pizza night every Friday. It’s easy to make, satisfying to eat, and always open to improvisation.
The Pie. – Photo by myself
Ingredients
1 store-bought pizza shell
1 can of Western Family Original pizza sauce
Mushrooms, green pepper, and onion (rescued from the fridge)
Leftover mild Italian sausage (from the freezer)
Shredded pizza mozzarella
🔥 Assembly & Bake
No instructions needed — just layer, bake, and enjoy.
🍷 Wine Pairing
Wine: 2019 Garnacha Tinta — Las Moradas de San Martin Initio ReservaRegion: Madrid, Spain Vivino Rating: 3.9
Pizza is naturally wine-friendly, especially when topped with savoury sausage and roasted vegetables. This Garnacha was fruity, bold, and balanced — perfect for the cheese’s richness and the sausage’s spice.
Photo – by myself
📝 Final Thoughts
A simple meal elevated by a thoughtful pairing. Whether it’s a weeknight ritual or a weekend treat, pizza and wine never disappoint.
We went all out tonight. Hot dogs, potato salad, macaroni salad, real salad and leftover pasta. Of course you’re wondering what wine would go with that. The winner, completely by fluke!
We have been liking Spanish wines lately,especially Rioja. This one is reasonably priced, a nice wine that Vivino rates as a 3.7. It fits our profile perfectly. Recommended as a decent wine to sit and eat hotdogs with.
Have a great evening. Will be a much better recipe on Sunday.
This superb example of Chilean wine is a must. The grape is grown in the Cachapoal Valley in Chile. An affordable Gran Reserva at an average price of $21.46 CAD, it is rated as 4.0 by over 800 users on Vivino. This app is worthy of a download as it gives you valuable information on a wine by just taking a picture as it sits on the shelf of your favorite wine store.
Not light, not to bold. I’d say a very traditional wine. Leans to the smooth side, almost silky and is reasonably dry. There is definitely cherry and some oak. We see this as a fine complement to salmon or pasta, and would not be out of place with a nice ribeye steak. Best served at 15 degrees C, I would serve to anyone at any time with any meal.
Since retiring, I have indulged myself in a wide variety of projects, basically all the stuff I’ve wanted to do since, like, forever. One that I am having some fun with is cooking. It is easy to combine with one of my other loves, wine. As my co-conspirator in life has similar tastes, this was a no-brainer to move forward. So, I have put writing a book, learning to speak Spanish and becoming a guitar hero on the back burner while concentrating on this one. Unfortunately, I returned to work and have had to cut back on some indulgences.
Our Saturday night dinner on this occasion was Tuscan Pork Tenderloin. A very simple recipe, quick to prepare with very little fuss or muss. Here’s the recipe. Note it is for 4 servings, but we find far too often that 4 equals 2.5.
Ingredients
Ingredient Checklist
4 servings
1 ⅓ teaspoons garlic, minced
⅘ teaspoon dried rosemary
⅘ teaspoon dried oregano
⅓ teaspoon salt
⅓ teaspoon ground black pepper
1 ⅓ pounds pork tenderloin
Directions
Step 1 Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
Step 2 Combine garlic, rosemary, oregano, salt, and pepper in a small bowl. Rub spice mixture all over the pork tenderloin. Place in a baking dish.
Step 3 Bake in the preheated oven until pork is slightly pink in the center, 20 to 25 minutes. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read at least 145 degrees F (63 degrees C). Remove from oven and let stand for 5 minutes before slicing.
Like I said, it’s very simple. We would suggest upping the time to 30 to 35 minutes. That was the only issue we had. The clean-up was super easy as well. We used Jasmine rice for a base, mixed with frozen broccoli and butternut squash. The vegetables were cooked in a bit of olive oil and spiced with salt and pepper to taste.
We paired the dish with one of our go-to wines, Meiomi Pinot Noir. The two went together very nicely. The wine is a typical California Pinot, although it has more of a vanilla taste than most. A popular brand, it goes in the $20.00 range.
Overall the supper was a success and one we will repeat in future. The tenderloin was excellent. The minimal spice only accented the overall taste and melded with the wine. I’d rate it a 9 of 10, very subtle, very good.
Today’s adventure in Saturday night suppers is Chicken Thighs in Sun Dried Tomato Sauce. As a bonus we prepped a side dish, Roasted Asparagus in Lemon Vinaigrette. Both are reasonably simple recipes, however, we made a few changes due to a poor shopper, me. We used 18% cream instead of heavy cream, and dried basil instead of fresh basil leaves for the chicken. The asparagus did not have lemon zest because someone forgot to buy lemons and we did not have parsley either. Still, both turned out fine, and after the second bottle of wine, we didn’t care very much.
Today’s adventure in Saturday night suppers is Chicken Thighs in Sun Dried Tomato Sauce. As a bonus we prepped a side dish, Roasted Asparagus in Lemon Vinaigrette. Both are reasonably simple recipes, however, we made a few changes due to a poor shopper, me. We used 18% cream instead of heavy cream, and dried basil instead of fresh basil leaves for the chicken. The asparagus did not have lemon zest because someone forgot to buy lemons and we did not have parsley either. Still, both turned out fine, and after the second bottle of wine, we didn’t care very much.
Chicken Thighs in Sun Dried Tomato Sauce
These chicken thighs are quick and easy dinner. Eat them as is, or serve over pasta or rice.
Course Main Course
Cuisine American
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings 4
Calories 566kcal
Ingredients
1 1/2 lb. chicken thighs skinless and boneless
Salt and black pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup white wine
1 cup chicken broth/stock sodium free
1 cup cup heavy cream
2 tsp Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon onion powder
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes chopped
1/2 cup parmesan grated
1 cup basil leaves
Instructions
1. Pat the chicken thighs dry with paper towel
2. Preheat a large skillet on medium high heat. Add olive oil and then add the chicken and cook until golden brown on both sides.About 6-8 minutes total. Remove onto a plate.
3. Chop your sun-dried tomatoes and add them to the pan. Cook for about 2 minutes.
4. Add white wine and simmer for 2 minutes to let the alcohol evaporate.
5. Now add chicken stock heavy cream, Dijon mustard, salt, Italian Seasoning, onion and garlic powders. Bring the mixture to a low simmering point and then add Parmesan cheese. Use a whisk or a wooden spoon and mix it in until you have a smooth mixture.
6. Add basil leaves and cook until wilted.
7. Return chicken to skillet and allow it to warm up for an additional 5 minutes.
8. Serve chicken with sauce on top.
Roasted Asparagus with Lemon Vinaigrette
Prep Time 10 mins
Total Time 22 mins
Cook Time 12 mins
Servings 4
Calories 91 kcal
INGREDIENTS
1 pound (450 g) asparagus
2 tablespoons (30 g) very finely chopped shallot
1 tablespoon (15 ml) red wine vinegar
Freshly grated zest from one lemon
1 tablespoon (25 ml) fresh lemon juice
½ – ¾ teaspoon fine sea salt
2 tablespoons (30 ml) extra-virgin olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper
1 green onion root end and one inch green top trimmed
2 tablespoons finely chopped Italian parsley
Flaky sea salt optional
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 450 (225C) degrees.
2. Trim off the tough ends from the asparagus and place on a small rimmed baking sheet.
3. Whisk together shallot, vinegar, 1 teaspoon lemon zest, lemon juice and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a small bowl. Let it sit for 10 minutes, then whisk in the olive oil until the dressing is emulsified. Taste and season with additional salt, if needed.
4. Pour 2 tablespoon of the vinaigrette over the asparagus and season to taste with black pepper. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon water.
5. Slice the green onion into thin rings. Combine the green onion, parsley and remaining lemon zest in a small bowl.
6. Place the baking sheet in the oven and roast10 – 12 minutes, until the asparagus is beginning to brown at the tips.
7. Transfer asparagus to a serving plate. Drizzle with the remaining vinaigrette and sprinkle with the parsley mixture. Finish the dish with a pinch of flaky sea salt, if you like.
We served with a bed of white Basmati rice and paired with Chilean wine, one of our favourites, Coyam. It is a blend of a variety of organic grapes. A very good wine, in the $20.00 range and is great with food and and as a glass when the doctor orders it.
