Culinary Adventures with Camilla

I've been meaning to explore Halter Ranch Vineyard since I was introduced to their wines through David of Cooking Chat ; he's the brains behind the monthly Wine Pairing Weekend - #WinePW - event when a group of food loving winos (or are we wine loving foodies!) share pairings with a certain theme. In any case, Halter Ranch graciously sent a few of us wines to pair during our October 2014 event. I ended up making a Pumpkin Lasagna + Halter Ranch's Côtes de Paso . Then I ordered two of their dessert wines for my Thanksgiving sweets pairing; I poured Halter Ranch's Vin de Paille & El Pecado   with a spiced parsnip cake and bittersweet cremeux, respectively. These have all been great and well-received pairings. So, when friends mentioned they were heading down to Paso to do an errand, I booked a tour and tasting for us. We were fortunate enough to have Ray to ourselves and he deftly guided us around the property, the winery, and the cave. Then he led us t...

I saw an online article that paired Girl Scout Cookies with beer . Color me intrigued. Okay, I don't particularly like Girl Scout Cookies. Sorry, that makes me the equivalent of a cookie grinch, right? But I buy them every year to support one or two girl scouts that I know. So, I decided to give the cookies and beer pairing a try. I read the flavor profiles of the beer and decided to create my own pairings. Here's what we tried... I must have missed the memo that Samoas were renamed Caramel deLites. No matter. They taste the same. Caramel deLites + Coconut Curry Hefeweizen To complement the coconut of the cookies, I poured Lips of Faith's Coconut Curry Hefeweizen. This straw-hued brew has a big, bold aroma with coconut and curry tones and a hint of banana. The beer also boasts cinnamon, coriander, fenugreek, ginger, Kaffir lime, and cayenne pepper. It was a perfect, fun beer for a favorite cookie.   Thin Mints + Tanilla Everything I read paired Th...