Home Cooking Chronicles: Sparkling rosé’s best friend
Recipe pairs sparkling wine,
pimento cheese and saltines
BY BRIAN MEDFORD
One of my closest friends and I share
the same name. We go by our last names to
not confuse those around us. When I hear,
“Medford” I know it’s me people are refer-
ring to, not the Oregon city. It is the clos-
est I have come to feeling like a player on
a sports team since I turned 8 years old —
T-ball was my crowning achievement.
The other Brian does wine. He is the
kind of person that opens a bottle and can
tell you the variety of grape, the country
of origin, the year bottled and probably the
chemical composition of the soil from just
a whiff . I’ve learned that wine comes in
shades of straw, yellow, gold, copper, pink,
salmon, ruby, purple and garnet. Before, I
thought wine was just red or white. Who
knew I was missing the rainbow of fl avor?
I’ve learned through sharing bottles with
the other Brian that I like southern Rhone
Valley grapes. grenache, mourvèdre and
cinsault are my jam (and can taste jammy so
it’s fi tting). But I have a weakness for any-
thing sparkling … wine-wise, although I
The
Illahee
Apartments
Brian Medford
Pimento cheese pairs with rosé wine for a delicious treat.
Why Live
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1046 Grand Avenue
Astoria, OR 97103
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have said before that my favorite color is
shiny.
While tasting a new bottle delights me,
the best part of my wine visit is the other
Brian’s partner, Julie. She is a glorious
cook. I eat dinner with them multiple times
a week. When I cross the threshold of their
house, the other Brian nods and says “Med-
ford” as a greeting. Julie always has a glass
of sparkling rosé ready to hand me. Plus,
there’s always something in the oven that
induces a Pavlovian response in me. It’s like
walking into a warm hug.
My favorite appetizer for sparkling rosé
(other than Fritos, which pair well with
everything) is pimento cheese. The subtle
sweetness and tiny bubbles of the wine cuts
through the hot sauce heat of the pimento
cheese and reminds me of home.
So, raise your glass, toast your friends
(by last name or fi rst), make some pimento
cheese and start a conversation about wine
or home. We have a lot of catching up to do.
Pimento cheese (yields 2 cups)
Pair pimento cheese with any wine you’d
like. However, I believe the only acceptable
cracker to serve it on is a saltine.
Ingredients
• One 4 ounce jar of diced pimento,
drained
• 4 ounces of mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon of grated sweet yellow
onion (fl esh and juice)
• 1 tablespoon of hot sauce
• ½ teaspoon of kosher salt
• ½ teaspoon of freshly ground black
pepper
• 12 ounces of grated sharp cheddar cheese
• 1 sleeve of saltine crackers, for serving
Preparation
In a medium bowl, combine the pimento,
mayonnaise, hot sauce, grated onion, salt and
pepper.
Add the grated sharp cheddar cheese
(grate your own cheese, it’s much better).
Lightly mix into the pimento mixture.
Refrigerate for one hour and then slather
on top of saltine crackers.
Pair the crackers and cheese with wine of
your choice. A few of my favorite local spar-
kling rosés are Underwood Rosé by Union
Wine Co. (Tualatin), Brut Rosé Scintillation
by Syncline Wine Cellars (Lyle, Washington)
and Sparkling Blanc de Noir #JanelleMonae
by Abbey Creek Winery (North Plains).
Brian Medford is the owner of Idlewild
Biscuits and Bakes in Astoria. He teaches
cooking classes at The Pantry in Seattle.
Contact him at blmedford@gmail.com.