I always a say that Wine Food Pairing is and adventure and a challenge....well this article is an excellent example!

Last weekend we had a friend from Salzburg staying with us in Vienna. A delightful, eccentric man that my husband has known for several years. We spent the day at a health fair and were tired and hungry by the time we got home. I had purchased some wonderful Chantrelle mushrooms at a market that had been gathered fresh from the local area that morning. I knew about a traditional Austrian dish prepared with these delightful fungi and eggs, but I wasn't quite sure about all the ingredients.

Our friend, Gernot, assured us that he would prepare the evening meal as this was his favorite dish and a specialty of his....what could be better? I love it when someone cooks for me!

I opened a French red wine that my husband purchased the day before....a terrific tasting wine that would pair perfectly with the "meaty" mushrooms. I got the ingredients out of the pantry for Gernot and I started putting together the mixed green salad....working in different parts of the kitchen I wasn't really watching him, but I felt sure that if he needed assistance he would just ask. WRONG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What, you ask, could happen with a few eggs and mushrooms? BREAD in the MICROWAVE, that's what! Apparently, Gernot was not familiar with a microwave oven.....we don't really use our microwave much and we have located it in the pantry behind a closed door so I didn't even see him go in there. Well, as the story goes, Gernot said that he just wanted to warm up the crusty bread a bit so he set the microwave on high for 5 minutes.....YIKES.....you can imagine, 3 pieces of bread being "nuked" like that. I smelled the smoke first, then looked around and saw the smoke rolling out from under the pantry door. HOLY COW! I yanked open the microwave door and extinguished the blackened bread and all the while my husband is opening all the windows to let the clouds of smoke roll out....what a mess!!!!! Everyone was coughing and tears were running from our eyes!

Needless to say, we couldn't sit in the house to eat....in fact the smoke smell is still in the house 4 days later! I gathered up the plates, glasses and of course the wine which was REALLY needed now and went out to the backyard table. I lighted a candle, Gernot brought the pan of eggs and mushrooms and my husband brought the remaining cold bread and a second bottle of wine!

Wine Food Pairing and an unplanned picnic! The egg and mushroom combination was terrific and the French red paired beautifully. It was a bit cold out...in the 40's, but the sky was clear and the stars twinkling brightly....always an adventure and sometimes a challenge! CHEERS!