Recipes from Wine Country

Steve Pitt is a Toronto-based freelance writer and an award-winning journalist. He has written many young adult and children's books, including Day of the Flying Fox: The True Story of World War II Pilot Charley Fox.

“Wine centric” is how De Luca describes the central theme of his
cookbook. As executive chef of the Niagara region’s Hillebrand Estate
Winery, De Luca certainly has unlimited access to his theme ingredient.
The book is arranged not by food course but by grape variety, with main
chapters being “Sparking Wine,” “Sauvignon Blanc”
“Riesling,” “Chardonnay,” “Gamay Noir,” “Merlot,” and
“Cabernet Sauvignon.” De Luca begins each chapter with a short
description of the grape variety and its place in both Canadian and
worldwide wine production, and then builds a menu around the wine
featuring appetizers, soups, seafood, poultry, and meat courses. For
example, in the “Riesling” chapter there are recipes for Canadian
Crab Cakes, Lobster and Crab Terrine, Salsify Soup with Pan-Seared
Scallops, Pear and Parsnip Soup, Pickerel with Tomato Confit and
Riesling Reduction, Ling Cod with Oyster Mushroom Sauce and Mashed
Potatoes, Chicken with Four Peppercorn Crust, and Pork Tenderloin with
Niagara Succotash. A minor peccadillo is that De Luca seems to confuse
fruits and vegetables with crustaceans. Technically speaking, a bisque
is a soup made from shellfish, but in this book there are asparagus,
sweet pepper, eggplant, and pumpkin soups listed as bisques.

Although clearly written, the recipes are aimed at intermediate to
advanced cooks who can handle instructions like “kill the lobster”
or “reserve the pan for sauce” with no further explanation. The
recipes are also for people who are not afraid to shell out a few
dollars for premium ingredients like morel mushrooms or caviar. Scores
of lovely colour photographs illustrate the dishes. This beautiful,
well-written book will make you want to extend both your culinary and
your wine horizons.