Pancakes and sausage for dinner - impossible food-wine pairing?!?
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Even though we encountered something similar previously in this series of impossible food wine pairings, site reader Andy from Napa clearly has given this some thought. So we should too! To his email:
Hey Dr. Vino, I have what may be a real stumper – and one I’d love some help with. I’ve got two kids – 8 and 5 – and every Wednesday night at our house is “backward night” – we have breakfast for dinner. A very, very, very popular night with the kids. The menu is usually pancakes, which we whip up from scratch, and breakfast sausages. Added to that, we often put peanut butter AND syrup on the pancakes. All of this goes fine with milk, but, of course for me it’s evening, when my thoughts turn to wine. Sadly, I’ve not yet found a good pairing.
I really would love to know if there’s an actual wine that works. It would have to be something that goes with the nutty flavors of the pancakes (I tend to throw in some sunflower seeds or some toasted flax seeds — you know, sneak in a little healthy stuff when the kids aren’t looking!). Given that milk works so well, I’m tempted to think that a wine with some lactic acid might work — like a white that’s gone through some serious malolactic?
I guess with the sunflower seeds, it’s a safe bet Andy doesn’t serve pancakes and sausage on a stick!
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On June 25th, 2008 at 8:21 am ,Scott wrote:
I’d try a basic madeira, or something like Blandy’s Alvada.
It can handle both the nutty and the sweet, which is why it works with another favorite impossible food pairing of mine- baklava.
On June 25th, 2008 at 9:50 am ,dhonig wrote:
I truly wish you’d not included the food on a stick link. One peek at it and my appetite is gone for the day.
On June 25th, 2008 at 10:24 am ,Ron B wrote:
This isn’t a direct shot at you, Doc, but I’m sometimes befuddled by the need to achieve such pairings. When we do breakfast-for-dinner, my wife and I drink coffee. It’s never occurred to me to even try. For me, coffee with breakfast food just works, and I dare not mess my favorite meal (no matter what time of day I take that meal). That said, I had a late-harvest Viognier from a local vineyard - Horton - that might pair well with pancakes. The sausage might mess that pairing up though.
On June 25th, 2008 at 10:48 am ,andreas04: close to attraction wrote:
[...] Pancakes and sausage for dinner - impossible <b>food</b>-wine pairing?!? [...]
On June 25th, 2008 at 11:33 am ,Sarah Warner wrote:
Why, Moscato d’Asti of course!
On June 25th, 2008 at 1:02 pm ,Scott from Salt Lake wrote:
“Backwards night”, I like it.
An Orange Muscat would hold up quite well to the peanut butter, maple syrup and sausage.
On June 25th, 2008 at 4:31 pm ,Dale Cruse wrote:
How about a wine cocktail like a Mimosa?
On June 25th, 2008 at 9:45 pm ,cma wrote:
The answer to all of these is always Champagne.
This time I’d go rose
On June 26th, 2008 at 6:42 am ,Denise Clarke wrote:
For Sunday brunches where this type of food makes it to our buffet table I always put out champagne and fresh squeezed OJ … sometimes I drink it together as a mimosa …. sometimes seperately either way it would be great, either AM or PM!
Denise
http://www.WineFoodPairing.blogspot.com
On June 26th, 2008 at 7:07 am ,AnnToni wrote:
What about coffee with a splash of Amaretto in it.
On June 26th, 2008 at 9:55 am ,Gretchen wrote:
When I make pancakes for dinner, I drink a glass of white wine (Vouvray or Riesling or Vinho Verde) while I cook, then switch to juice for the meal. But I like the mimosa idea–makes backwards sense.
On June 26th, 2008 at 11:39 am ,JDWebster wrote:
I’ll second the Mimosa, as I find that to be the only palatable option. Or a variation on the theme, Prosecco with a splash of mango or guava nectar.
On June 26th, 2008 at 12:15 pm ,des wrote:
I second JDWebster prosecco option and you like to throw out there the idea of a fortified marsala maybe from Florio. Any takers?
D
On June 26th, 2008 at 3:14 pm ,Jesse wrote:
Clos Chateau Gaillard ‘Touraine-Mesland’ from the loire. 70% Chenin, 30 Chard. The palate is rich and caramely and the the wine is completely Biodynamic and absolutely delicious.
That, or the Moscato d’Asti for sure.
On June 29th, 2008 at 10:49 pm ,Robert wrote:
I’ve got to throw this out there. Not really a wine pairing but in tune with the backwards night why not try out either a oatmeal stout or milk stout (brewed with lactose). Both are ideal for breakfast drinking much like a Mimosa but drinking a beer in the morning is always a scary thought so this would work out much better. Also extra points if you decide to make stout pancakes (replace the water with a stout). But besides that a Mimosa or Bellini are most likely your best options.
On June 30th, 2008 at 2:59 pm ,Teddy wrote:
Sorry, but I would nix the notion of any alcohol and go for a deep, rich coffee.
I sometimes will have ‘breakfast’ for supper and would only have coffee. I might be up late with that caffeine but I do NOT do decaf.
Hey! But that’s me.
On July 1st, 2008 at 11:22 pm ,//Sheriff Scraps// » Famous Christian Duck. wrote:
[...] I’m not a wine enthusiast. In fact, the majority of pictures on facebook I’m tagged in consist of me and a bottle of Boone’s Farm (told you). I do, however, do enjoy a variety of blog topics. One of which happens to be wine. That being said, my curiosity was piqued at a serious of challenges in which enthusiasts tried to find a food that was impossible to be paired with wine. Enter the challenge of pancakes and sausage! [...]
On July 9th, 2008 at 2:51 pm ,Bobz wrote:
Lustau Pedro Ximenez Sherry
Make pancakes a little thinner, more like crepes.
Wrap around a sausage and scrambled egg filling with a few scattered healthy seeds and nuts.
Top with golden raisins plumped in a glass of the sherry and sliced, fresh grapes for a fruity finish.