Thanksgiving has come and gone, but its wake has left most refrigerators loaded with leftovers and a waning interest in them.    If culinary doldrums were not enough to wrestle with, hectic holiday schedules kick off this week with events, office parties, shopping, and parties with friends and neighbors on the nearby horizon.    Despite these constraints, there is no need to think that a creative wine and food pairing is beyond your reach.

First, do not shun those Thanksgiving leftovers quite yet.   Perhaps the traditional reheating of the dishes on their own lacks interest at this point, but using them to create a new creative dish can revitalize even the most cantankerous of palates.   And with any creative dish, a wine pairing is always possible.  

When looking for something that will pair easily with an array of leftover dishes from Thanksgiving, Rosé is a light, fruit-focused casual wine that should be considered.    As discussed earlier this year in a separate article, Rosés are made by one of three different methods and despite their pink appearance in the glass, they are primarily made from red wine grapes.   Depending on the vintner, a variety of characteristics can be found in the wine.   This week, given that I am going to create a dish from Thanksgiving leftovers, I have selected B.R. Cohn’s Rosé to pair with the meal because it is predominantly characterized by nuances of peach and spice.   

B.R. Cohn, located just north of neighboring Sonoma, makes a fun, seductive and lively Rosé.   Among the grapes used in the wine are Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre and Cinsault.   Combining these grapes resulted in a semi-dry French Rhone style Rosé setting forth enticing aromas and providing raspberry, peach and spice on the palate.   The mere description of this wine triggers found memories of warm summer afternoons in the backyard, but by no circumstance should this wine be shelved until warmer months. 

Seeking a casual setting and a casual food pairing, Rosé finds its proper place no matter the season.   Scanning the Thanksgiving leftovers in my refrigerator, it is readily apparent that this week’s menu should simply hold:

·        Turkey Green Chile Quesadillas with Cranberry-Apple-Rhubarb Chutney

To add some spunk to the quesadilla, I spread some leftover Cranberry-Apple-Rhubarb Chutney on a flour tortilla.   Making the Cranberry-Apple-Rhubarb Chutney for Thanksgiving was a creative take on the traditional Cranberry Sauce while not using as much sugar.   While temperatures are lowering at night and frost warnings rumbling across Napa Valley, my garden is still producing a few items such as lettuce, cherry tomatoes, carrots, herbs and rhubarb.    With a desire to practice sustainability, I picked the rhubarb from the garden and incorporated it into my chutney.  Adding the rhubarb introduced a different twist on the chutney, followed by a dash of nutmeg and apple to sweeten.    It is these same fruit flavors and spice which pair compatibly with the Rosé selected.  

Any Thanksgiving that I have the opportunity to prepare either a turkey or turkey breast, I use the recipe that I posted last week on the web site’s Facebook Fan Page.    The trick to maintaining moisture in the poultry is roasting the turkey in a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc.   The turkey takes on a light flavoring of the wine and the result is a succulent bird.   

With plenty of leftover turkey, some was shredded and lightly peppered for the quesadilla.   Adding some sliced green onion, green chilies, and shredded jack cheese, the quesadilla is ready to be grilled and let the blend of flavors melt together.  

Once prepared, the Turkey Quesadilla is loaded with vibrant flavor and it is difficult to envision that previously these were lonely leftovers on the refrigerator shelf.  The meal and Rosé are a lively duo and while sitting in the afternoon backyard sun, the hustle and bustle of the holiday season seems far off.   Given the minimal food preparation and the casual nature of Rosé, this feeling of staving off the stress of the holidays does not have to be a simple December daydream.