Recipes- Food- Wine- Cooking- Guide
to the California Central Coast

Welcome to The Romantic Table, an online magazine about the wine and food of California's Central Coast, featuring wine reviews, California Central Coast recipes, food and wine news and culinary events from the California Central Coast.
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Wine And Food Articles

January's Recipes Offer a Lot of Quick Easy Ways to Serve an Outstanding Meal!

©2012 The Romantic Table, Saffron Scallop Risotto 2012-01-15 21:30:19:317

2012-01-16 00:19:12 ID=659:1
© 2012 The Romantic Table
by Susan McGourty

Our home and office have been so chaotic since Christmas---too many irons is the fire! So I decided to go back to some of my quick meals that I've made over the years to "save the day!" These new recipes will help you too when you're in a bind but want a delicious meal!

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Decembers Celebrations! -But Also a Time to Slowdown!

©2011 The Romantic Table, Christmas Pear and Pomegranate Salad 2011-12-13 20:45:58:316

2011-12-13 20:52:55 ID=658:1
© 2011 The Romantic Table
by Susan McGourty

December is here and so is the rushed hustle and bustle of the holiday celebrations. But dinnertime is the one part of the day we should mentally put our "Christmas-timers" on hold and collect ourselves and enjoy the warm morsels in front of us, and get back to the real meaning of sharing with one another. December's recipes will offer a little something for everyone!

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California Central Coast Wine Value Pick | Beckmen Vineyards 2010 Purisima Mountain Vineyard Grenache Rosé

©2011 The Romantic Table, Beckmen Vineyards 2010 Purisima Mountain Vineyard Grenache Rosé 2011-08-28 13:32:21:300

2011-08-29 01:04:24 ID=649:1
© 2011 The Romantic Table
by Larry McGourty

Beckmen Vineyards 2010 Purisima Mountain Vineyard Grenache Rosé is a dry Rosé style wine which pairs well with Mediterranean style cuisine and robust Pacific Coast style seafood dishes.

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How to Truss Poultry

©2009 The Romantic Table, trussing poultry 2009-11-16 21:29:57:228

2009-11-16 21:25:06 ID=555:1
© 2009 The Romantic Table
by Susan McGourty

When I was a girl helping my Mother and Grandmother prepare Thanksgiving dinner one of my jobs was to stuff the turkey and sew the cavity shut for roasting. Despite all my efforts, it usually never really stayed closed however, and there was always the problem of retrieving bits of thread from the bird as it was carved. The secret I learned later was to truss the bird.

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California Central Coast Wine Value Pick | Edward Sellers 2006 Paso Robles Syrah

©2009 The Romantic Table, Edward Sellers 2006 Paso Robles Syrah 2009-09-29 16:04:26:204

2009-10-01 15:58:31 ID=511:1
© 2009 The Romantic Table
by Larry McGourty

In this California Central Coast Wine Value Review we take a look at Edward Sellers 2006 Paso Robles Syrah

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California Central Coast Wine Value Pick | Norman Pinot Grigio 2006

©2009 The Romantic Table, Norman Pinot Grigio 2006, Citrus-lemon-tangerine aroma with melon and floral overtones, good balanced acidity and an overall smoothness. 2009-09-21 22:36:17:199

2009-09-21 22:35:44 ID=491:1
© 2009 The Romantic Table
by Larry McGourty

In this California Central Coast Wine Value Review we take a look at Norman Pinot Grigio 2006

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A tip from Sue!

A good cook should control the salt and spices!

Do not use salted butter, garlic powder, or heavily salted canned foods. Instead, if you need butter, use unsalted butter and then add in the salt separately so that YOU control the amount of salt you need. The same goes for spices. Using commercially salted and seasoned products will homogenize the taste of your recipes. When you eat something, you should be able to taste all the individual.flavors of a dish.

This web site is about how to find and enjoy some of the best of the California Central Coast’s Food and Wine bounties. All these California Central Coast Recipes are home-kitchen tested and the photographs are the fully cooked final products. Cooking should be fun as well as an adventure! These recipes are not carved in stone. They’re meant more to use as guidelines. For example, if you especially like a certain ingredient and would like to use more, go ahead and alter the recipe to your personal taste.

Cooking is NOT something that you should dread. It’s very straight forward and logical. It can be really fun and relaxing. I hope that I can pass on to you some of the techniques and “tricks” of my cooking experiences through the years. My recipes have a practicality factor that I’ve perfected over the years so you’ll get the most taste and looks for time spent. I will show you how to make a good-looking as well as good tasting meal in a half hour or so, you can enjoy quality dining every night at home for a mere fraction of the cost of dining out!

Plus we will keep you on top of Food and Wine events that are happening right here under our noses on the California Central Coast, so you can have a lot of fun too.