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Hey Syrah, Syrah, Whatever Will Be, Will Be: Mushroom Rice #Winophiles

I am so fortunate to be a part of an incredible group of wine bloggers that join together once a month to talk about wine and food pairings from France.  It's the third weekend of the month and this month we are celebrating wines from Northern Rhone.  Come and join us on Saturday for a Twitter Chat about the Northern Rhone wines.  Use the hashtag #winophiles to find us!  This month we are hosted by Syrah Queen.  Be sure and visit her wonderful blog.  Join us for a twitter chat #Winophiles on Saturday, April 19th 11:00 am EST. We will take a deep dive into the Northern Rhône.


So why the title?  Hey Syrah, Syrah, reminds me of a song I used to sing when I was younger, called Que Sera, Sera by Doris Day. The song talks about accepting what lies ahead and not worrying about the future. This song could be an anthem for our stay at home order, accepting it and making your time at home all it can be! And of course, sera and syrah.  A fun play on words.

Again, I am the novice when it comes to wine, so I share with you what I learned and found fascinating about the wines we are exploring.  The Northern Rhone area has been making wines since the Roman era and is the main producer for the grape Syrah. There are eight crus in Nothern Rhone and each produces a wine that is different than the others. You should explore each cru and find the one you love the most!

I was fortunate that the wine I wanted was available to me at Cork and Rind, a lovely wine and cheese store in Saint Charles (Missouri) where I live.  It's near the Historic District on Capitol in a charming renovated historic home.  If you are planning a trip near here, you should go and order a cheeseboard and eat it at one of our local parks.


The wine is a 2017 Crozes-Hermitage Silène.  Wine.com describes it as "Bright violet. Mineral-accented cherry, boysenberry, and smoky bacon aromas are complicated by suggestions of olive and candied flowers. Energetic and focused for the vintage, offering concentrated bitter cherry, cassis and violet pastille flavors braced by a spine of juicy acidity. Closes sappy, smooth and quite long, with sneaky tannins and a lingering suggestion of juicy black and blue fruits."

The Shiverick Wine website has these tasting notes: Ripe fruit balanced out by backbone and structure, this Syrah shows plum, black pepper, pencil lead, and warming spices. Perfect with heartier comfort foods such as cassoulet or braised beef short ribs.



The Chave family, the winemakers, have been producing wines on the famous Hermitage Hill since 1481. Can you imagine? My husband's family's grocery store was in the family for over 100 years and we were so incredibly proud!  Gerard Chave took over from his father in the 70s and now has passed on their winemaking tradition to his son, Jean-Louis. Their strategies include low yields, full ripeness, and traditional farming methods.

Appellation: Crozes-Hermitage AOC

For pairing this lovely wine, we decided to do steaks as we do for most of our beautiful reds, but the focus will be on this delicious side dish called Mushroom Rice.  The hearty, comfort food of rice will bring in those earthy flavors to pair with this delicious wine. We've talked about my husband's steak prowess here and here.

Here is the side dish we served with our steak. It was perfect with the smooth, deep wine. Comfort food and a Nothern Rhone wine is a match made in heaven.

Check out the other wonderful wine pairings with Northern Rhone wines:



Mushroom Rice

Mushroom Rice

Yield: 6
Author:
Prep time: 6 MCook time: 40 MTotal time: 46 M
A delicious and earthy side dish for steak, or on its own with garlicky cheese bread.

Ingredients:

  • 5 T butter
  •  1 lb mushrooms, cleaned and chopped
  • 1 medium yellow onion diced
  • 2 cloves of garlic, minced
  • salt and pepper
  • 1 t fresh thyme
  • 2 c white rice
  • 1 10 oz can of consomme
  • 2 20 oz can of water

Instructions:

How to cook Mushroom Rice

  1. Cook mushrooms in a pot with 2 T of the butter 3-5 minutes until caramelized, then cook 3 minutes more.
  2. Remove mushrooms and set aside.
  3. Add onions, salt and pepper, thyme and the last T of butter to the pot and cook 3-5 minutes on medium.
  4. Add mushrooms back to the pot, with the minced garlic and cook 1 minute. 
  5. Add rice, broth, and water.
  6. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and cook covered 20 minutes. Turn off heat and rest 10 minutes before serving.
Calories
180.61
Fat (grams)
6.44
Sat. Fat (grams)
3.76
Carbs (grams)
27.98
Fiber (grams)
2.96
Net carbs
25.01
Sugar (grams)
2.98
Protein (grams)
5.50
Sodium (milligrams)
106.40
Cholesterol (grams)
15.27

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Would you like to comment?

  1. This looks like some amazing rice. I might have to make it for dinner. We do love our rice here.

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  2. I worked at one of our local wineries during the harvest season in 2018, and got to try various styles of wines. I found the Syrah to be a very full-bodied wine! Your recipe for Mushroom Rice is a must-have for those who love both!

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    Replies
    1. What a super cool experience, Roger! I think that would be a fun thing to do.

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  3. I know next to nothing about wine, but I would love to learn. And I love any recipe with mushrooms! Looks tasty.

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  4. I'm not so sure I would like the wine, but the mushroom rice looks amazing! I just added mushrooms to my Instacart order, so hopefully I can make it soon.

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  5. This sounds delicious! I love mushrooms and this seems like the perfect pairing. I will have to give this recipe a try.

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  6. All I know about wine is that I get a nasty headache from drinking it. Even if it is only one sip. But that mushroom rice, though, looks yummy!! Definitely need to try to cook that one of these days

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  7. What a wonderful way to look at these challenging times! It sounds as if the wine paired well with your steak and mushroom rice - comfort food at its finest. Cheers to all that!

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  8. Now you got me into singing que sera, que sera. LOL. That mushroom rice looks delish. Reminds me of my fave mushroom risotto. Or are they the same? :) -LYNNDEE

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  9. Wine and mushrooms...Yes Please! I love food and wine pairings and this sounds like a tasty match!

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  10. Steak and Syrah - a match made in heaven - and with a side dish of mushroom rice, too. Yum! Next time I'm in Missouri, I'm calling you!

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  11. Love that song, love Chave, and love your post. Great to share the wines of Northern Rhone together.

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  12. I tasted the Silène 2016 and really enjoyed it. We only paired with a cheese plate, but your mushroom pairing sounds like it would pick up on the wine's earthy notes beautifully!

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  13. Mushrooms and rice! Great easy idea for dinner. Something different from my usual dinners!

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  14. You have me dreaming about mushroom rice Terri! I could sit with a warm bowl of it and this Chave selection and be perfectly happy ;-)

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  15. I'm loving your pairing! The Chave sounds like a wonderful and reasonably priced introduction to Northern Rhône. Cheers!

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  16. I think mushrooms are the perfect choice for a pairing with the Crozes Hermitage. My father used to always say this is a que sera sera world we live in.

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  17. Love the play on words with your title. I definitely read it twice. Mushrooms sound like a perfect way to jazz up plain old rice.

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  18. I often have a similar reaction to your when I think about how long some of these wineries have been in existence. Old has a very different meaning in the Old World! That said, having a business in the family for over 100 years is definitely something to proud of.
    That song also plays in mind as well these days, and I often think of it with Syrah too!

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  19. Rose Ann Sales4:42 AM

    Mushroom rice sounds great even without meat..! I'm definitely trying this..!

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