Monday marked the first day of the Five Days of Food & Wine.  We enjoyed an appetizer made of Roasted Peppers, Goat Cheese & Ciabatta Bread.  Hubby supplemented his meal with some grilled chicken, left over from Sunday’s meal.  He needs more protein than I do.  I found the recipe on myrecipes.com.  The recipe is as follows:

Ingredients

•    3 bell peppers in a mix of colors such as red, yellow, orange, or green
•    4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
•    2 teaspoons unseasoned rice vinegar
•    1/2 teaspoon salt
•    Pinch of sugar
•    8 ounces fresh goat cheese
•    2 tablespoons fresh oregano leaves
•    Warm ciabatta bread

Preparation

• Heat a grill to high (450° to 550°). Rub peppers with 1 tbsp. oil. Grill peppers, turning often, until charred all over, about 10 minutes. Put in a bowl and cover with a towel to steam.
• Meanwhile, mix 2 tbsp. oil, the vinegar, salt, and sugar. Slice cheese and set on a serving plate.
• Peel peppers, stem, and slice; discard skins. Mix peppers with vinegar mixture and spoon over cheese. Drizzle with remaining 1 tbsp. oil and sprinkle with the oregano. Serve with bread.

I made several batches of the vinegar mixture, one with rice vinegar and a Tuscan Herb infused olive oil (think garlic, onion, oregano & basil infused into olive oil) one with balsamic vinegar and a Spanish Melgarejo Hojiblanca olive oil and one with the Tuscan Herb Olive Oil and the balsamic vinegar.  Hubby preferred the Spanish Melgarejo Hojiblanca olive oil with the Balsamic vinegar and a dash of the Tuscan Herb olive oil – of course.

I ended up doubling the recipe with the Spanish Melgarejo Hojiblanca olive oil, a dash of the Tuscan Herbe oilve oil  and the balsamic vinegar.  I put some over the peppers and put the remainder into a dish for dipping the bread or drizzling over the goat cheese and peppers and some to put over the peppers in their dish.  If I was to serve this appetizer to guests, I would cut the bread into small pieces and add a bit of the goat cheese and peppers onto the bread, allowing the guests to drizzle whatever additional oil and vinegar they would like – less messy to serve to guests, but with El Hub and I, well… I figured he likes more peppers and cheese, I like less so I left it for us to compile as we preferred.

We enjoyed two different Albarino wines with this.  We did a taste testing between an Albarino from Martin Codax and an Albarino from Burgens.  I have to say I preferred the Martin Codax for just sipping but with the food, the Burgens won the prize.  The Martin Codax Albarino is a softer Albarino, more apple/pear notes.  The Burgens Albarino initially has a more pronounced Grapefruit flavor but as it warmed up a bit the taste rounded out and it really enhanced the balsamic vinegar and goat cheese flavors.  As for the recommended Sauv Blanc, hmmm…we tried it, but really, with the heat of the summer and the appetizer, the Albrino really went better, in my humble opinion.

First course down – four to go.  Tuesday’s course is fish.  We will be having a Grilled Tuna and Corn Salad served with a Pinot Noir Rosé.