(posted 03-24-09)

I’m always thinking about my loyal readers. Your needs and wants. Your desires. I’m just that selfless, it’s true. So, I’ve compiled a few questions that have come in over the last couple weeks from “peeps” just like you. Why help one person when you can help nearly a dozen?!

Q What’s the truth behind best-before dates, can you let it go for a couple weeks once it’s past its expiration?

A The greatest gift my dad ever gave me was common sense. I consider expiration dates guidelines that shouldn’t override good sense. If it looks like a duck and walks like a duck, it’s probably a duck—the same rule applies for food. If it looks bad, smell it? If it smells bad, throw it out. If after the sight and whiff test you still can’t tell, taste it, then trust your gut.

Q I received a bottle of icewine for Christmas from my boss and I know it’s very expensive but I don’t like icewine. I thought about re-gifting it but is there something else I can do with it?

A Icewine (like female pop singers) is one of the greatest and most delicious products this country produces and best enjoyed in 2 oz. pours with sweet desserts like sticky toffee pudding or Banana’s Fosters, for example. If I still can’t convince you, pour ½ oz. of icewine into the bottom of a champagne flute and top with a dry sparkling wine. I call this cocktail a Niagara Gold and it can make a cheap bottle of bubbly taste like the good stuff. It’s delicious served at wine and cheese parties, to congratulate newly engaged couples or to help pass a Tuesday evening.

Q My second wedding anniversary is coming up and instead of going out for dinner I’d like to make a great meal at home. Any suggestions for something not too complicated?

A Of course. First, buy my new book, Entertaining with Booze. Second, turn to page 73 and voila!, a menu for The Perfect Romantic Dinner. Start off with a simple butternut squash soup (homemade or store bought) and garnish in the centre with some cooked lobster meat tossed in a little cognac—a wonderfully sophisticated starter that couldn’t be easier. For the main course medium-rare beef tenderloin for two (a.k.a. chateaubriand) served with Béarnaise sauce and a side of green beans steamed in white wine and tossed with slivered almonds and orange zest. And for dessert, a small cream puff tower drizzled with bourbon caramel. Serve with the best champagne you can afford and prepare for an onslaught of amorous advances.

Q What’s your take on eating local? It sounds great in theory but do you think it’s actually practicable?

A I’m all for a local diet and it’s definitely doable in many parts of the country if you’re an unapologetic carnivore—Yorkshire Duroc pork from Norfolk County, Ontario, Wagyu beef from southern Alberta, Brome Lake ducks from Quebec’s Eastern Townships—but a lot of fruits and veggies (especially in winter) are imported, and I, like many others will not be giving up Hawaiian pineapple or Spanish clementines any time soon, not to mention French wine or Belgian beer.

Q What’s a new lasagna recipe to try? I make a traditional version with Bechamel sauce and meat sauce but I’d like something a little different.

A I’m a creature of habit myself and have been making the same lasagna recipe since I was in high school—one that uses crumbled Italian sausage instead of beef in the Bolognese sauce—but it’s delicious so I keep making it. Sausage meat is already seasoned so you’re starting with a great flavour base and it’s veggie friendly, meaning you can add almost anything to the sauce—I’ve made it with caramelized onions and sauteed spinach or portobello mushrooms, roasted garlic and red wine—to keep it interesting. But don’t let that stop you. Use chorizo or lamb sausage and create something all your own.

A quick guide to autumn’s best beers, from amber ales to soul-warming stouts.

Now that summer’s oppressive heat has lifted (it seems to hurt less when you say it like that) and the days are filled with crisp, clean air it’s time to turn from light ales and thirst-quenching lagers to ones that have a little more heft—beer that’ll put hair on your chest. Or, at least ones that will stand up to the hearty stews and heavier dishes that become customary this time of year.

As the weather changes so do our palates (white wine in summer, red wine in winter anyone?) and suddenly you might find yourself craving a fuller-flavoured beer when just a couple weeks ago it would have been a bucket of Coronas or bust. Luckily we live in a country of devote beer drinkers that’s helped create a flourishing market for micro-brews—many of them crafting exceptional fall-friendly beers—as well as helping to keep demand high for full-bodied European ales, stouts and Abbey beers.

Broken down into three main categories (with some overlap) here’s a quick guide to choosing a beer that’ll both quench your autumnal thirst and compliment your meal.

Can’t tell a Gewürztraminer from a Spätburgunder? Learn about the different varieties of German wine, plus how to decode the labels.

Understanding German wines can be like learning to fly fish — from a guy with a thick Bavarian accent. It’s difficult and confusing but can be incredibly rewarding — once you’ve hooked your first fish. Germany produces some of the greatest white wines on the planet, and once you learn the language you’ll be able to navigate this section of your local wine shop with greater ease and precision — like driving a Mercedes.