It is Memorial Day weekend, what are you grilling?

My wife decided that, despite the rain in Northern California, now is the time to fire up the grill.  We bought some eggplant and thought it’d be nice to pair it with a bottle of our Jackson Hills Chardonnay.  The pairing was wonderful, which surprised me; I was concerned that the eggplant would overpower the wine.

My prep was really easy, too. I sliced a medium-sized black beauty eggplant into large rounds and poured a good amount of olive oil on them. After a quick drizzle of balsamic vinegar, I sprinkled the rounds with salt. I grilled them over medium high heat until they were caramelized on both sides and tender in the middle. The eggplant absorbed the olive oil and had a creamy texture that complimented this wonderfully rich Chardonnay.

This is one of my favorite times of the year because I know a Summer full of barbeques is right around the corner, and the eggplant was just the first. And what I’m really excited to throw on the grill are oysters. My wife and I can’t wait to picnic at one of the amazing oyster farms on Tomales Bay.  You better bet we’ll be enjoying some Chardonnay while we’re doing it.

Hopefully by now everyone has enjoyed a little bit of good weather and has fired up the grill. So here’s my question: what are you grilling this weekend?

Happy grilling.