QUESTION: I'm planning a party for friends, and we're going to put out a number of dishes along with a number of wines, and just have guests eat and drink what they like. Are there any ingredients that I should avoid in the food so that as many of the wines as possible will be enjoyable?
ANSWER: A similar question was put to food-and-wine expert Karen MacNeil, and here's the list she came up with:
* artichoke hearts
* blue cheese
* capers
* habanero or other extremely hot peppers
* horseradish
* pickled ginger
* very pungent red or white vinegars
* wasabi.
