For a number of years I have belonged to a wine group that gets together six times a year for wine tastings. Whomever is hosting picks a theme and has a budget of $360.00 to go and play out their current wine fantasy and educate and entertain the rest of us. From time to time we have done BYOW with great success and once we a had food and wine challenge. The six couples were assigned a country or region and had to come up with an appetizer that represented the area and match it with a corresponding bottle of red wine. The mission was to find a true appetizer that locals actually ate on a regular basis not concoct something original. Sue, my wine wife, we are the only singletons in the organization, drew Canada and thought that would be a no brainer. Research suggested smoked salmon or things like scallops things that would not pair with red wines. There were lots of appetizers that although regular fare were imported. More research revealed that celery stuffed with CheeseWhizz was distinctly Canadian and is served at all gatherings from parties to funerals. It will give us great pleasure to know that we are not alone here or maybe from here it will catch on.

To see images of others participating in the "Food & Restaurants" challenge: http://forum.pbase.com/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=42043&sid