Celebrate Pork January 29th
Anything to do with swine and consuming porcine gets two thumbs up in my house. That’s why we’re excited about Cochon 555 in Napa on January 29. Cochon 555 is a touring culinary event to promote sustainable farming of heritage breed pigs. It lands in St. Helena at the Culinary Institute of America this Sunday [...]
Scenes to Remember
Food and travel adventures during 2011 were astounding. I couldn’t resist snapping a picture of this delivery scooter, complete with an insultated unit for pig parts. Then there was waking up to a memorable sunrise on the Mediterranean. People talk about sunsets mostly and while I relish a good one, there’s just something about the [...]
Minestrone with Runquist Wine
Crazy Northern California weather this past year confused many plants but the strength of Bacchus in the Amador and El Dorado county wine areas prevailed. New wineries surfaced while many established operations flourished, making stand out wines. In Amador County, I’ve particularly enjoyed wines from a small producer with an unwavering focus on reds, Jeff [...]
Italian Bread for the Holidays
Try this on for size: an easy yeasted bread, Italian in nature with nuts, figs and more that is wonderful toasted with butter for breakfast or eaten as an anytime snack. This is Bisciola. When I first discovered bisciola, pronounced bih-SHOAL-ah, it was presented as yeasted fruit and nut bread. I’ve come to find it’s [...]
The Ultimate Meal
Remembering those meals, the ones that made an imprint, the ones you can see and almost taste again with your eyes closed. The restaurants, the towns, the surroundings. Conversations, ambiance and that friendly wait person who contributed to your delightful evening by adding a little extra something. A big part of my travel is about [...]
Cucina Povera, an Old World Workshop
Along with eleven others and four instructors, I recently attended a Plate 2 Page workshop in the small town of Pistoia, Italy. We indulged in food, wine, conversation, writing and photography. The following shares an afternoon experience. ——- Nestled in the Tuscan hills surrounded by olives and vines, colors changing from green to fall, we [...]
Mandarins in the Mountains
Products from Newcastle based Snow’s Citrus Court were my first foray into the world of northern California mandarins. Raylene Snow whipped up a half dozen or so varieties of wraps then graced them with her sauces, dips and dressings. I fell in love. That year it was just in time for the Mountain Mandarin Festival. [...]
Chestnuts Roasting
Smoldering and cracking on the metal, they’d eventually open showing their cream colored flesh singed around the edges. He handed me a paper cone of roasted chestnuts. They smelled of barbeque without the sauce. I held and savored that cone, my freezing hands beginning to warm like the earth when the sun peaks over the [...]
Blueberry Goat Cheese Galette
Figs and goat cheese are two of my favorites. Add a glass of Sancerre and you’re in for a treat. I recently put my favorite fig aside and tried blueberries with creamy goat cheese layered in a pastry crust. This is my new choice for an anytime galette. Blueberries and goat cheese weren’t [...]
Padrón, The Frying Pepper
I first experienced Padrón peppers on a trip to Spain two years ago. Glancing at a just delivered plate that sizzled and glistened, our waiter asked what was next. “We’ll have that.” I said in my broken Spanish. I fell in love with the Padrón all over again on my recent trip. Named after Padrón, [...]
