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, [...]
Pinot On the River
The 8th Annual “Pinot On The River” Festival takes place October 22, 23 and 24 at the Rodney Strong Vineyards event center, and other venues in the Russian River Valley. A grand tasting of pinot noir from the Russion River Valley and other wineries up and down the west coast is from 12:00 noon to [...]
Cherry Tomato Jam with a Sicilian Twist
We got back from our month in Spain and low and behold, my cherry tomato plant was loaded! We ate lots of tomato items on this trip. A more savory style tomato jam popped up frequently on tapas, pinxtos, and the Spanish version of tostada, basically a toasted piece of bread or baguette with items [...]
Sierra 2 Center Wine Tasting & Beer Garden
The Sierra Curtis Neighborhood Association (SCNA) is hosting their much anticipated annual wine tasting event in Curtis Park on Saturday, October 1st. Located at the Sierra 2 Center, the event is from 4 to 7 p.m. with a focal point on local wine, beer and food. A silent auction and raffles are also included in [...]
