Every so often, you stumble upon a Chardonnay so refreshing and unique, so unlike typical oaky-buttery-California Chardonnays, that you want to drink it, cook with it, try every dish with it. You’re lucky if you can find on that is half steel-fermented and half oak-fermented! I love Chardonnay with a creamy freshness and lemon-lime quality …
I love French food and wine…and I love eating and drinking local. These two loves inspired me to create a local version of a typical French dish: oven-roasted chicken with vegetables and herbs de Provence. Of course, this is using local Chardonnay – in the dish…and in my glass. In a Santa Barbara County garden …
Fresh pasta with local, organic spring peas, leeks and thyme for an easy, impressive dinner. Spring has sprung in California – as well as most of the country. To me that means spring vegetable season; asparagus, leeks, peas, artichoke, fennel and fresh herbs are bountiful in farmers markets. Much of this produce is available year-round, …
You may remember from previous posts that I love a little herb in my desserts – well, I also love a little herb in my drinks. Especially basil. And cilantro. And rosemary…ok I love them all. Give me a fennel-infused bloody mary with a touch of cilantro plus all the fixins and I’m a happy …
When I saw this recipe for Spiced Apple Cider, it reminded me of the Vin Chaud (mulled wine) I’d had and loved in Europe during the holidays. I could often smell it wafting from doorways of small restaurants and upon entering friends’ homes or churches. Even places like train stations and gas stations served it, which …
September 30 is the last day of California Wine Month so I thought I’d pair one of my favorite Italian sauces with some California white wines made from Italian varietals. And I added a twist to the pesto that I learned from Luce, on a recent trip to Portland. The Food: Luce is a very …
There’s at least one winery in every state, but that doesn’t mean you should taste the local wine when you’re driving through Oklahoma. But in North Carolina, they’ve been slowly converting tobacco crops to grape vines over the last 10 years, thanks in part to an incentive by the state government to do so. In …
In the South, cold drinks are mandatory near the close of each work day…or maybe I should say just somewhere around 3 pm, when the day is at its hottest… and its humidest (and this is what humidity does to your brain in Alabama). This is featured in the new book The New Bloody Mary: …
