It was very kind and considerate of the organizers of the all-women BlogHer to invite celebrity chef Rocco DiSpirito as a guest presenter. Most of the women here were purring his name Rrrrrroco, and I must agree, he is pretty easy on the eyes.
If you were an attendee, and can’t remember what he cooked [...]

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Today’s a quickie as I’m attending my first BlogHer Conference in San Francisco, CA. Upon arriving I felt a bit homesick for the Bay Area, fog and all. I actually had to change from my Capri pants and sandals to jeans and closed-toe shoes (with socks!!) in the Nordstrom ladies’ room. Brrrrr! Mark Twain was [...]

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In December of 1989, just after Christmas, my father and step-mother dropped me off at a little pensione in Siena, Italy where I was to meet my study-abroad group. I knew no one. We said our goodbyes, and I watched them fold themselves back into their tiny rented Fiat Uno and drive off. I stood [...]

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Ceviche has been an “it” food for quite awhile now, but I never tire of this South American dish in summer. If you’re too hot to stand over a hot barbecue, or are just in the mood for something light and fresh, try this citrus-marinated seafood salad.
The hot and humid evening decided our dinner menu [...]

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I miss the days when our food was safe to eat. What is going on!? Last year it was packaged spinach, now it’s tomatoes. It’s said that salmonella, the big wave that’s rocking the boat, is caused by fecal matter. Fecal matter! In layman’s terms: poop. Now that just gives a crappy meal a whole [...]

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It’s spring and I woke up with a sore throat. You shouldn’t be able to get sick in warm months. That’s what winter is for. We suffer the cold weather and the spreading of germs, then the sun comes out and we get a reprieve from carrying tissues and sucking on lozenges. Wouldn’t it be [...]

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I know I just wrote about cauliflower and the beautiful colors we are now seeing, - golden, green, purple - but I never actually cooked any. So tonight, since Barnaby has been gone for eight days now, I thought something along the lines of comfort food would do nicely: mashed cauliflower.
If you’ve never had mashed [...]

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I grew up in a little resort called Sunriver in Central Oregon. It’s beautiful, and I was so fortunate to have been exposed from an early age to the outdoors: cross-country and downhill skiing, tennis, canoeing, swimming, biking. But the closest town, Bend, at the time was significantly limited in its cuisines. And I use [...]

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After a big dinner party there always seems to be a bit of wine left over in many of the bottles. What to do with the dregs? There are three possibilities that come to mind:

dump the remainders down the drain (which would be such a pity and an unnecessary waste),
start or add to your own [...]

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Between 1852 and 1870 France experienced an economic boom called the Second Empire, a time in which new companies prospered, especially the wine culture in Bordeaux. As techniques improved in viticulture and vintaging, Bordeaux confirmed its place in the world as a leader in wine.
It was during this time that fine wine and spirits distillers/merchants, [...]

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