A post-holiday visit over a cup of tea

January 16, 2012

It’s been a while since we talked, and since then the holidays have come and gone. Whew. Can’t believe how fast that always happens.

In all the hubbub, I didn’t get a chance to wish you a merry Christmas, or Hanukkah or kwanza, or a happy New Year. Which is not so much a reflection on how much I wish you all those things as a reflection of how quickly they all got by me.

So how about the next best thing – a post-holiday visit over a cup of (virtual) tea?

A magical place

July 11, 2011

Some places are just special. Magical. Operating on another astral plane. Existing inside a harmonic convergence. Something.

Rancho La Puerta, in Tecate, Mexico, is also one of those places.

Lavender-Scented Dreams

April 27, 2011

A few weeks ago, I had the good fortune to spend the day with Michaela Baltasar, Senior PR Manager of Jackson Family Wines. It was one of the goodies that came with winning a fellowship to the Symposium for Professional Wine Writers and included a tasting with Ted Edwards, director of winemaking at Freemark Abbey Winery; a garden tour and food and wine pairing lunch, care of chef Matthew Lowe and executive chef Justin Wangler, at the Kendall-Jackson Wine Center; and a tasting with winemaker Marcia Monahan-Torres at Matanzas Creek Winery. I know – life is rough.

100 Perfect Pairings: Small Plates to Enjoy with Wines You Love – now at a store near you!

May 19, 2010

Well, it finally happened.

The book that I spent much of 2008 writing and creating recipes for, that I spent much of 2009 shepherding through the edit process – not “100 Perfect Pairings: Entrees” mind you, which I wrote last year, but the first “100 Perfect Pairings” book that I initially proposed to a publisher back in 2007 – is a real, live, out-in-the-world cookbook!

It’s very strange to have this thing that’s been a mostly private phenomenon become a public one. Well, phenomenon, I don’t know. But it’s out there in public! And so far, to good reviews.

NEW POST: An incredible week at Rancho La Puerta

March 10, 2010

Three weeks ago, I had the amazingly good fortune to be the visiting cooking teacher at Rancho La Puerta, just over the border in Tecate, Mexico.