We were in SoCal for a week, visiting family, and my mom hosted a little birthday party to celebrate Xander’s 5th the day we arrived. We ordered pizza, as we often do these days for these on-the-fly family gatherings, to keep it simple. My contribution, as usual, would be some sort of big salad – but this time, one that could be prepared a few hours in advance…
I love fish, and I want my kids to love it. None of this, “Ewww! Fish is stinky” from my babies. So I’ve been serving it to them for dinner from the time they started solids, in kid-friendly preparations. And guess what? They love it! Give Xander, who isn’t even 5 yet, a choice of dumbed-down kids-menu items or grilled salmon on a restaurant menu, and he chooses the salmon. These baked fish fingers were the gateway …
One of my favorite styles of wine is the light, zesty, low-alcohol white, commonly hailing from coastal Portugal, Italy or Spain. I’ve taken to calling this delightful category “Delicious Water”. Clocking in at less than 12% alcohol, DW wines are super food-friendly but are also amazing without food. In the park. On a sunny day. So refreshing. Yum… This old-vine […]
We don’t do cow’s milk in my house. Which is sort of sacrilegious, considering that my grandparents and great-grandparents were dairy farmers, and my mom literally grew up on a dairy farm. But it just doesn’t sit well with my tummy, so I started experimenting with alternate milks years ago. Soy grossed me out, and the early […]
I have hundreds of cookbooks. Literally. I’m sort of addicted. Can’t stop buying new ones. I read them cover to cover, like a novel, before bed usually. I plaster them with sticky notes, tagging recipes, plotting out a meal agenda for the coming week, month, year. I know, total food nerd, right? The funny thing is, I almost never follow a recipe exactly.
A few years ago we took the whole family to Sicily for two weeks. It still lingers in my memory as one of the best trips. Ever. It was beautiful, and charmingly rough around the edges. We swam in the brilliant teal Aeolian sea and drank cheap (and delicious) Salina Bianco out of small plastic cups on a boat, the salt from the sea drying on our lips and mingling with the wine.
The popularity of wines from Mount Etna, the very active volcano in Sicily’s north-eastern corner, has exploded in the last few years. It is now one of the Italy’s hottest wine regions, and the darling of sommeliers around the world, for good reason. The volcanic soils, high altitudes and pre-phylloxera vineyards create wines of intense minerality, pure, bright fruit, and lightness of […]
After the Vitamix, the kitchen appliance that gets the most use in our house is the waffle maker. I’d resisted buying one for years, dismissing it as a one-trick pony. But then I had kids, and they grew old enough to demand waffles (or really any vehicle for maple syrup), and I caved. And now […]
There is something about broccoli that repels children (and many adults). Maybe it’s the slight stink, or that their first introduction is either raw florets on a crudite platter (when not even ranch dip can make it palatable), or steamed/boiled to a mushy mess (also not good). But when done right, broccoli can be divine! […]
Little boys need snacks. Constantly. Ones that can travel, fit in pudgy little hands and go straight to hungry mouths without requiring adult assistance or refrigeration. They also must be healthy, with nutritionally-dense, whole-food ingredients. Oh, and bonus points for being nut-free…
I’m a mom of two young boys, a sommelier, a former restaurateur, and a passionate home cook. I believe in eating well and celebrating life every day, not just on weekends or holidays or vacation. With delicious, healthy food, good wine and family and friends gathered around the table. This is my happy place.
My goal is to inspire to get you into the kitchen, and to take the mystery out of serving wine with food. On a Tuesday night. With picky eaters, even toddlers. It’s totally doable. Especially with a glass of wine. Trust me.
