Top 10 List: Foods to Have on Hand for Impromptu Holiday Entertaining

1. Mixed Nuts – Have a can or two of deluxe mixed nuts (without peanuts) on hand. These can be warmed in the oven at 350°F for about 5 minutes (toasting releases flavor and aroma).
2. Marinated Olives – Pick up some at the deli counter or marinate yourself with good quality olive oil, lemon zest, cracked peppercorns and fresh rosemary. I like large green olives stuffed with pimentos, garlic, almonds and jalapenos.
3. Soft Cream Cheeses – A wheel of brie or camembert can be easily paired with crackers, crusty bread or fresh fruit. To add flair, wrap in puff pastry and bake at 400°F for about 25 minutes or top with sautéed fruit or a prepared chutney.
4. Fancy Crackers – Flavored crackers, bagel chips, pita crisps and flat breads can be eaten alone or served with dips, cold cuts and spreads.
5. Cold Cuts – Keep slices of ham, turkey, salami and other meats on hand to create an antipasto plate with a moments notice. Garnish with olives, artichoke hearts and sun-dried tomatoes from the pantry. Leftovers make a great snack or weekday lunch.
6. Dip Mixes – Whip up a batch of dip in mere minutes with a dried dip mix and some sour cream, mayonnaise or yogurt. Choose bold and exotic flavors like lemon dill or wasabi ginger!
7. Prepared Spreads – Serve flavored hummus from the refrigerated section of the deli with precut veggies and pita crisps or use ready made pestos and relishes with cream cheese to create a savory spread.
8. Cookies – A tin of good quality assorted cookies in the pantry will satisfy your guests’ sweet tooth, especially the little ones.
9. Coffee, tea and hot chocolate – Brew a pot of fresh ground coffee or offer your guests a choice of traditional and flavored teas. Have premium hot chocolate (and marshmallows) on hand for the kids.
10. Chocolates – A stash of individually wrapped Belgian or Swiss chocolates is a sweet way to end any visit.

The Vintage Caper

Before I cooked, I read. And I read a lot. As I kid, when I finished all the Nancy Drew books in our little neighborhood library, I moved on the the Hardy Boy series (hey, it was a small library) just to have something to read.

Readers fall into two catergories ... they either focus on a specific genre like science fiction or murder mysteries or romance novels or they follow a specific writer. I am the latter ... except for the once in a while cheesy paperback romance to pass the time on a long flight. Through the years, I've read Ann Rice (vampire series), John Grisham (A Time to Kill was the best), Dan Brown (he uses the same formula for each book) and of course J.K. Rowling!

About 13 - 14 years ago, I discovered Peter Mayle who writes about life in Provence. His books are a magical combination of travel, cooking and wine ... three of my favorite things in life. I started with "A Year in Provence" in which he descibes his first year living in a little town in Provence ... each month its own chapter that describes in glorius detail the food they ate, the wine they drank, the season's festivities, the changing weather and the nuances of their neighbors. His next book, "Toujours Provence", was a collection of short stories about specific people or events in his day to day life including buying truffles from "Mr X" and learning to appreciate pastis.

A few years ago, he started writing fiction in the form of longer novels. Still set in the south of France, with the food and wine theme running throughout, these books centered around a simple mystery that usually involved a hint of romance. For me, each book was a mini-vacation in which he took me on a scenic tour of Provence, perusing the menus of the region's Michelin starred restaurants and local truck stops and getting a whiff of the finest wines in the world.

Needless to say, like a schoolgirl waiting for the next Twilight movie, I was tickled that he would be publishing a new book this year. With the date marked on my calendar, I waited paitently for "The Vintage Caper" to arrive. I tried to pace myself, but in the end, I blew threw it. Mostly set in Marseilles, it follows the theft of $3M of rare French wine from a collector in LA to a prominent businessman whose home overlooks the old port in Marseilles. There's a quick stop in Paris for clues (and lunch and dinner), followed by day trips to the finest wine chateaus in Bordeau and of course lots of fresh seafood in Marseilles served with local rose wines!

I hated for it to end. It'll be at least another two years until the next escape!

Practicing for "Casseroles for Your Company" Class

I'm happy with 4 of the 5 recipes for the Casseroles for Your Company Class. The last post had pictures of the Sausage and Pasta casserole, here's what the others look like.

Chili Hash Brown Bake:

Ham, Egg and Cheese Strata:

and Bread Pudding:

One more to go ... Shepherd's Pie ... tonight's dinner.

Comfort Food

Yesterday was Halloween. Instead of it being a nice, cool, crisp day that led into a brisk evening for the trick or treaters it was gray and overcast all day. Just before the trick or treaters were set to come out, it started to drizzle and then a light constant rain. The temperature started to drop as the evening wore on.

With few kids ringing the door bell, I had enough time to put together this casserole: spicy sausage and pasta. It's one of the recipes I'll do for the Casseroled for Your Company class.

Testing Christmas Cookie Recipes

Christmas may be two months away but it's time for me to finalize recipes for my Christmas Cookie class. I want to do two classes this year: one featuring classic Christmas cookie recipes like sugar cookies, gingerbread cookies and spritz cookies; the other featuring a cookie assortment suitable for giving which will include different flavors and techniques. Here's some photos of what I'm working on.

Madelines. This is a delicate French cookie that has the texture of a poundcake. I flavored this with vanilla bean paste. It uses a special pan that results in the finished cookie looking like a shell. I'm going to try a couple more version using lemon or orange zest and extract.

Ribbon Cookies. I like these because they look like bacon. You start off with one dough that is divided into three parts. Each part is then flavored and layered in a loaf pan. After chilling overnight, the dough is sliced very thin and baked. They are yummy!

P.S. My baking is a lot better than my photography!

Bacon Chocolate Bar

I am a firm believer in the "everything is better with bacon" and was excited to checkout Mo's Bacon Bar. It's a milk chocolate bar with applewood smoked bacon and alderwood smoked sea salt.

Since no one at home was brave enough to try it with me I decided to take it to the office ... the guys there will eat just about anything. Not the case.

We waited until mid afternoon to break into the bar ... no one thought chocolate, bacon and morning coffee was a good combination. The first bite was weird ... there was the chocolate taste, then the saltiness and finally dried bits of bacon. The second bite was better but overall it wasn't the fantastic experience we expected.

I'm not giving up ... I think one of these days the state fair will come up with the perfect combination.

Baked Mac and Pimento Cheese

I'm a big fan of the blog of Cream Puffs in Venice. The writer, "Cream Puff", does an amazing job photographing the fruits of her labor and sometimes she also includes pictures of her progress with the recipe.

Here's a photo of my own ... I made it about a month ago ... I was practicing the baked mac and pimento cheese for the Childhood Favorites For Your Adult Palette cooking class later this month.

Whaddaya think? It was as yummy as it looked (even if I do say so myself).

Visiting Beantown

I've been on the road a lot lately ... mostly for work (day job) ... mostly in cities that are not food friendly ... and mostly with no free time for exploring. That was not the case last week when I got to visit Boston, a city with many well known ethnic and eclectic neighborhoods, many of which are known for their shops and restaurants.

Since I've been to Boston several times before, I opted to skip the historical sights and focus on food this time. My first memorable meal was at Eastern Standard in the Kenmore Square area on Commonwealth Avenue. The coziness of the outdoor dining area and the vibe in the restaurant bar hinted at the pleasant dining experience ahead. The menu was a little bit French brasserie (with standard offerings of foie gras, steak frites and duck confit ravioli), a lot of raw bar, some comfort food (grilled cheese and roasted chicken) and touch of weird (BTLT which is beef tongue lettuce and tomato).

As much as I love classic french food, I opted for seafood choices starting with the Maine lobster in puff pastry. Served in a shallow soup bowl, large pieces of lobster meat in a puff pastry shell sat in a creamy pool of roasted corn and shitake mushrooms that was flavored with bacon. I used a spoon to eat this. Then the server surprised us with fresh oysters, so fresh it seemed you could taste the salt water. For dinner, I had the grilled swordfish which was served with heirloom tomatoes and seasonal vegetables (fennel and baby eggplant). The swordfish was cooked and seasoned perfectly! Wine for the meal included a glass of rose champagne and a glass of pinot noir. Service was fantastic.

The next memorable meal was the following night at Tapeo, a tapas restaurant on Newbury Street in the Back Bay area. The restaurant had three distinct dining areas, the outdoor patio, a traditional dining room and a cozy bar area that was decorated in colorful tiles. The menu had over 40 tapas which were divided by hot, cold and signature dishes. We started with a plato mixto which included serrano ham, Manchego cheese, roasted red peppers and olives that were flavored with garlic and cumin. I need to try that at home ... the cumin added a very earthy flavor. Baby lambchops in an apricot sauce was next, followed by prunes stuffed with goat cheese and wrapped in bacon (which tasted so much better once they cooled down). Dessert was rice pudding with a twist ... made into a custard with a caramelized sugar crust similar to creme brulee. The food was very good but the wine was fantastic ... a sparkling Pinot Noir from Spain called Aria.

My last memorable meal was in Cape Cod. I had the day to myself so I decided to do some exploring and headed south. After a quick stop in Plymouth, I went in search of my first lobster roll. I stopped at the Barnstable Restaurant and Tavern and tried their tomato crab bisque which was a bit spicy with corn and bits of potato. Yum! Their rendition of the lobster roll was lobster salad on crostini served with mesclun greens and cherry tomatoes. I really don't get why they would do that to lobster ... such an exotic food served so bland. Good thing I didn't have the traditional lobster roll on a hot dog bun.

On the way back to the hotel, I stopped at the Tea Shoppe for a cup of Earl Grey and an almond macaroon to wrap up my day.

And by the way, Boston may have been called Beantown years ago because of their love for baked beans but today I think it's called Beantown because there's a Starbucks and a Dunkin Donuts on every corner!

What is the Bacon of Wine?

My latest obsession (of many) is with Food and Wine magazine, both the print and online versions. I recently subscribed to the print version and have been putting that ahead of the other cooking magazines in the review cycle. And between issues, I surf the online version frequently!

The October issue arrived earlier this week and I showed remarkable restraint in leaving it in its plastic cover until last night (Friday night). This issue focused more on wine than previous issues and had a few interesting articles including food and wine pairings and the best classic wines under $15. I flipped through most of the articles paying attention mostly to the recipes.

There was one article, however, that caught my attention and got me thinking that the writer's thoughts were worth sharing. It was written by Salma Abdelnour who is more comfortable talking about food than she is about wine even though she drinks it everyday. Despite her desire and joy to learn about varietals, regions and producers she is intimidated by the lingo and the ever changing trends. So she tends to second guess her tastes and instincts and stays quiet during conversations about wine. I'm sure we've all been to one of those events when there was one blowbag in the crowd who was a know it all about wine (and if I was the blowbag I blame it on the wine!).

To overcome this, she did conducted an experiment ... she took the food and beverages she was most comfortable with and asked experts (wine directors of respectable restaurants and wine importers) what would be their eqivalent in wine.

She started with burgers and asked what would be considered the White Castle of the wine industry -- meaning what do the snooty mc snoods drink that they don't want anyone to know. The answer was Pinot Grigio. It seems most sommeliers would not admit to drinking Pinot Grigio but in a blind taste test would associate it with more exotic whites with a similar taste profile like Gruner Veltliner Federspiel, Chabblis or Albarino. The other wine that professionals do not like admitting to drinking is Zinfandel (the red kind!) mostly because it is a New World wine. And if you don't know what a New World wine is you need to come to our annual Old World, New World Wine tasting!

The second food she used for comparison was bacon. Her justification was that everyone is happy when eating bacon -- it is so basically delicious that you don't have to think much about it. The experts came back with two responses. The first was Pinot Noir and the second was Merlot which was described was "an easy wine to drink", "like a bear hug from your grandma" and "safe and warm".

The last wine correlation was for coffee ... she wanted to find a wine that was "versatile as it was reliable", something that she could drink every day as she would coffee. The experts came back with Sauvignon Blanc more than any other varietal. It was picked for how well it pairs with food and the low probability it would be tainted (due to being refrigerated during storage and its acidity). Wine director Alpana Singh of Lettuce Entertain You Restaurants stated " There's a big difference between good and bad coffee, but if you really need caffeine, you'll drink bad coffee. It's the same with Sauvignon Blanc". To test theory, the write drank Sauvignon Blanc for an entire week experimenting with wines from various growing regions and with different cuisnes and she found that it was a "fantastic utility player". There was one night the Sauv Blanc did not deliver and she figured what she really needed was espresso rather than coffee.

Here's a link to the article: http://www.foodandwine.com/articles/wines-for-drinking-not-overthinking

My Hot Date with Tyler

I was going through some old photos and saw this one with me and Tyler Florence. He did a book signing at the Super Target in Mooresville just a few months after I moved here.

San Francisco – Part 1: The Food

I love San Francisco -- it is my favorite city in the US. There’s so much to do in the city and within a couple of hours you can be in some of the most beautiful (and palette pleasing) places in the world … some of my favorites are Napa/Sonoma, Monterey/Carmel/Pebble Beach and Big Sur. Back in the day when I was a travelling consultant I would “have” to be there at least once a month for work, now I ‘m lucky if I can get out there every few years for “research”.

In my four days, I did a little bit of everything. I spent an afternoon in Walnut Creek walking around the quaint town and window shopping at my holy trinity of stores: Pottery Barn, Restoration Hardware and Crate and Barrel. I spent another afternoon in Sausalito, having lunch at a sidewalk café and browsing the local shops and art galleries. I laid out at the hotel pool drinking cold Coronas (yes I drink other beverages not just wine) for the good part of a day and spent an entire day in Napa!

In the 4 days I was there, I gained 3 pounds! Here are some of the food highlights from my trip.

My first meal was lunch at Artisan Bistro in Lafayette (a small town between the city and Napa that I like to use as home base). I started with an organic heirloom tomato salad with feta cheese on a bed of arugula that was dressed with pesto and balsamic vinegar. The main part of my meal was a croque monsieur (a grown up French grilled cheese sandwich) which was filled with gooey Gruyere cheese and salty ham in between perfectly crisp and golden pieces of bread. I decided to skip dessert since I nibbled on the shoestring fries on my plate.

Believe it or not, I was hungry a few hours later and ate at Il Fornaio in Walnut Creek. I am not sure how I got away with this but at most of the restaurants I went to I was able to get tasting portions of the dishes I ordered. Given that its summer I couldn’t resist the caprese salad with vine ripened tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, basil and as a bonus, olives. My next course was ravioli (made at the restaurant) stuffed with butternut squash and walnuts and served in a tomato sauce with brown butter, parmesan cheese and crispy sage. This was so fantastic that my next course seemed just okay: thinly pounded veal sautéed with sliced artichokes and lemon which was served with potatoes and sautéed vegetables. I continued my feast with dessert: chilled zabaione with fresh berries and peach sorbet which was topped with fresh whipped cream and a cherry! I slept good that night.

Day two was spent mostly in Sausalito. I had a late lunch at Poggio Trattoria. I had plans for a big dinner in the city so I went with a light lunch, a Margherita pizza (tomato, fresh mozzarella and basil) with prosciutto di parma and arugula. The arugula was amazing … it was crisp with a nice peppery bite. It added a nice touch to the pizza which I had with a glass of petite syrah.

After some sightseeing in the city, I had worked up an appetite and was ready for dinner at Epic Roast House on the Embarcadero. The restaurant was right on the water overlooking the San Francisco – Oakland Bay Bridge. I got there a bit before the sun went down was took this picture. This is pretty much the view from my table. Again I had tasting portions … I started with a warm spinach salad with bacon and a poached duck egg. For dinner I had the wood oven roasted halibut which was delicious. The fish was light yet firm and was served with fennel on a gratin of potatoes and onions and topped with crispy mushrooms. The highlight of the meal was beignets and coffee. What an amazing presentation. First they brought a latte bowl which they poured in caramel. Then coffee from a French Press was added to the caramel and topped with fresh whipped cream. The beignets were delivered to the table in a paper bag, warm and dusted with powdered sugar. These beignets put Café du Monde to shame. A nice Merry Edwards Pinot Noir from the Russian River Valley helped with digestion.

Day three was focused on wine more than food. However, I did start the day with a latte and glazed donut from the Oakville Grocery … I needed a solid base for all the wine I would be tasting. Four wineries later I had to get real food in me and stopped for lunch at Go Fish on Main Street in St. Helena. I went for quantity (and quality) starting with the shrimp cocktail, then a taste of the crispy calamari that was served with a lime aioli and finished with a half of the citrus chipotle chicken breast sandwich. No dessert and just water.

By the time I got to the last winery, I was so excited by their cheese plate I had to get it … it was three cheese (a sharp cheddar, brie and goat cheese), roasted almonds, dried apricots and dried pears and cashews served with melba toast. What a nice pairing with the champagnes I was drinking. By the end of the day, I dragged myself back to the hotel and had a Reuben and a beer and called it a night.

Most of my last day was spent at the pool with beer and salty snacks. For dinner I went back to Walnut Creek and ate at Lark Creek. I was intrigued with the blue cheese soufflé so I ordered that in the name of research. Note to self: must reverse engineer the recipe for that. It was fantastic. While it had the texture of a traditional soufflé, it was brought to the table in about 10 minutes and was delicious ... not overly blue cheesey … plus it was served with baby arugula dressed with a cherry-balsamic vinaigrette. I opted for the half portion of the bacon wrapped meatloaf which came with horseradish mashed potatoes and sautéed wax beans. Beans, schmeans. I left those on the plate to save room for dessert. Since they did minis … I tried both the butterscotch pudding and chocolate cream pie. While both of them were delicious, the butterscotch pudding won hands down. Another note to self: perfect butterscotch pudding. I was on a merlot kick from the day before so I drank the Twenty Rows Merlot with dinner. I slept good that night too.

Then I got on a plane the next day and came home 3 pounds heavier. I can see why now.

Stay tuned for the wines I tasted in Napa.

Cooking Catalog Humor

While most women flip through clothing catalogs filled with the latest styles, I get my giggles from thumbing through cooking catalogs. As I was flipping through the Spring 2009 issue of The Good Cook catalog, I noticed something about the inside cover had changed. Was it the editor’s hairdo? No. She’s had that for a while. Glasses? Don’t think so … but I never really looked that close before. Then I took a closer look at her opening message. It was written in verse … she had rewritten the words to the song “My Favorite Things” from The Sound of Music. Here’s what she(Beth Goehring, Editor-in-Chief) had to say (hum along ... it works):

Bubbly lasagna and hot, buttered bread,
Peppery T-bone and pimento spread,
Fresh guacamole and salsa and chips,
This is the comfort I put to my lips.

Spicy shrimp gumbo and clove-studded ham,
Buttermilk biscuits and blueberry jam,
Choc’late chip cookies and homemade ice-cream,
These are the calories of which I dream.

When it’s raining, when the kids fight, when the bills are due,
I put on my apron and open the wine and make up a big beef stew!

While that alone was worth reading, I continued to scan the pages of cookbooks. Most of them I had seen before, except for the gem on page 9 titled “The Cracker Kitchen”. I did a double take and then skimmed the description to see if it was an experiment with Ritz, Saltines and the like. No siree bob. It was “A Cookbook in Celebration of Cornbread-Fed, Down Home Family Stories and Cuisine” by Janis Owens. Alrighthy then. Moving on.

By page 19, I learned that according to the Washington Post, Corinne Trang, author of Noodles Every Day is “the Julia Child of Asian cuisine”. Good to know. I wonder what the Asian version of Julia’s vanilla pound cake tastes like? Probably not the same. A few pages later, I discovered there’s a cookbook titled “365: Dish a Day” and the authors were thorough enough to add an extra recipe for leap years.

My final bit of entertainment was towards the end of the catalog. The cookbook is titled “The Pleasure Is All Mine: Selfish Food for Modern Life”. Here’s the image of the cover. Check out the dress, stilettos and wine bottle.

This gal knows how to have a good time … by herself … as the title says.

Todd-isms

If you haven't attended a wine tasting at our shop then you've missed out on some great wines and yummy nibbles (in my humble opinion). If you haven't attended a wine tasting hosted by Todd from The Country Vintner then you've missed some great unscripted one-liners we like to call Toddisms.

Todd hosted our very first wine tasting back in November of 2007. We were featuring the wines of Catena Zapata of Argentina who produces the Alamos labels. We were on our first wine, the Alamos Viognier, which Todd described as "a melange of fruit cocktail" and compared it to "Fruity Pebbles". Once we stopped laughing, we commented that it should be illegal to use a sophisticated word like melange in the same sentence as fruit cocktail. I think we bring that up every time we see him.

His next gem came during the Old World New World tasting we did last year in which he stated "the dollar is in the crapper" as we tried to justify the pricing on some of the French wines we were tasting compared to their counterparts from around the world.

I don't remember which tasting this next classic comes from but it maybe his best so far. As he's pondering the back label of the wine bottle, he calmly announces that the wine has 14.5% alcohol which he then follows up with "a good date wine". The room gets quiet ... all eyes are focused on him ... he looks up ... he realizes what we're thinking ... and the backpedaling begins. "That's not what I meant ..." Right. What did you mean? Now at every tasting he does, we ask what the alcohol percentage is and make sure we put a star next to all the date wines.

This last Toddism comes from the Spain and Portugal tasting we did a couple weeks ago. We were tasting a fantastic Spanish red which he declared " ... was so good it was wrong". I think that too was a date wine!

And if you're wondering if there are any Lindaisms, there is just one. When asked how come my grilled sausages were so moist, I answered (without thinking obviously) that "I never poke the sausage". Really.

Torn between two …. Waiters?

To say that I have a lot of quirks is an understatement. I want certain things done a certain way … especially when it comes to food and wine. While I can control quality, timing, presentation and (to some degree) service in my own home, it is harder to do at a restaurant. I’m finding the consistency I look for in all these areas at Positano at Birkdale. I absolutely love the place. The food is delicious, the meal is never rushed, the presentation is flawless and the service is the best I’ve experienced in a while.

I’ve eaten there about 4 or 5 times in the past couple of months (rare for me who likes to try new places) and all of the times except Monday night Michael was our waiter. He served us the first time and we keep asking for him when we return. Michael is knowledgeable, patient and efficient. He knows the menu, knows what’s fresh and knows what goes with the wine we’ve selected. He’s good. He won’t rush us and will even take care of us at an inside table when his tables are outside. This plus he tolerates John’s corny jokes about Italian sea bass goes a long way.

Well Michael had the night off last night. The nerve of him – needing time off. We wanted to try the Chef’s Dinner (4 course for $20 Monday to Thursday) and had Andrea (think Bocelli) as our waiter. He’s a bit younger than Michael and a whole lot sassier … which we liked! He too had a good command of the menu and the wine list. But he scored brownie points by offering a wine that was not on the list … Poggio ai Ginepri … a awesome combination of cabernet, merlot and syrah … attractively priced at $46 a bottle (which was half off since it was Monday night … SWEET!). Also in his favor, he speaks Italian (he’s from Sicily but I would not have guessed). Of course we tried out the few Italian words and phrases we knew and he corrected our pronunciation. I think he even smirked when we started referring to John as Giovanni.

The food was delicious as usual … we opted not to go for the Chef’s Menu (mista salad, rigatoni in a cream sauce, salmon piccata and crème caramel) and tried new things on the menu. The food flowed with the conversation and Andreas anticipated every need. Another great meal. So here’s the dilemma … who should I ask for the next time I eat at Positano? Michael or Andrea? We mentioned to Andreas that we felt like cheated on Michael and was torn. His response was sassy and not entirely appropriate for a family blog like this!

If you’re interested in the Chef’s Dinner, the menu choices change every night. Call after 5:30 for what’s being served. The number is 704-896-2979 (I think I’m embarrassed that I have it memorized).

My First Time ... Gnocchi

DISCLAIMER: Barf Story Ahead!

I've been wondering what to write about lately... having a bit of writer's block (if you can call this writing). So last night as I'm recounting each of the few times I've eaten gnocchi to my friend John, he suggests I share the story so here goes.

My first time eating gnocchi (pronunced NYOH-kee or NOH-kee) was at small Italian restaurant on Lincoln Road Mall in South Beach with my friend Susan who was visting from Houston. I had eaten there many times and was looking to try something new on the menu ... so I choose gnocchi ... Italian "dumplings," usually made from potatoes and flour. It was served in a light basil sauce that tasted okay enough at the restuarant. My stomach was a bit queasy that night but I didn't think too much of it. Susan and I were going diving in the Florida Keys the next day.

So off we went to Keys, got on the dive boat and went diving. Let me tell you, it is possible to throw up underwater and I did during the first dive ... the regulator came out of my mouth like a torpedo. Luckily, I'd been diving enough times not to panic and not to make the rookie mistake of putting the regulator right back into my mouth. Calmly, I caught the regulator with my right hand, waved it about the water a couple of times, put it back in my mouth, exhaled and then took my first breath. I finished that first dive, figured I'd feel better underwater than on the boat and did the second dive. I haven't been diving since.

The next time I ate gnocchi, I made it myself in cooking school. It was fairly easy to make -- we had some left over baked potatoes which we put through a potato ricer, added some egg, flour, parmesan cheese and other seasonings to make a dough. We rolled the dough into long thin strips and then used a fork to cut and roll them into what looked like one inch pillows. They cooked quickly and then we sauteed them with olive oil and garlic. It was ok but nothing to brag about.

My next experience with gnocchi was at Dolce in Dilworth. They only make it on Tuesday nights and I could never really understand the big fuss ... until last night. John and I were at Positano (again) and were looking to share a pasta. They just updated their menu and offered gnocchi flavored with spinach. It was fantastic ... each gnocco was light and tender ... almost cloudlike. It was served with cherry tomato sauce with soft sauteed onions. Delicious. I can't wait to go back and have it again ... and they offer it every night!

Dinner at Positano (Birkdale Village)

When I decided to move to Miami I had three criteria for my new home. First, it had to be close to an international airport in case I wanted a quick getaway. Second, the beach had to be no more than three hours away for when I got homesick for the beach. And third, there had to be good restaurants.

I made in the move in 2002 and have not been disappointed so far. Back then, fine dining was limited to Charlotte and South Park. Chain restaurants were the only options between exits 18 and 25 and the choices in Mooresville were Big Daddy's (for fried seafood), Midway Marina for breakfast (still on plastic plates) and Applebees (for a Ricky Bobby family night experience).

The choices are getting better in Mooresville (Soiree and Carusos) but even better at Birkdale. Not able to get seated at Dresslers this past Saturday night, my friend John and I ended up at Positano across the street. The 40 minute at the bar flew by as we sipped on a glass of Italian Chardonnay (should've gone with the Pinot Grigio) and munched on the (complimentary) crispy potato chips that called out to us from it's big silver bowl. The menu was simple, broken down into three main sections: appetizers and salads, pastas and mare e terra (sea and land). John is a great dining companion who doesn't mind sharing. This is a good trait to have in a friend for a couple of reasons. First, if you don't like what you ordered you could always eat theirs and second, by sharing you can try more new things. And that's what we did (and always do).

Before we ordered, the waiter (a patient man named Michael) brought us crusty bread with a white bean tapenade that was quite yummy. The crust of the bread was perfect for scooping up the beans and the softer inside of the bread was handy for soaking up the remaining olive oil on our plates. With that out of the way, we moved on to beef carpaccio, thin slices of raw beef with a heap of arugula piled on top dressed in what they called truffle aioli and finished with shaved parmesan. The beef was good, but the pepperiness of arugula combined with the sweet yet lemony taste of the aioli was heavenly.

We then shared the bucatini with pancetta, caramelized onions and pecorino cheese. They were kind enough to bring out two separate bowls of pasta so we didn't have to fight on who got more. The pasta is a thick noodle with hole in the middle (like a skinny macaroni). It was cooked al dente and the sauce was the right consistency to cling to the pasta. The tomato sauce was a balance of salty (from the cheese and pancetta) and sweet from the tomatoes and onions. I almost licked my plate clean (but we were in a nice restaurant). Veal Saltimbocca was next ... which is thin slices of beef, covered with a thin slice of prosciutto which hides the single sage leaf that adds tons of flavor. This was good but we were more impressed by the side of potatoes and caramelized onions. After all this, we still had room for dessert. Two ... bread pudding (which was flavored with figs and other dried fruit but was too dense for my liking) and toasted almond gelato. It was not too sweet and not too soft and had a little bit of texture (most likely from the ground almonds).

In addition to the great food, we had excellent service. Michael as I mentioned was very patient (despite our jokes about the daily special of Italian flounder) and did not rush us through the meal. Since we were going to Dresslers we brought our own wine which we were able to enjoy at Positano (no fuss, no roll of the eyes, nothing). And throughout our meal, Micheal and someone named David (he must be important) came by a couple times to see how we liked things and chit chat for a couple of minutes.

This was a great way to wind down to week especially without breaking the bank.

Tiny Bubbles

Disclaimers: I use Champagne in reference to the real deal from Champagne, France and champagne as a generic term for sparkling wine. I use "I" a lot since this is purely my opinion and NOT a scientific essay on bubbly.

While most people drink champagne to celebrate special occasions, I tend to agree with Napoleon who said “In victory, you deserve Champagne, in defeat, you need it”. I find that a decent glass of Champagne will make a good time better and make a bad situation tolerable!

Bad

I didn’t start out liking Champagne. My first experience was probably a sip at a wedding in one of those silly old fashioned glasses with the wide shallow bowl (called a coupe). It was probably not even real Champagne (that is from the Champagne region of France) but some cheap knock off that will give you a headache faster than if the Road Runner dropped an anvil on your head. I remember my turning point – a bottle of Perrier-Jouët Rose some 16 or so years ago. It was a bit pricey for what I expected the experience to be but after the first sip I was hooked. I started broadening my champagne experience from there. In fact, during my first visit to Napa Valley I only visited champagne houses.

So what do I like in Champagne? Pretty much everything. I like Champagne (from Champagne, France) as well as the sparking wines from the other regions of France (cremant), Spain (Cava), Italy (Proscecco) and the US (sparkling wine). I like bubbly made from all white grapes (blanc de blanc), all black grapes (blanc de noir e.g. Pinot Noir) and Rose (where the skin is left on for a short time during fermentation to add color and depth). I like brut (some sugar), extra dry (more sugar) and can appreciate a demi-sec (most sugar) for dessert. I let the situation, food and/or mood dictate the champagne selection.

Good

I think every civilized meal should start with a glass of champagne and I enjoy that first glass with a savory appetizer usually something with a salty cheese like blue, feta, goat or Parmesan. Olives, prosciutto, salami and pate are good choices too. I’ve been known to have a glass of champagne by myself while waiting for someone and see no shame in that. I am picky about the stemware that champagne is served in and am biased towards the Fine flutes from Schott Zwiesel. I love to see the tiny bubbles originate from the center of the glass and float to the top. I have been brazen enough to tell a couple fine dining restaurants in Charlotte that their flutes sucked (they did!). Every chance I get, I practice opening the bottle so that it sounds like a sigh when the cork comes out and think that the shaking and subsequent spouting of perfectly good champagne at sporting events should be considered a crime.

Here are some of my memorable champagne moments. I celebrated the turn of the century with my family and a bottle of Dom Perignon that I picked up at Moët et Chandon in Epernay when I visited in the summer of 1999. I celebrated my 40th birthday with a bottle of Nicolas Feuillatte Palme d'Or at Mickey and Mooch (that I paid for). And I celebrated getting through last Saturday with a bottle of Gruet Blanc de Noir. See -- every day is an opportunity to drink champagne.

Back from Atlanta!

Two blog entries so far for January. Not too bad ... let's hope I can keep it up!

Mom and I are back from Atlanta where we had a great time. Here are some of the highlights.

The show itself was awesome. There was a lot more energy than the July show ... part of the reason for this was the addition of a new wing which houses a gourmet kitchen for demonstrations. Celebrity chefs Rocco DiSpirito and Tyler Florence were there to kick off the new kitchen and did cooking demos and book signings. Of course Mom and I stood in line to see them. Rocco did his thing on Friday, which was mostly flirting. We got there late and did not get a signed cookbook but I did get some neat pictures of him. He walked around the audience (to flirt) so I have some close ups. Tyler appeared twice: on Saturday and Sunday. We saw him both times and got cookbooks signed. Mom even got her picture taken with Tyler. He is so HANDSOME.

While at the show we picked up some staples as well as some new pieces from lines/patterns we already carry. We also picked up several new lines that we are so excited about including the Calypso colanders from Reston Lloyd, the Cold Bowl from Prodyne and several of the pads from Knock Knock including Rate that Wine and All Out Of. We took advantage of the special pricing on some of the retired items from Fortessa including steak knives and serving dishes ... which will be even more affordable for you. Our new stuff has started to come in already (and is in the garage) so give us a couple days to get it out.

Of course no trip out of town would be complete without going out to dinner and that we did. On Friday night, we went to Django's Gypsy Kitchen and Saloon. We were expecting fine dining but got neighborhood eclectic. The food was ok and the service was average. It was not a wine place so Mom and I had Red Stripe beers. I'm sure it was the cheapest meal I've had in downtown Atlanta (other than Chick-Fil-A).

Our meal on Saturday night by far made up for Friday night. At the suggestion of a friend, we went to Il Mulino. It was connected to the hotel so the commute was short (and cheap). Everything about the entire experience was AMAZING. The first thing that blew me away was little extras that they provided with the meal ... like the Parmigiano-Reggiano that they served in chunks right from a wedge of the wheel of cheese. Then there was bruschetta and another dish of thinly shaved zucchini slices that were fried and dressed with something that I did not get to figure out. I was too busy eating. At the end of the meal they served the daily grappa. That night it was lemon and the night before it was fig. I wish I could have tasted that.

The service was outstanding. We had one gentleman, Abe, who made sure the tableside service was impeccable. He made sure the appetizers were plated, the water glasses were filled, the wine was topped off, crumbs were swept away before we even noticed they were there, etc. When we ordered dessert, another gentleman stepped in (name unknown as the wine had kicked in) and he did what Abe did but for dessert. Then Abe showed up again and we wrapped up dinner. By far, this is one of my favorite restaurants. I can't wait to go back.

I'm sure I'm leaving out details from the show but I'm hungry now and am going to get something to eat. I'll add updates if I remember anything and post more pictures of Rocco and Tyler on my website.

Ciao!

New Year's Resolutions

I'm not much for making resolutions since I am never able to keep them. It's not that I don't try hard enough ... it's more like I get busy or distracted and their importance seem to lessen over time until it's too late to do anything that will make a difference (at least from my perspective).

Take this blog for instance. I haven't updated it since last July ... that was six months ago. A lot has happend since then ... I've made new friends, cooked and eaten great food with family and friends, drank some pretty darn good juice (wine), tried new restaurants and laughed a whole lot!

There's a lot I didn't do too ... like I didn't get to try as many new recipes as I wanted to and some of my cooking magazines are still in the plastic mailing wrapper and I still don't have my recipes organized (electronically or printed). The list goes on ....

Anyway, this year I am going to try to be better keeping the blog current. I'm not sure I have all that much to say that might be interesting to others but maybe it'll keep me more organized. For example, I couldn't remember what I cooked last New Year's Eve so I'm going to recap this year's experience below.

I prefer to spend New Year's Eve close to home with family and friends. This way, I can eat and drink as much as I want and be close to my bed when the time comes. In the past, I've done a series of appetizers on the hour starting at 7pm and ending with dessert close to midnight, pairing wine with each appetizer. I find that this approach keeps me awake until midnight and prepping the various courses makes the time go by fast. Here's what we had, course by course:

1. Bruschetta with crostini and jalapeno pimento cheese with crostini
2. Stone crab claws with mustard sauce
3. Prosciutto wrapped melon
4. Clams casino and stuffed mushroom caps (with the same "goober" we used for the clams)
5. Roasted red peppers with fresh mozarella and basil leaves drizzled with olive oil and balsamic vinegar
6. Baby lamb chops
7. Cheesecake tartlets with pineapple topping

We started with champagne, went on to sparking wine from Sonoma, then had reds from California and Argentina and wrapped up with more sparkling wine from Napa. It was a great way to end the year!