Archive for the ‘Yummy!’ Category

{Megan}

I know you all have been missing Kristin here on the blog… I promise, she still exists and I have proof in this post!  She’s been busy, busy so you’re stuck with me for the meantime.

We recently enjoyed a warm May night and Kristin was excited to cook us up some homemade Thai and we were like, “Ok”!!

There was a lot of wine and beer that evening… and let me just say that you haven’t partied with us on a Friday night until you’ve played “guess the cologne on the paper towel” game.  And we certainly don’t condone huffing, but the coffee beans were a must after smelling so much Drakkar Noir.  Like I said, there was a lot of wine…

p.s. This is our 300th post!! Thanks for following along with us!  It wouldn’t be any fun without you.

Images taken by us, just for you.

{Megan}

Note to self: When sitting at an event with Emarie and MacKenzey, sit in the back row because uncontrollable giggles will ensue. 

A couple weeks ago my gal pal Emarie invited me to a World Cheese Tour which just happened to be held in Napa.  We didn’t know what precisely we were invited to, but we knew it involved cheese and that was reason enough.

You may have heard of Janet Fletcher; she’s a well known food writer and book author and holds a high-authority on everything about cheese.  She’s my kind of gal!  The event was held at the impressive Elaine Bell Catering facility in Napa which was also quite fascinating to see.  We were invited to arrive a little bit early so we could get a kitchen tour by Elaine and so we could chat it up with Janet behind the scenes.

We could tell right away that we were going to be trouble in this well-behaved group.  I kept eating my cheese too fast and got ahead of the lecture. I mean who could blame me!?  Emarie kept whispering “That’s what she said.” whenever Janet made some reference about “feel its firmness” or something to that affect.  Then MacKenzey and I would add on to the joke while snickering, as if we were 12 all over again.

Despite our childish behavior, Janet is absolutely lovely and so is her Cheese Tour.  You can sign up for a future class here:  www.janetfletcher.com  And watch for her upcoming cheese and beer pairings!  We’ll invite hubby Mike from Burgers, Bikes, Beers for that one!

p.s.  We each had a worksheet so we could take notes along the way. I pretty much said “yummm” after each tasting.

Images taken by us, just for you.

{Megan}

I thought that today was a good day to brag a little. I might even pat myself on the back, (you know I almost can now because of Sue’s Psychedelic Stretch class), but anyway it’s nothing earth shattering.  It’s just my lunch.  But look at how pretty it is!  All thanks to Kristin’s influence.  She’s called “the cook” for a damn good reason!

I don’t always eat like this, and I won’t take photos of the things I scarf while nobody is watching, but it’s a good start to a better me.  Thanks KJ!

Image taken by us, just for you.

{Megan}

There’s the loveliest new little bake shop in town and we are all giddy over its opening!  And it’s not like we don’t already have tasty, cute shops here in town, we do, but something feels different about Crisp. The eatery is fresh and bright, new with promise and calm.  It offers a nice change from the hustle of the Plaza with its perfect latte and savory scone.

It’s a local’s dream and a tourist’s delight.  The best of both worlds!

So about 2 weeks ago, Kristin and I knocked on the still locked doors, peering in at the bustling energy of a new business and we felt like we had back-stage passes to some giant rock concert, as Andrea (the co-owner) let us in for a private sneak peek.  And not just any peek… a peek with tasty perks!  We were given the grand tour and then sent on our way with a giant box of nearly everything they bake.  Scone, muffin, toffee, marshmallows, cookies… it was so much fun and seriously yummy!  Stop by to say hello.  You’ll be glad you did!

Crisp Bake Shop   .   www.crispbakeshop

720 West Napa Street, Sonoma, Calif 95476

(707) 933-9999

(and they’re on Facebook)

Images taken by us, just for you.

{Megan}

Today’s post needs to begin with an apology…. I forgot to take my camera with me so I only have one photo to share (that I took the day after).  Trust me, I’m punished enough not being able to show you all the food and fun that was had.  Tisk, tisk. Regardless of my one and only  photo, I’m very excited to tell you about a few wines that we recently discovered!

Last Friday Mike and I were invited to a neighbor’s Pinot Noir party and we weren’t quite sure what we were in for because of the specific rules.  In a nutshell, 10 couples each brought 2 bottles of  Russian River Valley Pinot, and each couple brought different Pinots.  The wines were wrapped in foil and numbered, the groupings were made (picture the game of Clue – it was kind of like that) and we moved from room to room tasting, swirling, sniffing and making copious notes about what we liked and didn’t like. Still with me?

When we were all just about petered-out and pickled with a lovely shade of purple teeth, the scores were tallied and the winner, loser and the middle of the road was announced.  Mike and I held our breath.  No really we did.  You see, Mike and I have a very fine-tuned method to choosing our wines; it’s very similar to how we choose our books.  It’s by the label.  And many times the price point will nudge us as well. We have no shame, and frankly this method has served us very well for years.

So when Mike came home with our pick for the party that night, I quickly noted how lovely the label was.  Perhaps we really had a chance!  Never mind that there was at least 1 sommelier in the group and everyone else were well-seasoned connoisseurs.

You can guess where this is going…. our little ‘ol wine (with the pretty label) took 1ST PLACE!!!  We were elated!  We scoffed at the recognition, brushing off the admiration and the compliments with, “Oh you know…we picked it because of the label.”

So thank you Romililly for your lovely Pinot (and pretty bottle)!

1st Place:  2009 Romililly Pinot (Purchased locally at Valley Wine Shack)

The Mike & Megan other faves:

2008 Williams Selyem

2008 Lynmar Estate

{Megan}

The annual Feast of the Olive dinner is like no other wine country dinner and Mike and I were fortunate to be included on the sold-out guest list!  Over a dozen local chefs left their familiar kitchens and descended on Ramekins; sharing kitchen utensils, chatting it up and quite possibly having more fun than the dinner guests.

Each long table featured a different menu, pairing and chef so it was quite fun to walk about and see the different plates and compare favorite dishes.  The wine flowed at ridiculous levels, course after course was placed in front of us and we rolled out of there feeling perfectly content.

We hope to see you there next year!

SONOMA’S OLIVE FESTIVAL

Images taken by us, just for you.

{Kristin}

Not that we need a reason to celebrate here in Sonoma…I mean everyday is a celebration!  That wine!  That produce!  These restaurants!  Those views!  But, right now – winter in Sonoma – there ain’t much happening.  Sure we’ve got breathtaking winter produce (Yes, I think that cabbage can be breathtaking!) and we’ve got cozy, rainy nights…perfect to sip on all of our killer Sonoma red wine we’ve been hoarding all summer.

But, wintertime in Sonoma is actually our county’s “second harvest.”  The Olive harvest.  Reason to celebrate!  And it just so happens to be one of my favorite times of the year.  It’s time for the fresh, green oil called “olio nuovo.”  Oh boy is that stuff good on, well…on just about everything!

Sonoma, in true Sonoma fashion, knows how to celebrate anything yummy and good:  with wine and dinners and parties and classes and food and tastings and really just a whole lot of fun!

Welcome to Sonoma’s Olive Festival and this Saturday evening, we will be digging into some amazing food and wine courtesy of the Sonoma Valley Visitor’s Bureau and a whole slew of fabulous Sonoma wineries, chefs, restaurateurs and olive producers (see the complete list below!)

We hope to see you there!  Stay tuned for all of the fun pictures and stories next week!

Feast of the Olive at Ramekins Cooking School – Saturday Jan 28, 2012

Appetizers
Jeffery Lloyd, Executive Chef, Cafe La Haye

Fish
Manuel Azevedo, Chef-Proprietor, LaSalette
Bruno Tison, Executive Chef\ & Andrew Cain Chef de Cuisine, Sante Restaurant at The Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn & Spa
John Toulze, Executive Chef & Erin Smith, Chef de Cuisine, the girl & the fig

Salad
John Toulze, Executive Chef & Brian West Chef de Cuisine, ESTATE
Carlo Cavallo Chef-Proprietor, Sonoma-Meritage Martini Oyster Bar & Grille
Andrew Wilson, Executive Chef, Carneros Bistro at The Lodge at Sonoma

Main
Antonio Ghilarducci, Chef-Proprietor, The Depot Hotel Restaurant and Garden
Doug MacFarland, Executive Chef, Ramekins Culinary School
Armando Navarro .Executive Chef, El Dorado Kitchen

Cheese
Gary Edwards, Carneros Caves
Sheana Davis, Epicurean Connection
Norm Owens, Chef-Proprietor, Hot Box Grill

Dessert
Dana Jaffe Executive Chef, Saddles Steakhouse at MacArthur Place Inn & Spa
Lisa Lavagetto, Chef Ambassador,  Ramekins Culinary School
Jason Rose, Executive Chef, Ram’s Gate Winery

Wineries/Spirits
HelloCello / Hooker’s House Bourbon
Gloria Ferrer Caves & Vineyards
Landmark Vineyards & Winery
B.R. Cohn Winery
Benziger Family Winery
Imagery Estate Winery
Cline Cellars
Jacuzzi Family Vineyards
VJB Vineyards & Cellars
Akóma Zoúme (Mountain Terraces)

Grand Sponsors
The Olive Press
Figone’s Olive Oil Co

Artist
Alex Cole

{Megan}

Every year, we count the days until crab season opens and this year has been extra yummy!  We’ve been stuffing our face with crab, butter dripping down our hands, sticky wine glasses and silly bibs.  It’s been heavenly!!  More please!

p.s.  And yes, we know we had lobster bibs.  Oh well.

Images taken by us, just for you.

{Kristin}

Of course, I am always appreciative when I am invited to someone’s house for dinner.  I know, as a big dinner party thrower myself, how much work goes into having people over.  And feeding them.  It’s time consuming: setting the table, polishing the glasses, picking the herbs and chopping the veggies.  It also can be hugely expensive.  I mean that special, stinky cheese ain’t cheap.

So, when our good friend, chef and avid bird hunter, Rob Larman, invited us to his home for a dinner party featuring pheasant that he not only took an incredible amount of time to prepare deliciously, but also had to actually go out and hunt, you know we’d be there.  And you know we’d be incredibly appreciative.  Dinner at Rob’s is always more a feast than a mere meal and on this evening it was no exception….

Hors d’oeuvres were passed, paired with bubbles, of course.  The tiny, shredded potato pancakes were nothing short of mind blowing!  My favorite were topped with shredded pheasant and a sweet-tart, homemade apple sauce.

 Several, scrumptious courses of wild bird followed.  A salad of pretty bitter greens was paired with goose pastrami…oh so good!

 You know the wine was a ‘flowin!  The always tasty Dunstan Pinot Noir paired with the birds perfectly!

There’s Rufus, he is actually the guy that gets the birds!

 The main course and piece de resistance was a pheasant breast schnitzel with a yummy pan sauce and creamy cabbage.

I love dining out, but given the opportunity…I’d choose a cozy dinner party at a friend’s home any night.

Thanks Rob!!

Images taken by us, just for you.

{Megan}

Sonoma is known for its world-class wine yet there are many other small businesses that make this town our home.  Here is a glimpse into its farm life.  Pure. Honest. Tough. Good.

Find Paul’s Produce at Sonoma’s farmer’s markets + sign up for their fabulous weekly CSA boxes. (I just did!)

The Organic Life: documentary film + farm to table dinner!!  March 3, 2012.  Be there!  (We will.)

Images taken by us, just for you.