making life delicious blog
A couple weeks ago my friend Kristy Bernardo of the delicious blog The Wicked Noodle hosted a wine and food evening sponsored by Don Sebastiani & Sons. It was a girls-only night, which is always fun, but this was especially great because I got to meet some truly funny and friendly gals, plus we all [...]
Chrysalis Vineyards is one of the easier vineyards to get to in Northern Virginia, just off Route 50 in Loudoun County. Set on 412 acres in the rolling hills of the Piedmont region, the vineyard specializes in unusual Spanish and French varietals and Norton, a native Virginia grape, as well as traditional grapes, a total [...]
The heat waves we’ve had this year have been absolutely brutal, and in the evenings the best way to cool down is with some ice cream or a chilled cocktail. I recently created three summer cocktails for Betty Crocker, and you can find them on BettyCrocker.com. These are all easy and can be made with [...]
We’ve gotten hooked on pomegranates and eagerly look forward to the autumn pomegranate season. Our love for the fruit led us to plant a pomegranate tree this year, which will hopefully give us a harvest of our own pomegranates in a couple years. And of course we will promptly toss the arils into a bowl [...]
Years ago I had my first taste of hot spiced wine at a friend’s apartment in Bogotá, Colombia, which we sipped while listening to Edith Piaf after a glorious dinner of beef tenderloin (lomo). Maria Consuela had spent time in the U.S. and Europe during her college years and liked to share her cultural experiences [...]
For something seasonal, skip the chocolate fountain and serve a colorful fruit fondue for your New Years Eve party. This spiked fondue lends some beautiful color to a New Years Eve buffet and and is an easy and fun dessert. For dippers, set out apple wedges, dried pineapple slices, panettone or fruit cake chunks, or [...]
Getting my red wine-loving husband to drink white wine is like trying to get a kid to eat spinach, so he was not exactly thrilled when I told him I was making white sangria. I talked it up, trying to get him interested in tasting something new, but he’s just not a white wine kind [...]
What do you get when you put together a highly regarded sommelier and a craft brewer? You get a very entertaining evening of good food and beverages as well as good-natured banter about the attributes of the wine and beer and how well each pairs with particular foods. Sam Calagione, founder of Dogfish Head Craft [...]
Ev is my best girl friend, and she and I have been enjoying each other’s company over good food for almost 14 years. We met in 1993 in Bogotá, Colombia when I was teaching at the embassy school, and our favorite haunt was a little Japanese store and sushi bar around Calle 98 and something [...]
When the leaves start to turn red and gold I begin thinking of my favorite cold weather comfort foods, and this dish certainly qualifies. It’s perfect homestyle food, a dish of fried chicken and vegetables with a delectable sauce. I’ve played around with this a bit, sometimes using chicken breasts instead of a whole chicken, [...]
It's spring in the U.S. and the following foods may be in season in your area:
artichokes, fennel, fiddleheads, radishes, broccoli, rhubarb, kale, cresses, spinach, spring lettuces, chard, cabbages, chives, cilantro, collards, tatsoi, mustard greens, spring onions, asparagus, rosemary, wild garlic, ramps, strawberries, blueberries, cherries
Eat fresh seasonal produce to stay healthy and help your food budget.Learn more about seasonal and sustainable cooking at Sustainable Table - In the Kitchen.
