What's Cooking? Food. Wine. Life. All mixed up.

Zinfest 2012

2012-01-27T07:06:00.000-08:00

Wow. What a fun event. Last night was Epicuria night. Which basically means each wine was paired with food. There were amazing chefs preparing fancy little bites everywhere you looked. I went with my friend Rachel Vorhees, another food and wine blogger. We were so excited to be there we could barely get our wristbands on as they handed them to us. Then of course we had trouble juggling the

Review of Super Duper Burger

2012-01-25T06:40:00.000-08:00

There's a new joint in town called Super Duper Burger, and it's fantastic. I mean really, unless you're a vegetarian, there's nothing like a big, fat, juicy burger and fries. And they make a really, really good burger. We've been there for lunch two weekends in a row. Lucky for me they have salads, too. Because Don is in love with this place and I will never lose weight if I eat

Perfect Sticky Rice

2012-01-22T09:33:00.000-08:00

There's nothing like a quick dinner of pot stickers, rice and a steamed veggie. This is exactly what we ate on Saturday night (minus the veggie) before Elli's dance recital. Don and my sister Kathy volunteered to make dinner while I got Elli's hair ready and her dance costumes organized. Kathy was in charge of the rice. Don was going to make the pot stickers. I watched her pour the rice in

White Cheddar Mac and Cheese

2012-01-18T07:00:00.000-08:00

Cheesy, creamy goodness with a light crunchy topping. It doesn't get better than this. We ate this last Saturday after watching the 49ers game. What a game, right?! So exciting. We were screaming and yelling which totally freaked out Elli and the dogs. It was the best game I've watched in a very long time. Okay, so really, it's the only game I've watched in a really long time. I

My six beauty resolutions for 2012

2012-01-16T09:22:00.000-08:00

Thanks to Walgreens for underwriting this post. I was paid as a member of the Clever Girls Collective, but the content is all mine. Visit http://www.discoverbeautywithin.com/. When I look in the mirror I see two things I don't like, no three, maybe four. Sheesh. It's probably not good to count. There are wrinkles, gray hairs, dark circles under my eyes, too many chins and little sun spots on

Party food - wine and spin dip

2012-01-14T09:17:00.000-08:00

I realized yesterday that I have not featured any wines in a very long time. It's not because we're not drinking wine, either. So here are two bottles for you to try. Plus a really yummy spinach dip recipe. I featured the dip last year. But it's time to share it again because it's perfect for football parties. And the niners are playing today. GO NINERS! Main & Geary Cabernet and the Prospect

What...... a...... week!

2012-01-12T21:15:00.000-08:00

sigh It's Thursday night. When you read this it will be FRIDAY the 13th. I'm not superstitious or anything. But I have had THE WORST WEEK EVER. So it kind of makes you wonder, and worry. ok, technically, it's not THE WORST WEEK EVER. I realize that. It just wasn't a great week in my little world. It all started Sunday. Elli and her buddy were making me crazy. They weren't doing anything

Praline Popcorn Crunch

2012-01-08T20:30:00.000-08:00

This is a classic. We made it tonight. You should too. December 22, 2010 - - It wouldn't be Christmas without my buttery, toffee-carmel coated, crunchy popcorn with little pecan surprises. It will make you crazy. 'Cuz you can't stop eating it. Trust me. It's gooooood. Praline Popcorn Crunch My mom found the recipe back in the early 80's when they lived in Danville. It was in the Contra Costa

Cherry Crisp

2012-01-06T07:00:00.000-08:00

My sister-in-law wanted a cherry crisp with Christmas dinner. She didn't have a recipe and was looking for some help. I had my Barefoot Contessa cookbook with me so we used the recipe for Peach and Raspberry Crisp. We switched out the fruit and made it with fresh cherries instead. Unfortunately, I wasn't that happy with how it came out. The fruit part was way too sweet and sugary. I could tell

Apparently, I'm an idiot

2012-01-05T09:41:00.000-08:00

I just read this in the NorthBay Biz and had to share it with you. I know I'm not the only idiot. Six Truths of Life You cannot touch all of your teeth with your tongue. All idiots, after reading the first "Truth," will try it. The first truth is a lie. You are smiling now because you're an idiot. You will soon share this with another idiot. There is still a stupid smile on your face. I did

Caesar Salad with Crunchy Parmesan Croutons

2012-01-03T02:00:00.000-08:00

Marzetti "Simply Dressed" Salad Dressing Caesar Salad is Elli's favorite salad. She is quite fond of the version at Pizza Antica. She loves the garlicky dressing and super crunchy croutons. So, when I was chosen to review a new Marzetti salad dressing I knew I had to try the Caesar to see if my girl Elli liked it. So I set out to make a salad. I grabbed the dressing and tried to open it.

Raspberry Buckle

2012-01-02T07:00:00.000-08:00

I had a serious craving for Blueberry Boy Bait the other day but we didn't have any blueberries. We had Raspberries. So I made this Raspberry Buckle instead. It was good. I guess I could have made the Boy Bait with Raspberries. But I liked the idea of trying something new. The recipe called for 2 containers of raspberries. I only had one. So it was a little light on the fruit. The good news

Bloody Mary Pitcher

2012-01-01T09:34:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!!!!! Did everyone have fun ringing in the new year? We did. We hung out with some old friends, and made some new friends. It was a great time. We laughed, and laughed and laughed. Not sure the Bocce Ball place completely appreciated us bringing in hats and noisemakers for our extra large group. Oh well, it was their first New Years Eve. They'll ask more questions next time

My favorite special occasion Cabernets

2011-12-28T17:24:00.000-08:00

Rombauer, Cakebread, Caymus and Silver Oak I brought these four bottles home to take a picture for a piece I was writing. I was so sad to return them. I've tasted them all and they are mighty fine. We call these "special occasion wines" in my house because of the price tag. They're not exactly in our everyday wine budget. Actually, they're not in most people's

Do you believe in guardian angels?

2011-12-23T11:21:00.000-08:00

I do. It's been one of the most bizarre, stressful, and amazing years all wrapped into one. I lost my job in January. I interviewed like a mad woman all over San Francisco. Nothing was right for me, or for them. For the first time in my life I felt old. I was qualified for all of these positions, but felt oddly out place. Was all my experience for not? Our store in Napa was on the verge of

Hummus with Roasted Garlic and Tomatoes

2011-12-20T07:30:00.000-08:00

Remember a few weeks back when I emptied out my fridge? I neglected to mention that my neighbors also donated canned goods when they moved. In addition to all the pickles, jams and jellies I received, I got 4 cans of chick peas, 3 containers of chicken broth, black bean soup, tuna, olive oil, 3 containers of Kosher salt, and other assorted items. I was okay with all of this stuff because I

Mug Swap 2011

2011-12-18T16:10:00.000-08:00

I was reading Twitter one day and a tweet caught my eye. It was something about bloggers swapping coffee mugs. For some reason this sounded fun to me so I clicked on the link to find out more about it. Liz from a belle, a bean & a chicago dog was gathering bloggers to do a coffee mug gift exchange. She would send each of us a name and address and we would send that blogger a mug that represents

Crescent Rolls Recipe

2011-12-13T10:00:00.000-08:00

We made these crescent rolls on Thanksgiving. They were so good, I had to share them with you again. Because you might want to make them for Christmas. The recipe makes a bunch of rolls. We baked a batch for Thanksgiving day, then rolled the rest out, put them on a baking sheet, and stuck them in the fridge for the next day. All you have to do is set them out to rise for a few hours and

We have a winner for the Driscoll's Goody Bag!

2011-12-09T12:08:00.001-08:00

The winner of the Driscoll's Goody Bag is........ #4 Mike YAY! Congratulations!!

Duct Tape Art

2011-12-09T08:00:00.000-08:00

Have your kids gotten into this? Elli asked for Duct Tape for her birthday. Don and I both thought this was an odd request. Then she came home from a friends with a cool flower she made and we got it. She was not talking about the kind of tape you get at the local hardware store. This is fancy tape. Yes, you could actually use it as tape. But that's not what most kids are doing

5 New Blackberry Recipes

2011-12-05T07:00:00.000-08:00

I'm so excited to share these blackberry recipes with you! I tried every one of them at the Driscoll's party and they are really tasty. Plus, I have my first ever giveaway. Somehow I walked away with an Extra Goody bag - so one lucky reader will get it! Driscoll's Tote Bag, Driscoll's Fruit Colander, NEW Cookbook from Rick Rodgers, a Driscoll's Apron, and a Driscoll's Flash Drive with all

Fresh Blackberry Shortbread Bars

2011-12-04T08:00:00.000-08:00

Last week I attended a blogging event sponsored by Driscoll's berries. They had Chef Rick Rodgers there doing a cooking demonstration, photographer Caren Alpert leading a photo workshop, and a baking contest for us bloggers. I brought Blackberry Shortbread Bars. Chef Rick and his team prepared some really yummy food. I'm going to post all their recipes tomorrow, they would be perfect for

Cleaning out the fridge

2011-12-03T08:00:00.000-08:00

It's a cathartic experience. You should try it. I cleaned the fridge out the weekend before Thanksgiving because company was coming. I really didn't want my sister and her family to see my condiment collection, or the sticky stuff that had dripped on the shelf which we all saw, but no one bothered to remove, because it had turned into sticky cement. A lot of the stuff in the fridge came from

Yummy Mediterranean Herb Dip Recipe

2011-11-30T08:00:00.000-08:00

I first tasted this dip in 2006 when we went to the Olive Oil Tasting in downtown Sonoma. It was a really fun event in the old mission off the square. There was lots of wine, olive oil, snacks, and this yummy dip. The chef from Blackstone winery was mixing up a huge batch of it while we were there. I kept going back for more because it tasted so good with the wine and I wanted to know what

San Francisco with the cousins

2011-11-28T06:00:00.000-08:00

We spent last Saturday in San Francisco with my sister Kathy, her husband Mike, and their two kids. We had a blast walking all over Union Square. We darted in and out of shops looking for the best Christmas decorations. Of course we did a little shopping, too. The Paul Frank store was definitely a hit with the kids. Our first stop was Macy's. We were all quite impressed by the large, shiny red