For years I would watch British cooking shows and hear about beef and Stilton pies but the concept didn't resonate with me. Oh, the part about putting beef inside pastry sounded just fine because that's basically a pot pie. But I was stuck on the cheese. Sharp cheddar, sure, but Stilton seemed more like something I should serve with crackers and wine? I kept it in the back of my mind, though.
March is almost here and that means St. Patrick's Day is almost here and that means it's my annual excuse to make Irish soda bread. So what if I'm not Irish, I LOVE soda bread! Yes, I could make it year round, of course, but...um...maybe I love it a little too much to do that.
Did you know that February is American Heart Month? Sure, we've indulged a bit with some Valentine's desserts but I actually look for ways to incorporate more heart healthy options most of the time. The big New Year's resolutions are fine and there is something empowering about new beginnings. But in the long run, I've always found that small changes along the way make the biggest impact.
Happy National Drink Wine Day. Yes, of course that's a holiday and one that's well worth celebrating. Admittedly, some of us celebrate it quite a bit more than once a year. I like wine, all sorts, but I especially like bubbly wine. A number of years ago I was dining at a restaurant owned by a chef friend and he sent over some complimentary Prosecco. Until then I'd only ever had champagne but I was instantly in love and Prosecco became my go-to bubbly wine beverage. And since I'm just as big a fan of cocktails, I often mix the two. It's a double celebration!
One trend that I've really enjoyed is how much more approachable wines have become and how easy it is to pick up a truly delicious bottle, sparkly or otherwise, for not much money. Add to that the new apps and wine delivery services and it's a new and wonderful world, where even the web names are changing.
I remember when .com was the only way to be but now, where there used to be limited choices, there is a lot of variety with "not-com" domain name endings. My friends at Name.Kitchen specialize in the new "not-coms" and I love seeing the selection. There are hundreds of options including .photography, .guru, .fitness, .agency, .coffee and, of course, .wine and .vin.
Wine is a massive global industry but one that's had to evolve to today's world. Snooty restaurants with esoteric wine lists and a sommelier to guide you still exist but it's hardly the lion's share of the wine drinking public. The consumer demographics have changed and the industry has had to adapt. That means some of the biggest wine growing regions and brands have adopted new social media and digital platforms to spread their messages and get the enthusiastic community talking and exchanging information.
Fun, sure but, more importantly, they're meaningful and creative, a great way to engage with the people who love wine. Personally, I loved visiting sites like sherry.wine, port.wine and prosecco.wine site because they're packed with information about my favorite bubbly beverage and that helps me to understand what to buy and what to look for.
So check out some of them and enjoy reading all about your favorite foods and drinks. But first, pour some wine or my wine/cocktail combo and celebrate. Cheers!
Recipe for a vodka and Prosecco cocktail flavored with cherry preserves, vanilla and lemon.
Ingredients
2 oz. Vodka
2 oz. Cherry preserves
2 oz. Lemon juice
1 Teaspoon vanilla (paste is best)
6 oz. Prosecco or more to fill the glass
Instructions
Add the vodka, cherry preserves, lemon juice and vanilla to a cocktail shaker. Fill with ice, shake well and strain into chilled cocktail glasses or champagne coupes. Top with the Prosecco and garnish with a wedge of lemon, if desired.
Thank you to Hunt's tomatoes for sponsoring this recipe.
So, the weekly gatherings of football fans and/or fans of the food at gatherings (that would be me) is over now that whichever team you were rooting for either won or lost the Superbowl. And, no, I have no opinion on this because I was watching the Puppy Bowl in the other room. But, seriously, the gatherings have certainly not ended because it's award show season. So much more fun to watch with a group.
Marzipan has always held a special place in my heart. When I was a little girl, my German born father would take me to a part of the city that had many German stores, including an incredible shop called The Elk Candy Company. Their specialty was little marzipan figurines or bonbons made with cake, chocolate and marzipan and I always chose the cutest one. And sometimes, even when we didn't go there, my father would come home from work and there would be a little marzipan candy in his pocket for me as a surprise.
Hi friends! This is the little monthly recap of my foodie adventures elsewhere on the web. Below are the recipes I created for my The Spruce Eats food column. I hope you'll come visit me there. Enjoy!
Is it just me or did January disappear so quickly? Seriously, I feel like I blinked and it was gone. All that shiny new year stuff got lost in the post holiday, back to the daily grind business. That's not to say that any of my plans for this year aren't still being worked on. Just that the newness of it has worn off. And it's back to being a typical winter in New York with cold and snow. I don't love that part but it gives me a chance to concentrate on work and on creating some amazing recipes. Whatever else January was, it was delicious. So let's take a quick look back before we dive into a chocolate-fest for Valentine's Day. Enjoy!
Let's talk about couple dining situations. Are you the type that doesn't mind eating off each other's plates and even forks? Or are you the type that, if your partner comes near your food, will stab him or her with the fork? It's these types of intimate situations that need to be made clear right up front if you have any hope of making it as a couple and not ending up in the emergency room with a fork stuck in your hand.
Sure, Valentine's Day is associated with chocolate and I'm fine with that. But sometimes I wonder if I should make a non chocolate dessert and save the chocolates for my favorite box of decadent truffles. But if I'm replacing chocolate, there probably needs to be peanut butter. And if I'm not pairing the PB with chocolate then my choice is my other favorite flavor, banana. Peanut butter and banana is awesome.
