A Free Wine Encyclopedia!We have had some really fun wines the past few months, wines that lend themselves well to food. Many sales personnel use the term “this is a food wine” when trying to cover up some unusual characteristic. Most of them probably don’t understand what a “food wine” really is. It is much more than a… read more »
Louis L’Amour, the late writer of westerns, was a family friend. He had a library of books that would knock your socks off. One day as I was admiring his enormous “room of books”, he pointed to a section of about 20 paperbacks and said, “If you read every one of those books, you would… read more »
Here’s a recipe that is a perfect mate to this month’s red wine selection: grilled leg-of-lamb served with a robust, though not piquant, sauce. But please read it all, before starting. Prepare the sauce ahead, reheating before serving. Allow 4 hours for preparation. The sauce is adapted for lamb using leftover bones and a technique… read more »
Memories of childhood are always the grandest. Children look at life so differently than adults. Everything is new, fresh and exciting. One of my grandest memories as a child was visiting Hershey, Pennsylvania, home of the all-american Hershey bar. The moment I entered this town I knew I had never been and would never again… read more »
When I was a little girl, “pasta” meant spaghetti doused with tasteless bright red tomato sauce and sprinkled with some-kind-of-awful, artificial-tasting parmesan cheese. “Pasta” really wasn’t high on my list of childhood favorites. Years later, friends would rave about this fusilli or that pené, and I would simply tune them out. When I finally came… read more »
I am such a sucker for holidays, particularly Valentine’s Day. Valentine’s Day is the perfect opportunity to tell the people who mean the most to you that you love them. Even the most unsentimental will fall prey to this day of love. Singer James Taylor says, “Shower the people you love with love. Show them… read more »
After the hustle and bustle of the holidays, visions of plush armchairs, crackling fires and steaming bowls of homemade soup keep “dancing in my head”. Every year, just before the holiday season begins, I make a silent vow: I will not become a stressed-out maniac. I will not demand perfection when baking. I will not… read more »
As much as I look forward to the holidays, my stomach tightens and my head swirls as I think of all the social engagements, gift buying, traffic, crowds and commercialism the holiday season entails. A few ago my mother approached me with an exciting idea. Christmas in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. A Wyoming real estate agent… read more »
I am what you would call a “foodie”. Don’t bother looking it up in Webster’s, because it won’t be there. I can give you a brief definition of this word coined by food critics, writers, photographers and chefs: “A foodie is a person who considers food not only vital to his body, but to his… read more »
Living in Los Angeles, or any other big city for that matter, means dealing with the “trends”. There are trendy clothes, restaurants, perfumes, television shows, toys, even shampoo is trendy! Even though you may not be the trendy type, certain things eventually go “out of style”, and at one point or another, you will be… read more »