Every year the hubby asks me if I want to go out to dinner for Valentine’s Day. Every year my answer is the same. “I’d rather stay home.” Wouldn’t you? I mean, really, any place you eat at is going to be charging a premium for a limited menu and wants to rush you out the [...]

Trying to come up with of a way to reinvent some leftover spaghetti squash, I recalled a recipe for fritters in Greg Atkinson’s book, “ At the Kitchen Table .” His version is based on parsnips, but I can’t get the hubby to eat those. Besides, we were in need of a side dish to pair with [...]

The food and wine pairing classes I’ve taken at Northwest Wine Academy have had an ongoing influence on me. In Varietals II where red wine is explored at great length, we were tasked with serving a dish to pair with Malbec. I’m now obsessed with pairing food with Malbec . All the time. Seriously. One of the food [...]

Here’s a quick and dirty guide for throwing a party together when time and money are limited. We’ve culled together a couple of our favorite recipes, drink ideas, and party planning tips to help keep the merry in your merrymaking. Start with our plan for hosting a salami and wine pairing party . Then, throw in a couple of [...]

Washington winery, Walter Dacon , crafts some lush and decadent wines. One of our favorite wines that they’ve produced has been their Roussanne. Sadly, they haven’t bottled any in recent vintages. So when our good friend Vivian discovered a bottle of the 2006 and one of the 2007 vintages in the winery’s library, we planned a special pairing dinner. [...]

Sure, there are those who might be stunned that anyone might have leftover wine from dinner. When it happens who can bear to let even a drop of our precious juice go to waste? The good news is, there’s no need to pour that wine down the drain! Cook pasta in wine . I saw Mario Batali [...]

As a student at the Northwest Wine Academy ,  finals in food and wine pairing classes involve creating and presenting our very best pairings. In Varietals I, a class focusing on white varietals, our friend Vivian prepared this “Magical Austrian Soup”. Our instructor, Chef Lenny Rede still waxes poetic about this warming wonder. Many thanks to Vivian [...]

I’m still obsessed with Cardamaro. Not only have I incorporated it into biscotti, but also this recipe. This is a decadent treat that I love serving to dinner guests for dessert. There is nothing like homemade ice cream so refreshingly cool, creamy, and smooth. With an automatic ice cream maker, it’s unbelievably easy to make. In [...]

We are fortunate in Seattle to have so many wine events taking place at any given time. How to choose which to attend? This is our take on some of our favorites that inspire our palates. Mosel Wine Merchants Riesling Tasting at the Wild Ginger in Seattle August 29 5-7 pm What’s so great about it? At just $15 [...]

Looking for a great summer sipper? Pinot Gris is a light to medium bodied white wine with refreshing acidity that is perfect for pairing with dinner on a warm summer evening. Northwest produced Pinot Gris tends to be a bit heavier than its Italian counterpart, Pinot Grigio. Keep the body of the wine in mind [...]

Last Sunday Terry Theise, a leading importer of Riesling from Germany and Austria, was hosted by Wild Ginger for one of their Summer of Riesling dinners. The hubby and I are big fans of Riesling and Wild Ginger’s food. And who knows when an opportunity to meet Terry Theise will arise again? So, we decided it would be worth [...]

There are many advantages to eating in. For one thing, we can substitute anything we like! For another, we can open any bottle in the house without paying a 50% or greater markup. It’s also a heck of a lot cheaper overall than I imagined. When the hubby and I eat out, he always makes [...]

It’s hard to keep up with all the new wineries in Washington State these days. That’s why we like events like Debuts and Discoveries . An event dedicated to tasting wines from new players in the Washington wine scene helps us to taste a number of wines in one night.  I was lucky enough to be a [...]