Food

Submitted by Ferari-Carano Vineyards & Winery

Nothing says fall and winter more than a warm, cozy dish that marries the sweetness of harvest fruit with the traditional entrée's of the season. Ferrari-Carano Winery has just the recipe for you - Grilled Duck Breasts With Black Currant Pomegranate Sauce.  It's also the perfect dish for company during the holidays.

The Ferrari-Carano Zinfandel pairs well with the duck and "boasts aromas of boysenberry and blueberry pie with hints of vanilla and baking spices. Concentrated fruit continues on the palate with juicy, sweet wild berries that linger well into a finish that is highlighted by smooth, silky tannins."

By Deirdre Bourdet

The restaurant MECCA in San Francisco was one of my favorite spots in the city when Stephen Barber manned the stoves. I was devastated when he and the management team left to open BarBersQ in Napa's uber-suburban Bel Aire Plaza, so I moved to Napa as well. (Kidding... though I did move to Napa.) The new digs are not quite as sexy or dramatic, but they do have plenty of urban flash. And the restaurant's lusty flavors and mood music make up for whatever style points are lost for the slightly less soigné clientele.

By Deirdre Bourdet

Recession-special happy hours are still popping up at a fabulous pace, even though the recession tide has turned and is (officially) over.  Downtown Napa recently added a couple of new and exciting options for happy hour tippling, besides Pica Pica Bar with its fab $3 drinks and ceviche.

Stuffing is personal and subjective.  Everyone has their absolute favorites and some guests are just downright insistent that THEIR recipe is used for the big Thanksgiving Dinner  Sometimes the stuffing turns out great and we're grateful.  Other times, they are plain AWFUL and so we tend to skip that whole area on our plate for fear it contaminates the rest of our food!   So we ask you, what's been your experience with "the good, bad and ugly" of stuffing?  We've found a few stories and recipes to get you started...

Kasha:  "My favorite is stove top, I swear!  As embarrassing as that is, I can't help it.  I would eat it by itself!  The worst....LIVER or GIZZARDS  in my stuffing. That culinary practice should be BANNED!  I did have a relative insist on having her stuffing by the way.  It was okay....I missed my stove top."

Candi:   "Good Stuffing comes from my Grandma!  She makes hers from scratch including the cornbread. The bad and ugly came to me one holiday dinner at my brother's house. I asked what it was and my sister-in-law said STOVE TOP!  That is the WORST stuffing ever!!! UGHHHH. That is NOT how stuffing is supposed to taste.

To most, turkey and Thanksgiving is as obvious as peanut butter and jelly.  What isn't obvious anymore is how we cook that turkey.  In addition to the traditional basted, bagged and roasted turkey methods we now have a myriad of new, exciting and untraditional ways of cooking that delectable bird. Step into the culinary world of turkey grilling (yes, on the bbq!), smoking, deep frying and rotisserie. Set your fears aside and discover the "untraditional turkey" this year.  You may be surprised at the response you and your bird get this year, kissing your traditional method goodbye forever.
 
Don't believe me?  Then let me tell you a story ....

Last Thanksgiving, my husband decided to smoke the turkey instead of the traditional "bagged" turkey. While my husband is great on the grill and smoked turkey sounded wonderful, I did not like the idea of being adventurous on Thanksgiving. Truth be told, I was a little worried that it wouldn't quite turn out as expected. What's more, we were expecting quite a few people for dinner!

To be safe, I cooked my traditional "bagged" turkey and it came out as expected - juicy and delicious.  However, my turkey sat virtually ignored and my husband's turkey was completely devoured. He clearly "smoked" the competition-namely me. I conceded defeat.  The smoked turkey was good, absolutely memorable, and our family can never go back.  Our traditional turkey has forevermore flown the coup and has been replaced by our new tradition-the "untraditional turkey". 

To help you find your own new Thanksgiving un-tradition, we've provided a few our favorite recipes and methods below.  Happy Thanksgiving! 

By Deirdre Bourdet

This time of year you can't turn around without a pumpkin or nine staring you in the face. Every storefront has trotted out at least ten or twelve for the window display, and the Stanly Ranch Pumpkin Patch is rockin' and rollin' with its hay bale maze, giant sunflowers, and pumpkins of every size and color. Though the decorative pumpkin frenzy will die down after Halloween, the edible pumpkin bandwagon is just getting going in wine country. It's one of my favorite seasons for sweets.

By Deirdre Bourdet

In keeping with their reputation as the first family of fun, the Cejas are throwing a Halloween bash this year in their downtown tasting bar. This means far more than special pricing on the wine... though there will be by the glass discounts and a healthy 30% off all their bottles for the evening, including those to take home. No, Halloween with the Cejas means music, passion, drama, and dancing.

By Deirdre Bourdet

The avalanche of autumn produce in our markets is a sure sign that fall is here, notwithstanding some freak summer flashback days. Pumpkins, squashes, apples, sweet potatoes, mushrooms, and beets of every color beckon with their earthy sweetness and sexy dark green leaves.

Like everyone else I hated the canned beets of my childhood, but I've since grown to love the silken texture, rich flavor, and eye-popping colors of the real deal. Beet greens also rank among my favorite leafy green vegetables of all time, but only appear in good shape in fall and winter. Easy to clean and quick-cooking, they taste like a more tender, earthier version of chard. Since you typically get the beet greens for free with the beetroot, a bunch of beets is also one of the best produce deals out there.

Michelin's 2010 San Francisco Bay & Wine Country Guide is being released today. Not surprisingly, the French Laundry in Yountville earned three stars for the fourth consecutive year.  Three stars denote "exceptional cuisine, worth a special journey" and I'm sure anyone that has dined at the French Laundry would agree. 

Of course, other restaurants around Napa and Sonoma Wine Country boast fabulous food as well and were recognized with two stars "excellent cuisine, worth a detour" or one star "a very good restaurant in this category". Take a look at the list below.

By Deirdre Bourdet

The film Bottle Shock tells the tale of the 1976 "Judgment of Paris," where California wines beat out their French counterparts in a widely publicized blind tasting.  This week in Napa, three local merlots go head to head against three from Bordeaux at Back Room Wines' Thursday night tasting event. It won't be blind, but it will be delicious.

By Deirdre Bourdet

Pica Pica Bar has opened in Napa's Oxbow Public Market! I was delighted enough to hear that they would be serving ceviche with wine and beer, but news of their ridiculously awesome happy hour made me make haste to the comfortable leather bar stools at the south end of the Oxbow building. From 3-6pm on weekdays, all alcoholic drinks (white or red sangria, most of the ten draft beers, Venezuelan-style fruit juices called batidos, and your choice of red, white or rose wine) are $3, and a varied assortment of ceviches and corn arepa "sliders" are also yours for the same price.

Trick or Treat? Well, treats of course! Whether you have kids or your a kid at heart, we have some fun recipes for you! So, set aside that store bought candy and get ready to taste some really wicked treats! Just click below to get your spook-tacular Halloween underway!

Chocolate Candy Corn Truffles
"Dark chocolate and bitter orange offset the sweetness of candy corn in these fun but fancy truffles."

Double-Chocolate Caramel Apples
"Indulge in the ultimate chocoholic experience by dipping the caramel apples in both semisweet and bittersweet chocolate."

Pumpkin Patch Cakes
"Petite pumpkin-shaped cakes. Dust with confectioners' sugar, finish them with colorful frostings, or pipe on smiling or scary jack-o'-lantern faces."

Caramel-Dipped Apples
"Delicious caramel apples...decorate with toffee bits, mini M&Ms, candy sprinkles, etc."

What's your favorite treat to make for Halloween?

Submitted by Viansa Winery & Vineyards

Viansa's 2007 Chardonnay offers flavors of Apple, honeydew melon and toasty oak with a crisp clean finish. This wine was 50% barrel fermented and 50% stainless steel tank fermented. A deliciously fresh wine that pairs nicely with a cheese and fruit platter, grilled fish or light pasta dishes.  Drink now through 2010. Visit Viansa.com/lifestyle for recipes like "Pepper and Prosciutto Frittata".

submitted by VirginiaWine.org

by Melissa Close, Executive Chef of Palladio Restaurant

Executive Chef Melissa Close has directed Palladio's kitchen since the fall of 2000, continually working to bring authentic Italian Cuisine to Central Virginia. Raised in Alabama, Melissa has been in the restaurant business since she was 16 years old and is a distinguished graduate from the New England Culinary Institute, Alumna of the Year in 2005. She has focused on Italian cuisine since working for award-winning chef Frank Stitt at Bottega Restaurant & Cafe located in Birmingham, Alabama in the early 90's. Her quest to refine her fluency in Italian cuisine led her to San Francisco's Rose Pistola Restaurant.

After taking a hiatus to work for one of her early culinary mentors and fellow Charlottesville chef, Craig Hartman, at The Cliff House at Pikes Peak in Manitou Springs, Colorado, she was drawn back to Italian cuisine when asked to take the Executive Chef's position at Palladio Restaurant. She has brought both national and international recognition for Palladio Restaurant through her constant striving to create menus with the freshest ingredients found locally and internationally. During the restaurant's annual closing in January, Melissa and her staff travel across the Atlantic to stage in some of Italy's finest establishments to expand their knowledge of Italian cuisine. Melissa and her staff's commitment for excellence has won her induction in the Chaine des Rotisseurs, and three invitations to create dinners at the world-renowned James Beard House in New York City, a great honor bestowed upon select chefs in the country.

By Deirdre Bourdet

Most ingredients go in and out of style, depending on the latest health craze or foodie fad. This doesn't of course affect their deliciousness, or deter the converted from continuing to use the items in our own cooking once they have fallen out of fashion with the rest of America.

So I'm sure I wasn't the only one whose heart soared when Julie & Julia hit the silver screen this year, trumpeting the timeless and unparalleled glory of butter to audiences near and far. Sweet vindication! I almost cheered at the scene where Julie sets a pound of butter in front of Julia's portrait in the Smithsonian.