Archive for December, 2009

A Mad Men Birthday Draper-Style: Party Like it’s 1962

  When your birthday is three days before Christmas and you grow up in the United States, there is very little you can do to separate the day from the ever-eclipsing holiday mayhem.  There is the inevitable dual gifting you’ve heard about, I’m sure, coupled with an incessant round of holiday parties that tend to fall [ READ MORE ]

An Upside-Down Christmas Tree Hanging with Bagels, Bellini’s and Beignets

  A few years ago, starting in the month of February we purchased, gutted and remodeled our home with our own four hands (between Jonas and I, that’s four, right?).  We didn’t entirely plan on sub-contracting ourselves and consequently having to execute the whole nine, it just happened that every sub-contractor we hired kind of sucked [ READ MORE ]

Viva España: Quince Marcona Manchego Tart and Chorizo Lentils to Boot

One post and two recipes- I must really be getting into the holiday spirit of giving, folks!  It all went down like this:  right about this time every year I get so steeped in festive cookies, eggnog, holiday muzak and mall madness that I simply need a break from it all lest I should find [ READ MORE ]

Minted Dungeness Crab Cakes with Lemongrass Kaffir Sake Beurre Blanc

  Dungeness crab cakes on pea sprouts with lemongrass kaffir sake beurre blanc When daddy’s away, mama will play, you’d better believe it!  Jonas high-tailed it to Japan for work last week and left Bentley and I to our own devices.  The first thing I taught Bentley to do was jump on the bed. Every self-respecting 16 [ READ MORE ]

DeLille Winery: A Rags to Riches Tale

Chris Upchurch, winemaker, talks wine If I told you that one of the most esteemed wineries in Washington state, rather the United States, was an idea hatched on a cocktail napkin many years ago, wouldn’t that make you love it all the more?  Many accolades have been bestowed upon DeLille’s wines, and while I’ve certainly been [ READ MORE ]

Tea-Smoked Moulard Duck Breasts: a Delicious Antidote to Holiday Heft

There is something so romantic about tea-smoked duck.  Every time I hear those words I mentally transport myself to an ancient dynasty replete with silk robes, ornately carved furniture, and decadent feasts.  Tea-smoked duck originated in the Sichuan provence in China.  While I do not hail from Sichuan (or China) I think I must have [ READ MORE ]