Layers of Flavor: Spicy Squash, Potato and Beef Stew

So, I've been a little obsessed with Butternut Squash lately.  It all started when I made that savory Golden Winter Soup for Book Club.  I ended up with too much Butternut Squash, so I decided to try out this recipe for Squash, Chickpea and Red Lentil Stew in the crockpot.  Notice that I didn't blog about that dish and I'll let you guess why.   So I used the leftover Butternut Squash, but I didn't have quite...

Hosting a Weekend Brunch

One of my favorite things about living in a city environment is Brunch. Brunch is huge.  It's a way to get together with friends, celebrate the weekend, and provides an excuse to start drinking at 11am.  Which brings me to the part I love most about Brunch:  multiple beverages.   Water, Coffee, Juice, Champagne...take your pick or take them all.  And I will take all of them. Recently, my lovely friend...

Paris Part 1: The Sites

Paris is such a beautiful, magical place that when I'm there, I don't want to spend my time in museums.  I want to be walking around outside or sitting in cafés sipping espresso, soaking in the culture and pretending like I'm a native Parisian.  Regretfully, I think my walking shoes and the fact that I don't speak French are dead giveaways that I'm just another tourist falling hopelessly in love with the City of...

Office Bed Beard

One of the things I really love about my new job is that I get to bring Figaro to work with me.  It's nice not to have to worry about rushing home because poor Fig's been alone and lonely all day.  Now he can spend the day with me, my co-workers, and their adorable dogs who also frequent the office.  Fig loves saying hi to everyone, alerting us as to when the UPS man has arrived, and exploring every nook and...

Hump Day: An Italian Red

Last Friday, The Hub and I celebrated Christmas Part II while enjoying a delicious Italian Red, Cantine Colosi Nero d'Avola 2009.  The Hub picked out this bottle from CostCo, which has some surprisingly good deals on nice wines.  I like to narrow down my options by concentrating on the ones that have the highest Wine Spectator ratings, and then seeing which are almost sold out.  If it has a high rating, the...

2011 San Francisco Restaurant Guide

Last week one of my favorite San Francisco restaurant blogs, Eater SF, updated their 38 Essential San Francisco Restaurants.  Most of the places included on this list are top of the line, rather schmancy establishments, but a solid list nonetheless.  I often get asked for restaurant suggestions from friends and co-workers, so I decided to put together my list of Top Restaurants in San Francisco by category. ...

Weekend In a Nutshell: Packers Win

What a lovely weekend of doing not a whole lot!  The Hub and I celebrated Christmas Part II on Friday night by opening up all the gifts from my family that arrived earlier in the week and drinking a lovely Italian red that I'll be telling you about on Wednesday.  It was nice to extend the Holiday celebrations by an extra week, which also kept me from feeling guilty about the fact that our tree was still...

A New Year, A New Beard

Well, we've made it through the first full week of the year!  I have to say, 2011 is already shaping up to be a pretty good one.  My little sister got engaged (congrats Tori and Patrick!), I went to the Rose Bowl (we won't discuss the outcome) hung out with some of my favorite LA ladies, the Packers advanced into the playoffs, and last night I had dinner with an old friend that I hadn't seen since my...

Soup: A Mouthwatering Work of a Culinary Genius

Last night we had our first Paperbacks and Pinots Book Club of 2011.  We all gathered at Taylor's apartment to discuss Dave Eggers, A Heartbreaking Work of a Staggering Genius.  I had actually already read this book about two years ago, but I spent the last few days of my commute to Oakland browsing through the novel to refresh my memory.  I love this book mostly for its humor, but I also enjoy the fact that it...

Hump Day: A Treat From Santa Barbara

Last week, our friend Erika brought over a fantastic wine for a dinner party at our house.  A 2006 "Les Amours" Syrah from VIE Vineyards in Santa Barbara.  VIE Vineyards focuses on Rhone and Zinfandel varieties from California grapes, so it's no wonder I fell head over heels with this wine. This wine was delicious right out of the bottle.  With notes of plum, blackberry and spice, it was very juicy and...