Happy Holidays!

...from Every Meal A Feast.

Paradise Picks

It's been fun meeting and hanging out a bit with Marty Paradise, who's a wine geek/foodie/chef... and author of the book Paradise Picks. Marty has gone around to Sonoma and Napa county wineries and picked his favorites. The book also contains great recipes from the winemakers for food pairings with each selected wine.

And it gets better: Each winery mentioned in the book will give a book owner a complimentary wine tasting for two. The book retails for $25, yet the tasting savings easily run several hundred dollars. In other words, SCORE!

To contact Marty for a copy of his book, or to set up a private wine tasting with him as a guide, send him an email at: paradisewines4me@yahoo.com.

Ciao!

I'm Dreaming of a White...

...pizza?!?

Yes! I had this killer White Pizza made by my friend Deniese recently at The Wine Country Inn. It's very tasty and -- surprise -- goes perfectly with a medium-bodied red wine.

D's White Pizza

1 bulb garlic

1 boboli crust

olive oil

sliced green olives

1 cup Italian cheese blend

1/2 cup jack cheese

4 oz brie

Chop garlic. Saute in saucepan with olive oil until golden and soft.

Spread olive oil, then garlic, on the boboli crust.

Cut brie evenly into chunks and distribute evenly on crust.

Add jack cheese, olives, and Italian blend cheeses.

Bake in 350 degree oven for 20 minutes, until golden and bubbly.

Cool five minutes, then cut and serve.

Enjoy!

Ah, the holidays. Time to splurge with a...

Chocolate Martini
The Goods
1/4 cup Scharffen Berger unsweetened cocoa powder

1 cup boiling water

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup artisan vodka (for the chocolate liqueur) Note: We recommend Charbay

Desired amount of artisan vodka (for the martini base)

The How-To
Make the chocolate liqueur: combine the cocoa powder and boiling water, stirring to dissolve the cocoa. Set aside.
Combine the sugar and water in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring until the sugar has dissolved.
Stir the sugar syrup into the cocoa mixture and add 1 cup of vodka. Strain through a fine-mesh strainer into a container with a lid.
Refrigerate overnight.
Remove from refrigerator when ready to serve, then stir the liqueur well and strain it once again through a fine-mesh strainer.

Make the martini: For each one, pour 2 parts chocolate liqueur and 1 part vodka into a shaker with ice. Shake vigorously and pour into a glass. Enjoy!

And for those of you who have your own chocolate recipe, check this out:

http://www.chocolateadventurecontest.com/

Ciao!

Crab!

Yes, it's crab season, and yours truly plus et all ventured Friday night to Silverado Brewing Company just north of St. Helena in the Napa Valley for some seriously fresh -- and tasty -- crab. I was speaking to the owner earlier in the week, and he assured me that those babies were in the water just a day or so ago. Crab selections at SBC include crab bisque, crab cakes, crab louie, crab cioppino, rock salt roasted crab, and whole cracked crab. I went for the cakes and the whole crab. Both were delicious. Best of all, SBC has beer made on-site that's refreshing, fresh, and best of all, tasty. Check em out sometime.