Holiday Gift Ideas: Part 2

Only 10 or so days left till Christmas so time is running out to place online gift orders. In my previous post I mentioned some gift ideas, now here are others. Enjoy!

Walkers Shortbread

And for something really special, the Highlanders Tin, featuring a picture of William Wallace. Too cool for school.

Tortuga Rum Company

DiBruno Brothers

Niman Ranch

Strawberry Hill Povitica Company (an Eastern European dessert)

Wild West Coffee and Chocolate

Paint Horse Winery

An finally, one of my favorite places to spend time...and money: check out the coasters from Virgins, Saints and Sinners. My personal favorite? The vintage cowgirl one with the "guts, grits, and lipstick" motto.

Happy shopping/browsing/eating/drinking.

Holiday Gift Ideas: Part 1

The countdown till Christmas continues in full swing. For you online shoppers looking for some "food splurges" this holiday season (as gifts for others or, even better, for your family!), check out all the goodies at EnjoyFoieGras.com. In addition to foie gras (of course!), they have all kinds of pates, sausages, and...truffles!

And I plan to purchase some Fleur de Sel de Guerande, which is supposed to be the creme de la creme of salt. The EnjoyFoieGras web site reinforces my belief that the better the ingredients, the better food.

Coming Friday: MORE gift ideas.

Grilling Cheese

Had a fantastic dinner Friday night with G. and her lovely husband J. (awesome brisket G -- thanks). Gio and I took some goodies, including bread and wine, and for something special, I brought along some Halloumi Cheese.

I'm a huge cheese fan, and Halloumi is turning into one of my favorites. Not only does it taste great, it's the only cheese that doesn't melt when cooked. Too cool for school, right?

Halloumi is a sheep and goat's milk cheese from Cyprus. Again, it doesn't melt when heated, so here's how to make it:

1. Slice into cubes about 1" thick by 3" long

2. Drop into a hot skillet (no need to add oil)

3. Cook until the cheese is lightly brown on both sides

Serve alone or on bread

And for an extra-special treat, first wrap the cheese cubes with Prosciutto, grease the pan lightly with Pam or oil, and saute about two minutes. Wow -- it's a salty gooey savory experience.

You can pick up Halloumi at the deli in finer supermarkets or, of course, online. Check it out sometime, especially when you want to make a here's-something-different-splash at a dinner party.

Cool in the Clouds

Wow, had a great time earlier this week with my friend G. at the ultra-trendy, ultra-hip -- and extremely welcoming -- Upper Fourth bar in downtown Santa Rosa. Upper Fourth, owned by locals Molly Gallaher and Ivan Richard, is celebrating its one-year anniversary this month.

I love the feel of the place: leather chairs, fireplace, great lighting. Plus in addition to the central room complete with bar, there are two or three other small rooms for more intimate gatherings -- including a "game" room with full-sized poker table. Too cool!

Upper Fourth of course specializes in hip drinks, and has a nice wine list. Food options are limited, though the two appetizers I had -- Spanish-spiced almonds and a wonderful red pepper humus -- were awesome.

Definitely check out Upper Fourth, which gets its name from being on the second floor. (And yes, it has some great views of the city down below.) It's a hip crowd, but hey, I hung out there and didn't get kicked out so you can too.

G.: Whispers in the Dark

Upper Fourth

96 Old Courthouse Square (next to Flavor Restaurant)

573-0522

Happy Happy Happy Dec. 5

Good morning all, and happy December 5th... which of course (!) is the anniversary of the Repeal of Prohibition! (In fact, this Dec 5th is the 75th anniversary.)

That's right: 75 years ago today the 21st Amendment to the Constitution became ratified, thereby repealing the 18th Amendment which had, nationwide, prohibition the making, sale, or drinking of alcohol.

So tonight, lift a glass of beer or wine or champagne and give a toast to our Constitution that allows us life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness...and to drink!

(Interesting side note: The 21st Amendment is the only Amendment repealing an earlier amendment.)

My Wine Holy Grail

I've been fortunate this year to drink some fabulous wine both at wineries and at different meals. I had some awesome Ghost Horse Vineyards cab sauvignon ($500 per bottle, thank you very much); I'm a huge Nord Vineyards fan (note--they have a new web site coming soon, I promise); and recently I disovered a Napa Valley up-and-comer that I'll talk more about shortly.

I love great wine. However, it's difficult to drink great wine every night with meals. So I'm continually trying and experimenting with what I call "everyday" wines--those in the $8.00 - $15.00 range that can be enjoyed with everything from pizza to hamburgers. It's tough, because after drinking great wine, it's difficult to drink lesser wine.

But now I've found what I consider the "Holy Grail" of everyday wines: Frontier Red from the Fess Parker Winery. Most of you know who Fess Parker was: Daniel Boone! For the past 15 years, he's had a winery down in Santa Maria, in southern California. Anyway, I believe his Frontier Red is the best $9.99 bottle of wine I've ever had. It has a great nose, great flavor, but most of all, it has great FEEL -- it feels good in your mouth. It has character and taste and doesn't feel "transparent", and by that I mean that there's nothing left in your mouth once you swallow. Anyway, if you're in the market for a great everyday wine, I suggest you check out some Frontier Red. Yes, Daniel Boone was a man (theme song, folks), and yes, Fess Parker knows how to make a great $9.99 bottle of wine.

BE CREATIVE!!!

COSTA MESA - Still in So Cal, and have noticed two things:

1. O.K., I love the all-you-can-eat breakfast buffet (see my earlier post), but please, kitchen people: AFTER FOUR OR FIVE DAYS OF THE EXACT SAME FOOD, THE BUFFET LOOSES ITS APPEAL. Can you mix it up? Please? Pretty please? Would it hurt you to make some custom-ordered omelette's, or throw some Canadian bacon out there?? I mean, come on, be creative.

2. Avoid ordering calamari at a fast food restaurant (Daphne's). It's NOT GOING TO BE THE SAME AS FISHERMAN'S WHARF OR THAT REALLY COOL RESTAURANT IN NY CITY WHOSE NAME HAS JUST SLIPPED ME. (It won't even be close!!!!)

Rantings from the road.