Brewer's Dinner--Wow!

Had a fantastic dinner last night with G. at Silverado Brewing Company's Brewer's Dinner, in which owner Michael F., head brewmaker Ken Mee, and Chef Bernardo combined to create a five-course dinner, with a beer pairing for each course. Highlights included a Porcini Mushroom Risotto (Pale Ale), Cedar-planked Wild Pacific Black Cod (Wheat Ale), and an Organic Mixed Berry Crumble (Hefeweizen). Great food and beer, great people, and a lot of laughs -- what more could anyone ask for?

The next Brewer's Dinner will be in October, for SBC's Oktoberfest celebration. Stay tuned for more info about that. For now, here are some pics from last night. Enjoy!

Three Amigos

Chef B

It's All About Mee

Glasses

The Cod

TRIPLE-fisting?

Brewer's Dinner

Am looking forward to a special Brewer's Dinner later this month at Silverado Brewing Company. SBC chef Bernardo Ayala and Head Brewer Ken Mee are working on, as I write this, a special five-course menu in which SBC beers will be paired with (and used in) each course. Also, following the theme of It takes a lot of great beer to make good wine, there will be many Napa Valley winemakers in attendance.

Don't miss this opportunity for a unique food, beer and fun event, as seats are limited to just 40 lucky people.

Details:

Thursday, June 25, 6:30 p.m.

Silverado Brewing Company, in St. Helena

Cost is $65 pp

To grab your seat, call the Brewery at: 707-967-9876.

I'm Back!

Sorry, folks (and especially Jimmy Z). Lost my EMAF mo-jo there for awhile. But starting to get the juice back, as they say (not the A-Rod kind), and ready to dive in again. (In fact, the CARDS are coming better too -- look out, May 15; I'm going for the sheer blitz, the no-holds-barred pop-the-cork-and-duck type of thing).

Some cool events, for when I win a WSOP event or two:

The Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival

Weekend Der Spontane Gisting

Ciao, all.

Fantastic Dinner

Had a fantastic dinner recently during the Wine Country Inn's Return Guest Reunion. Chef Bernardo Ayala of the Catering Company at Silverado Brewing Company prepared a wonderful meal: Maine lobster salad, pan-seared filet mignon, and, for dessert, dagoba organic bittersweet chocolate cake with raspberry ganache and passion fruit coulis. Wonderful! We also had wines from Benessere Vineyards, which make Italian varietals in the Napa Valley. All in all a wonderful time: great food and wines... and new friends from all over the country.

And the Winner Is...

Every Meal A Feast is still savoring the fun blind-tasting olive oil taste-off Saturday night held at The Wine Country Inn (for info, see my previous post). And the winner? None other than...

Harris Ranch Napa Valley. Their Rutherford Hill Estate Reserve olive oil (organic, extra virgin) was the hands-down winner. I tasted this olive oil, and it is great -- great aroma, looks appealing, and packs tons of flavor, including that "peppery" kick on the roof of your mouth after swallowing. Here's how the Harris Ranch folks describe this oil on their web site:

our signature offering, is a mature, full-flavored balance between a quick blast of grass and a lingering, creamy, herbaceous finish – with a memorable, but non-abrasive, grind of white pepper in-between. It gently warms the throat as it strikes tones of freshly-crushed olives, tomato leaf, and sweet apples.

Harris Ranch Napa Valley is own and run by the brother-sister team of Jody Harris and Gingy Harris Gable. They founded the company in 1999 after finding, on their grandparents' property in the Napa Valley, a grove of Mission olive trees planted in approximately the 1920s. Anyway, congratulations to the Harris Ranch Napa Valley folks. And if you'd like to purchase a bottle of this award-winning olive oil, which retails for $38 for the 500ml size, simply visit their web site at: http://www.hrnv.net/.

Ciao!

Ode to the Olive Kicks Off

Long anticipated in Every Meal A Feast land, the Ode to the Olive celebration at the Wine Country Inn kicks off today with festivities at the Inn beginning at 4:30 p.m. This four-day long will feature all kinds of great olive dishes and olive oils to taste, along with fun events each day. Here's a quick summary of highlights:

~ Thursday: 'Ode to the Martini' event with Charbay Winery and Distillery (and makers of Charbay vodka)

~ Friday: Olive oil tasting with Long Meadow Ranch

~ Saturday: Olive Oil taste-off featuring celebrity judges Jim Smith, innkeeper at the Wine Country Inn, Diane De Filipi, owner of Let's Go Cook Italian, and Lars Kronmark, a chef at the Culinary Institute of America.

All events take place from 4:30-6:00 p.m., and are free to the public.

For more information, contact the Wine Country Inn:

Wine Country Inn

tel: 707-963-7077

romance@winecountryinn.com

Holiday Happenings

Yes, Fall has arrived, and at Every Meal A Feast we want to savor every delicious moment: the cooler weather, the leaves turning and on the ground, the last of the heirloom tomatoes... But we also can't help thinking about the coming holiday season. Here are two events we'll be attending to celebrate... well, all that's good about life. Both events take place at the Wine Country Inn, in the Napa Valley.

Ode to the Olive

Ode to the Olive runs November 12-15. This will be a fun time with various olive oil tastings, cooking demonstrations, olive oil producer tours, and more. The Ode to the Olive will culminate on Saturday, November 15, with a cocktail party (complete with stuffed olives!) and an olive oil tasting competition. In addition to the bragging rights, the winning olive oil will become the Wine Country Inn's featured olive oil for 2009. Check out the Inn's web site for more information.

New Year's Eve Party

What? A New Year's Eve Party that's... complimentary? Oh, wait--they simply raise the room rates, right? Wrong! On December 31, the Wine Country Inn will be throwing a complimentary (for Inn guests that night) New Year's Eve party in the Inn's cozy (real fire!) common room. Goodies will include cocktails, wine, a midnight champagne toast, and a dessert bar. It'll be an excellent -- and safe -- way to celebrate the New Year. We plan on going out to a nice -- and early -- dinner, then celebrating in the cozy confines of the Inn's common room. And then it'll be a simple walk back to our room. Nice! Anyway, for more info click here; for reservations, call the Inn toll-free at 1-888-465-4608 or visit their web site. Ciao!

Two Events

Here are two cool events that crossed the Every Meal A Feast radar. The first, an olive/olive oil festival:

And on October 8, the Sonoma County Library has its annual "Chocolates and Cinema" fundraiser at the Rialto Cinema. This is always a fun--and delicious--event.

Time: 6:30 p.m.

Movie: Casablanca

Tickets: $30 for 1; $50 per couple

To purchase tickets, call 576-7079

Hog Wash

Still thinking about the awesome oysters I had recently from Hog Island Oyster Company. Summertime, and especially with this warm-for-us stretch of late, lends itself so well to oysters and, say, a nice (and not too cold) chardonnay. Anyway, one of the fun parts of oysters besides eating them is trying different things with them. I'm partial to either a couple-three dabs of Crystal Louisiana hot sauce or a drizzle of Hog Island Oyster Company's very own Hog Wash. I was able to wrestle away the Hog Wash recipe just for Every Meal A Feast readers (well, it's on the back of their biz cards, too). Anyway, here tis. Enjoy.

Hog Wash

1/2 cup natural rice vinegar

1/2 cup seasoned rice vinegar

2 tablespoons chopped shallots

1/2 bunch cilantro, finely chopped

1 jalapeno, seeded and diced

juice of 1 lime

Mix well and drizzle over fresh oysters. Superb!

The Still on the Hill

Man does not live by beer and wine alone--there's Vodka, too! Tomorrow at the Wine Country Inn I'll be quite happily participating in a 'Spirits Appreciation' event with our friends from CHARBAY Winery & Distillery. Distiller/winemaker Marko Karakasevic is part of a 13-generation wine making family. His CHARBAY distillery, located high up in the mountains on Spring Mountain Road above nearby St. Helena in the Napa Valley, produces aperitifs, fruit vodkas, rum, and more. At the event, we'll learn about the finer points of fine spirits, see (and taste!) some CHARBAY drinks (perhaps a Meyer Lemon Drop, or maybe a Pomegranate Cosmo), and of course taste at least three of the company’s signature fruit-flavored vodkas.

If you can't make it to the event, by all means, go check out CHARBAY sometime; they do tours by appointment.

CHARBAY Winery & Distillery

4001 Spring Mountain Road

St. Helena, CA 94574

charbay.com

707-963-9327

Feast on the Coast

The Every Meal A Feast "summer of food and wine" continues this Friday and Saturday with a food and wine event at the Sonoma Coast Villa. Certified natural chef Monica Sallouti (no web site) will be preparing several “healthy, nutricious, and delicious!” recipes, explain the state of the local Gravenstein apples, and answer our food and wine questions. Wines will be provided by our friends at Balletto Vineyards. The times for each event are 5:00 - 7:00 p.m., and tickets are $18.95 per person. Again, simply mention that you're a guest of Every Meal A Feast, and you can join for free! The Sonoma Coast Villa & Spa is located at 16702 Coast Highway One, Bodega 94922, approximately 5 miles south of Bodega Bay. Hope to see you Friday or Saturday!

WOW! Paella and Oysters Score

Things are great in Every Meal A Feast land, as we had nice turnouts at our first two Wine Country Inn food and wine events last week. On Thursday, we had a paella party with chef Gerard Nebesky of Occidental, and on Friday it was oysters and port from our friends at Hog Island Oyster company and Prager Port. MAN, good stuff. I especially enjoyed watching how the paella was made: layering things in at different times, etc. See some pics below.

And more info on this next time, but you're invited to a food and wine event this Friday or Saturday (Aug 15 and 16) at the Sonoma Coast Villa & Spa on Coast Highway One. Each event takes place from 5:00 - 7:00 p.m. Celebrity Chef (OK, not YET, but we're working on it) Monica Sallouti (no web site) will be there preparing several recipes, talking about the state of the Gravenstein apple, and leading us in some wine and food tasting. Cost is $18.95 per person. Mention Every Meal A Feast, though, and you get in for FREE. (I'm not kidding; trust me on this.) The Sonoma Coast Villa is located at 16702 Coast Highway One, Bodega, 94922. Ciao.

Summer of Fun

Whew, much going on in Every Meal a Feast land.... Last night, the "locals" dinner at Santi in Geyserville: meatballs and mashed potatoes. Today, Gerard's paella (see pic), then tomorrow Hog Island oysters and Prager port. These two events are the first in a new series of food and wine events I'm putting together for my friends at the Wine Country Inn. Everything is in place, invitations sent, food... and wine ordered. Now, the question comes down to this: Will anyone show up? Stay tuned....

Upcoming Events...

I'm a bit distracted today, with a pending airport run, so will make this short, letting you know about some of the upcoming food and wine-related events happening in and around Every Meal A Feast land here in Sonoma County and the Napa Valley. As always, please check directly with the organization for exact dates, times, costs, etc. Enjoy!

Aug 15-16

Food and Wine Fun at the Sonoma Coast Villa

SC Villa Blog

Aug 29 - 31

Sonoma Wine Country Weekend

SonomaWineCountryWeekend.com or call 800-939-7666

Aug 29 - Sept 1

Slow Food Nation 08 (in San Francisco)

SlowFoodNation.org

Sept 27

A Taste of Petaluma

TasteOfPetaluma.org

Paella Party!

I'll talk more next time about the food and wine fantasy that's been bugging me of late, but for now I wanted to share... paella!

Yesterday evening went to the Inn at Occidental's 20th anniversary celebration. They had a great crowd of guests and local friends, and of course -- of course -- yours truly helped put together (I thought) a fantastic food and wine experience: a paella party from local wonder-chef Gerard Nebesky (that's him with the head band) and wine from Clos de Bois.

The paella was fantastic -- an eclectic mixture of rice, vegetables, and meat. Gerard prepared three specific ones: a chicken, a seafood, and a vegetarian. I tried the chicken and seafood -- wonderful!

Anyway, happy anniversary, Jerry and Tina, and many more!

Water, Chocolate, Wine

Just a couple of quick notes today.... I'm still reeling a bit from watching last night Like Water for Chocolate, about a young woman who is forbidden to marry by her mother who (of course) falls in love. The movie is sexy, sensual, and full of food, as the young woman in love is (of course) also in charge of the family's meals. I had seen it before, and it was worth watching again... particularly as it's the theme for this year's Nord Vineyards client dinner later this month.

Speaking of the Nord's, more on this soon, but here is the link to the Crush series "sizzle" reel that will, any day now, be making its way around the offices of various cable big-wigs. The plan is (of course) to have one of the cable networks pick up the show, and produce 6-7 episodes. Much more on this soon, but definitely check out the sizzle reel. And you can view their web site, too. Ciao.

Summer's Here (Well, Beginning Friday)

Just a quick note that this Friday begins the Occidental Bohemian Farmers Market in beautiful downtown Occidental (just a few footsteps away from the Inn at Occidental, should you want to make a day AND night of it). This is a small but fun farmers market with fresh local produce, arts and crafts type things, and food and drink too -- including the awesome paella by one Gerard Nebesky (see pic, and check out his web site: gerardspaella.com). The market runs 4 p.m. till dusk, June through October. Anyway, hope to see you there.

P.S. Insider's tip: If you are interested in the paella, GET THERE EARLY, say, before 5:30 p.m. Why? Cause dem locals is smart folks, dey eat it all up QUICK....

Happy Anniversary

I wax nostalgic, once again. Saturday, you see, was the one-year anniversary of Every Meal A Feast. That's right: it began, very humbly, on May 31, 2007. My inspiration was simple: I wanted to learn about blogging by doing it, so that I could then help my clients. And now, one year, 150+ posts, and more than 7,500 page views later, I guess the question now is: what have I learned?

That writing about great food and wine experiences is fun... but can never replace the experience itself.

That the world of food and wine is immense, and ever-growing. (I know, I know: DUH!)

That somehow, somehow -- by some grace -- the name Every Meal A Feast has turned out to be the right name. What do I mean by that? It makes sense. And it gets to the "something deeper" where I have always tried to go: that treating every meal like a feast means slowing down, savoring life, no matter how 'simple'. My friend Ruth has encouraged me to treat EMAF like a movement. I know, instinctively, she is right. What time is it? Now.

So thanks for reading. And get ready for another exciting -- and in-the-moment-- year of adventures with great food and wine.

P.S. The pic, by the way, is one of my favorites, which I've entitled Working Lunch. And my all-time favorite (as of now) EMAF post? My Cup Runneth Over.

Through the Blue Smoke

Had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend: stayed close to home, relaxed, puttered a bit... and of course cooked outdoors twice. Last year I bought a fire pit, and it's cool to get a fire going there, right in front of us, and relax and cook and eat. The girls in particular love it, as it's perfect for making Smores. (Smores and some Prager Port -- is life good or what?)

The blue smoke? As the coals burn. No gas for me. Yes, gas is much easier, and yes, it's much, much quicker. But that's the point: often the way to make Every Meal A Feast is to s-l-o-w down, to savor not just the food but all that leads up to it. So I will continue to cook with coals...

Stay tuned...

While you're out grilling this weekend (like me) and partaking of some great Napa Valley or Sonoma County wine (like me), mull on the fact that on Monday there will be a HUGE -- and I mean HUGE -- announcement on Every Meal A Feast. Plus next Friday, May 30, a super anniversary celebration that will leave you... well, let's just say, dazzled. Ah, living the dream. A CRUSH to discuss, white port, and 365 days of... well, you'll see. And OMG, YES--I almost forgot: wheels-are-in-motion for another VEGAS, BABY trip. Is life good or what? Ciao!