I got up at 5:30am for the third part of that rockin Sonoma weekend I had. It was hosted by Alan Campbell, a photographer, hunter, cook, farmer, abalone diver, wine maker... the list goes on. Suffice it to say, I want to be like him.The plan was to go turkey hunting on his friend Charlie's…
The second part of this Down Home Downtown Weekend was... can you guess it?The Downtown part.I think this whole concept represents my life in a weirdly accurate way. For example, when I was a kid, I went to high school in Manhattan, with characters like Ivanka Trump. But then at the end of the day…
I just had one of those weekends for the record books. I'm not sure how it happened really. It just did. It started with a passing invitation and culminated in an itinerary entitled "Georgia's Down Home Downtown Weekend." And that it was.It all began with these chickens.And some very large and colorful roosters.They all had…
I was going to write earlier, but I got distracted by a strawberry rhubarb pie.Now that it's cooling, I thought I'd tell you about a class I tought this past weekend on pioneer skills... this particular segment was on pickling.Some dedicated picklers and I convened at a very cool blue Victorian house in Oakland and…
No, it's not Thanksgiving silly. It's April. Also known as turkey hunting season in certain paradigms.My very first hunt was for turkey. It was deep in the Arkansas delta, on a three-thousand acre hunting preserve that runs five miles up the length of the great Mississippi. It was Spring, early on a Saturday morning after…
In honor of spring, there was a hurricane at Tulipwood.Massive trees that have been around since my great grandfather went down like dominoes. One hit another, which hit another, which hit another... and down they went, and up came the roots.This one was outside the kitchen door. It was extremely tall.It was one of the…
As you can tell, I’m on a bit of curing kick these days. I’m conjuring my Italian roots. It's just that I had these duck breasts that were just begging to be turned into prosciutto.And I couldn't help myself.Duck prosciutto is simple to make at home, and is a perfect way to store the meat…
But do you really need a holiday as an excuse to make a good punch?My brother has been making this for years. It's quite good. He makes it strong but you can make a mild version.In addition to white wine and rum (not the expensive kind), you'll need citrus.Which you let macerate in the rum…
Over the weekend, I had a little oyster soiree. Now I'll admit it, I never used to be an oyster gal. I can hear your gasps and cries through the cybersphere, but it is true. But then last New Year's Eve that changed. I received a box from a guy who changed the way America…