Breaking Away

It's the last day of April and I'm still lugging around my ever-faithful puffy, pulling on my winter boots and brushing snow off my car....It's spring everywhere else and I'm still running to warm myself by the fireplace and using Elliot to toast my toes...and it's going to continue for a least another week. 

So this weekend I am getting off this hill, away from this snow and running into the arms of the Napa Valley...  

Thanks to the generosity of Jeff and Carolyn Smith, we'll be settling into their guest house at Hourglass Wine Company. Nestled in St. Helena, Hourglass is  a boutique winery that solely produces Cabernet. And what a Cabernet it is as their wine has quite a cult following.

Though I'm sure it will be hard to leave the Smith's property, we will force ourselves to sip and nibble our way down the 2 lane roads of Napa. On the agenda is a stop at Oxbow Public Market to visit the Fatted Calf and to sample some goodies at Hog Island Oyster Company. Jess has a few vineyards in mind to visit (but I think it's a secret). She's also teased about a fried chicken lunch and dinner at Michael Chiarello's Bottega.

I'm not quite sure what else the weekend will bring but I'm sure we'll be "ahh"ing, laughing and lapping up the warmth the whole time. It's just the break away we all need before another week of wind and wet. 

Wishing you a weekend of warmth and welcomed relaxation!

Sunny Sunday turns into Wintery Weekdays

Yesterday was a perfect Sunday. While I barely left the house, the deck provided the perfect spot to bask in the warmth. With a little Sinatra and friends playing, I resigned myself to the deck  w/ C, Rita and my two furballs (who spent the day tracking and chattering at finches) and got my hands a little dirty. 

That one day of sun and smiles shall carry me through the upcoming week of rain and snow.

Happy Birthday, Miss Compton!

As the lilacs bloomed and the peonies started to bud, I knew this was a sign of more than just the final stretch before a Sierra Nevada summer. But what? Pine pollen season? Evening softball games? Ice cream trucks? Ooh yeaaaah...Compton's birthday! Her real entrance into the land of Jersey is officially June 13th but we are celebrating a little today and a little tomorrow. It's been a day of eating so far starting off with my Zucchini Ricotta Cheesecake, then Mel's treat from Nothing Bundt Cakes. However, Greg literally took the cake with Fudgie the Whale.

More details to come....

Addition to our Tahoe family

Our extended Tahoe family grew by one (wee little one) a week ago today. The Hyams-Scarton(i) family blessed us all with a new baby boy to love. And the little guy must have been eager to meet us as he arrived a couple weeks early (and in barely enough time to make it to the hospital).

I introduce the sweetest thing to come out of the Truckee in the past two years:

Mason Milton Hyams
Born January 06, 2009
7lbs. 12oz and 21 inches long

He was welcomed into the world by his parents, Robyn & Milt and joins his big brother, Keelan.

Congratulations to the Hyams' & Scartons on your newest little wonder.

Old year, new year

It's been a busy break from blogging and I'm gearing myself up to hop back in. In the meantime, here's what we've been up to:

Celebrating the season

My friends, knowing me so well, bought me some fantastic gifts. The first one below is my most treasured as I raved about Tim a few blogs back.

Cooking

Our Italian New Year included homemade ravioli

Seafood Saturday with oysters and an unbelievably delicious Scallop Gratin

4 days on the slopes, some jackpot shopping trips and the arrival of my new entertainment center have rounded out the time.

Tomorrow I'll dedicate a post to our Winter Wonderland and all it's frosty glory...

We're off to welcome the weekend

It's Friday and I'm ready for the weekend though very little relaxing will take place I'm sure.  Wine tasting at Bacchus & Venus tonight (featuring FBD Catering) followed by a performance by Rak's band, Maxwell at good ol' Bar of America.  

Tomorrow we'll be brunching babes for Robyn's shower before hightailing it to Reno for holiday gift and party dress shopping. 

I'm hoping for another Fat Kid Sunday as my recipes to try have been piling up.  Throw in some holiday decorating, party planning and jingle caroling and it'll be a great 3 days.  

Illustration courtesy of Fountaine Anderson

Web Wares for Wittle Wones

Miss Robyn is about 6 weeks from her due date and as her belly continues to grow and the arrival of Cash/Mason/Parker/Esteban Hyams nears, I can't seem to divert my attention from baby goods.

I first spotted Studio Mela aka dazeychic on We Heart It. Her So Very Happy print graced my computer background, my Gtalk avatar, good ol' Yes, Please! and anywhere else I could put it.

In visiting her site over the past few weeks, I could help but think about fantastic her prints would be hanging in a nursery or child's bedroom.

Visit Studio Mela via these routes:
Etsy
Blog

So excited to see one more little face join this lovely bunch:

Fat Kid Sunday

Two fat kids pulled out cookbooks early Sunday morning before eating breakfast. This resultedin a roughly 4 hour cook-off that ended with 3 bloated bodies sprawled out on the floor and one big kitchen mess.

The menu:

Steamed Shrimp Dumplings

Potato & Sauerkraut Pierogies

Naan

Pea & Potato Samosas

White Chicken Chili with Cheddar Cornbread

Turkey Day treat

This Thanksgiving will find us hanging at the lake with Chris, Taude and the whole Miller family. Considering that all the Millers are fantastic cooks and/or bakers, most of the big ticket items have been already assigned. So, it's up to C, Phil, Tom & me to fill in the holes. Tom loves pears, Phil loves poms and everyone loves pie so this will be my contribution:

Pear & Pomegranate Caramel Pie

Start to finish: 1-1/2 hours (40 minutes active), plus cooling
Servings: 8

2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into cubes, chilled, divided

6 tablespoons cold water, divided

2 cups pomegranate juice

1 cup dark brown sugar

3 strips lemon zest (optional)

6 tablespoons cornstarch

4 pounds firm pears, such as d’anjou or Bartlett, slightly underripe, peeled and cored, sliced about 1/4-inch thick

1 tablespoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 egg, lightly beaten

To make the crust:

In a large bowl, stir together the flour and salt. Add chilled cubed butter. Use your hands or a pastry cutter to cut butter into the flour until butter pieces are slightly smaller than a pea and the mixture resembles cornmeal. Add 2 tablespoons of water and gently stir mixture together with your hands or a fork until the mixture is evenly moist but not sticky. If the mixture is too dry, add more cold water 1 tablespoon at a time until it reaches desired consistency.

Lay a sheet of plastic wrap on the counter and turn the dough onto it. Push the dough together to form a ball and wrap well in the plastic. Refrigerate until chilled, at least 30 minutes and up to 2 days.

To make the filling:

In a medium saucepan over medium-high, combine the pomegranate juice, brown sugar and lemon zest. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the liquid is reduced by half and is very thick, about 20 to 30 minutes.

In a small glass, whisk together the corn starch with the remaining 4 tablespoons of water. While whisking the pomegranate syrup, slowly pour in the cornstarch mixture. Bring the mixture to a boil and cook for 1 minute. Remove the syrup from the heat, discard the lemon zest, and cool to room temperature.

Heat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Lightly dust the counter with flour. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and cut in half. Roll out one dough half to about 1/8-inch thickness. Transfer the dough to an 9-inch deep dish pie plate and press it gently into the plate. Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the pears, cooled pomegranate mixture, cinnamon and nutmeg. Toss well to combine. Transfer the mixture to the dough-lined pie plate, pressing the fruit down or mounding it as needed to fit.
With a pastry brush, brush the overhanging pie dough lightly with the whisked egg. If needed, lightly dust the counter with flour. Roll the other dough half out to a thickness of about 1/8-inch. Use cookie cutters or a paring knife to cut 2 or 3 small holes at the center.

Carefully place the rolled crust over the pie, centering the holes over the top center of the pie. Press together the overhanging dough at the sides to seal with the egg.

Trim the overhanging dough to about 1-inch all around the pie and fold the overhang under itself so that it rests on the lip of the pie plate. Decorate the pie edges as desired and lightly brush the entire top and edges with the remaining beaten egg.
Transfer the pie to a rimmed baking sheet and bake until the crust is deep golden brown and the filling is bubbling, about 50 to 55 minutes. Transfer the pie to a cooling rack and cool to room temperature before serving.

Eating our way around SF...

After a howlin' good time at Chans & Laura's Halloween party, C, Tom & I hightailed through torrential downpours to San Francisco for a couple days of eating. My blog time is running out so here are the highlights...

The beds at the Hyatt

Combo sandwich from Mario's

(we proceeded this by Black & Tans, curry, samosa and naan at Kennedy's)

Oysters, scallops, mussels, house-cured sardines and carpaccio at Foreign Cinema

A Sunday morning Irish Coffee courtesy of friendly Larry at The Buena Vista that left us all stumbling the streets a little.

We followed this up with the two words we've been saying for weeks now: DIM SUM! Thank you, Yank Sing for the hours of steamed joy!

Ahhh, good times! Thanks T, C, and SF :)