I recorded a radio interview earlier this week, chatting about great foods and beverages to enjoy during the summer. When it comes to "summer" and "drinks" I get fixated on one thing: rosé sangria. I'll admit to not usually being a sangria fan. Random fruit and sweetened red wine, just not [...]
Last month it was South Carolina. A week with two other couples, in a rented house. Lots of lounging-around and relax time on the agenda, so games of course were on my packing list before we headed out. Yahtzee, that's easy: thin paper score sheets and 5 dice. Not much [...]
Zilch, the fun-to-say synonym for "nothing," is usually something we look to avoid. "How many fish did you catch today, Phil?" "Zilch." Or..... "How many offers on your EBay post for that 1972 Carpenter's album?" "Well, zilch." Unless your MO is deep serenity and oneness with the world, when the only [...]
I think a new tactic I'll employ whenever travelling to a new place for the first time will be getting a pedicure on the first day there. That's how we found out about the prime location for getting our shrimp fix while in South Carolina last month. Warm weather, beaches, [...]
I can't tell you the last time I cooked French fries at home. Years ago, easily. If not a decade or more. Don't get me wrong. I love a good French fry, but I'm just pretty loath to glug out a pan full of oil and go through the work of [...]
Endless acres of Spanish moss hanging from trees; this at the Middleton Place plantation. For a couple of months there, mid May couldn't arrive soon enough. I'm truly thankful that this year's been such a full and busy one work-wise, but the load was almost too much, lots [...]
I can tell by my watch that it's salmon season! Well, okay. Not exactly by my watch. But by the fact that the harbinger of the seasonal openings--Copper River--has launched and that means that commercial openings begin peppering the region, bringing in freshly-caught wild salmon from throughout the Northwest. What [...]
I'm (kind of) sorry to say that I don't have any photos of the food to show you from dinner at Luc on Sunday night. Only kind of sorry, because I was having such a great times with friends, enjoying the food and the conversation and getting into the groove of a [...]
A couple of weeks ago I was in Portland for the International Association of Culinary Professionals conference, an event that's a highlight of my year and has been for nearly two decades. I joined nearly 60 of my author-colleages at a public book signing event on the Friday afternoon of [...]
It has been SO much fun spreading the word about the release of my latest book, Gourmet Game Night, because the basic premise of the book is all about having fun. I like to think that previous books I worked on had their merits: tasty reliable recipes, interesting stories and [...]