An evening in wine.

It all started about a year ago at our wedding…

As a token for their involvement in our wedding, Scott and I presented two of our groomsmen, Reed & John, with bottles of Stag’s Leap Cabernet Sauvignon. I believe John was the first to suggest that he and Reed hold on to their bottles and we all drink them together at a nice dinner.  Flash forward 10 months and four failed scheduling attempts and finally we all managed to congregate at our apartment for our “Stag’s Leap Wine Dinner.” However, in the time that it took us to plan this event, we found that we had another reason to come together and celebrate; our dearest friend Reed proposed to his girlfriend Kristina. Now we really had a reason to open those bottles of wine. (more…)

Spring is here!  (well, sort of, but to us New Englanders, any day with a temperature above 50 is considered Spring).  And with Spring comes the first vegetables of the season.   To be honest, the Spring harvest is not the most abundant.  However, when you have been so starved for the fresh taste of green, the first asparagus and rhubarb are truly welcome signs.  Unfortunately, in New England, our gardens don’t really start producing until much later in the year, usually May-June.  So although I would like to say I am collecting all these wonderful Spring harvests from local farmer’s markets, in reality, my produce comes straight from California (via Whole Foods).  Obviously not as “farm to table” as I would like, but sometimes you just can’t make it work.  (I refuse to forgo asparagus and rhubarb on principal alone!)

So let’s talk rhubarb.  For those of you rhubarb virgins, here’s a little crash course.  The rhubarb plant consists of long red stalks, leading to large triangular leaves.  We consume the bright red stalks (the leaves are poisonous), however the stalks are only enjoyable after cooking (and adding some sugar to combat their tart nature).   This is also why rhubarb is most classically paired with sweet strawberries.  The two flavors work well together to balance out the tart of the rhubarb and perk up the sweet strawberry.  You will most likely find rhubarb in grocery stores or farm stands trimmed of their leaves.  If you’ve never seen fresh rhubarb, think bright pink celery. (more…)