A guide to art and wine in the WIne country...

We first discovered Perfect Spice, a Canadian product, many years ago when our friends from Canada brought about a case with them and produced a bottle, like magic, at every meal… what a revelation! It made everything we sprinkled it on taste better.

So we love chilis ...and we know that many of you do too! We have a dozen varieties growing in our garden, ranging from sweet to very hot …. We smoke many of these - creating a wide range of chipotles - but all of them are so much better fresh. And as the season goes longer, the fresh chilis get hotter ….

It’s almost truffle season, when the wonderful earthy smell of fresh truffles can take almost any dish to the next level. But you don’t have to wait for truffle season or shell out a whole lot of money to have a little touch of that magic at home.

Ever notice how sometimes the water in a good restaurant just tastes better? Or when you've been lucky enough to go to a lovely spa, the water just makes you feel, well, coddled. It's simple to duplicate that subtle flavor that takes water to the next level.

One of the reasons that many cooks have a fear of desserts is that it’s really a fear of baking. While cooking has a lot of forgiveness in the measurement of ingredients, baking has almost none. And one ingredient in particular, flour, is actually extremely tricky. You can measure it in a very good dry measuring cup, but even then your results will be far from consistent.

California recently joined 32 other states in promoting community-based food production, sometimes referred to as “cottage food,” “artisanal food,” “slow food,” “locally based food,” or “urban agriculture” movements. These laws allow small business entrepreneurs to use their home kitchens to prepare, for sale, foods that are not potentially hazardous.

Every cooking surface needs a little lubricant to avoid sticking food, and your Grill is no exception! After you’ve scraped to achieve a nominally clean surface, you need to oil that surface.

We always end up with small pieces of different cheeses leftover ...and by the time we re-discover them in the refrigerator, they’re often in various stages of drying out, growing some of their natural molds, and generally deteriorating (even with the great Cheese Paper, it doesn't extend the life of the cheese forever) …. But there is no reason to toss them: these are the basic ingredient in a French staple: Fromage Fort!

Here are some Whys and Hows of marinating to make it easier.