does that mean it come with wine? Well, yes it does.   Ok well, I like wine. My expectations were low. Well, wait, that’s not a fair statement. Truth is, I didn’t feel like I was worthy of promoting poetry. I didn’t even know if I liked poetry. But then again, I guess I hadn’t really given poetry much thought before. UGH, could I sound any more uncultured?! I did a little Google peek, and I found out Edgar Allan Poe was considered a poet, and I like him, so things were eerily looking up. So with a suggestion from my new friend Betsy, we put together Vino, Verses, and Very Fine Cheeses. L ..read more

It’s a hard one. Recipe included.   If I could just crack that nut... So, here I am, pondering the intricacies of running a small business, feeling like a kid again, sitting around the nut bowl with my family. My adult self is trying to crack the secrets of marketing this beloved little food utopia of mine. If I could just crack that nut... And then I got to thinking about the actual nuts. This beloved little food utopia of mine, aka hidden gem. You know, those holiday mesh bags of whole shell-on nuts, can you even find them all year? They usually sit by the produce, maybe by the pota ..read more

Unearthing Rochester's Culinary Gems Were they truly tasty or just nostalgia's illusion?   This is divine! As I take a stroll down memory lane, of Rochester's dining scene, I got to thinking, You know what?! The Ground Round was a game-changer What? The Ground Round? You may be asking. Yes! In 1975-76, I'm a high school senior waving goodbye to my favorite job at Madonna Towers and saying hello to the glamorous life of a waitress at Ground Round. Why? Tips, baby! Oh boy, looking ahead to my restaurant career. The Ground Round placed itself smack in the middle of Crossroads Shopping ..read more

IMHO, But, then again, my opinion is the only one here.   My opinion is the only one here What I found again, loved again, or fell in love with for the first time. This is very hard for me. It’s like choosing a favorite kid. Everything on my shelves is amazing in its own right. So for now, these are the standouts. I’m comforted by the fact that I can choose 12 different ones again next year! 1-Moulin Cornille Huile D’Olive Oil FRUIT NOIR - $48.50 Starting with a pricey bugger. But damn, this is good. This olive oil is fruité noir, or black fruity. The olives ripen on the trees until the ..read more

Oh by golly, This fog is as thick as peanut butter   I couldn’t wait to unleash the holiday TV magic on my grandkids this year! First in line, drumroll, please: It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. As a kid, I’d always channel my inner Lucy. I mean, who wouldn’t want to own a psychiatric stand? And the bossy vibes? Totally my jam. Channeling my inner Lucy. But, uh-oh, I hate to report we barely survived the show. These young whippersnappers need a PhD in impressive to be impressed. Next up, a post-Thanksgiving tradition from my childhood – The Wizard of Oz. The witch was terrifying, a ..read more

The cheese not the flower Or tatting   Before we dive into the delightful world of Queen Anne's Lace cheese (which, by the way, I have just a few pieces left – so quick, hop online and grab one I’ll save it for you), let me share a cautionary tale. One summer, we found ourselves up north, surrounded by the whimsical beauty of Queen Anne's Lace flowers. Well, I thought they were Queen Anne's Lace. I adore that sweet, delicate flower. There were plenty of them growing right next to our garage. However, I've never been a fan of yellow flowers, and, lo and behold, these Queen Anne's Lace flow ..read more

Jason, Michael, the Sawyer family? Or Angel of Music forever in your head…   What haunts you in the dead of night during the Halloween season? Perhaps it's the line-up of Friday the 13th slashers, including the mind-blowing original where we witnessed a throat being, well, slit. And let's not forget Kevin Bacon, pre-Kevin Bacon stardom, meeting a grisly end with an arrow through his neck from under a camp mattress. The dilapidated house in the Texas Chainsaw Massacre and the creeps living there, had me sprinting to my car after the movie back in the late '70s at the Chateau. I didn’t look ..read more

it’s about green beans Where do I begin?   Maybe with the simple truth, sometimes my taste buds just go rogue and don't align with the gourmet foodie crowd. Same? There’s pâté. Oh, pâté, I wish I could say I love you, but alas, it's not meant to be. Sorry. But you know what? I'm sorry, not sorry, for my love of soft green beans. I've got a soft spot for them, all tender and cozy after a nice boil. Now, I get it; it might not be the trendiest or maybe healthiest? approach – I'm not into those snappy, barely-cooked beans. I like them soaking up flavors like a sponge. And nope, we're not ta ..read more

in Napoli where love is king Wait, Parmigiano Reggiano is considered the king.    Then there is burrata, a little cloud of love, a late bloomer. But not just any burrata. Burrata, imported from Italy, is eye-opening but hard to get. However, there is an artisan burrata made in the US by an Italian immigrant; it is a burrata from Di Stefano’s located in Pomona CA. At the time of writing, I have 7 left, no guarantees. Mimmo Bruno made his first vat of mozzarella at age 12. Mimmo grew up in the Puglia region of Italy. He says the first burrata showed up there in the 1970s. From Mim ..read more

for a DIP No skinny dipping here; full fat and the secret ingredient.    I thought about my upcoming vacation and how much I love snacks, especially chips.  Potato chips. I am particularly fond of them with cottage cheese. That combo used to be strange and would have qualified as a weird FU's [Food Unions]. But I find not only are many people eating cottage cheese and chips, but there is also a new cottage cheese resurgence. If you want to get fancier than plain cottage cheese, I found this recipe. Here’s the link if you are not a purist like me. Kati’s Dip I'm going to report ..read more