I am finally on the vacation I have been waiting all year for, San Francisco, Napa Valley and Sonoma! Also We hit Paso Robles on the way up. We Visited J. Lohr had a fabulous time and bought 3 bottles of reds. We stopped at Merridian, which is one of my favorite under $10 Cabernet, also bought some red wine there. And we tracked down Justin winery on recommendation from a local. Justin was a bit off the beaten path, but well worth it! I bought 2 bottles of their Orphan red wine, A great blend. I will give more details as soon as I can on all the wines and the great food. Including my favorite Italian Restaurant in San Francisco.
Today I am in Newark California, but heading to Napa and Yountville shortly. The plan is to check out some wineries, and eat at Bottega, Michael Chiarello's new restaurant. I hope to have new fun and exciting things to share with all of you as I go...or when I am done. It is amazing how full the days get and how little time there is to blog while on vacation. So much wine and so little time!
Bon Appetite!
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Missing
I feel kind of like I fell down a rabbits hole and have gone among the missing. First I lost my high-speed Internet connection, and in this day and age I am not going back to dial up! So I got a new laptop and a phone that is supposed to act as a modem….so far it’s a no go!
Then, one of my fellow wandering sisters came to visit and one moved back to Phoenix, where I live. There was a lot of cooking, eating drinking laughing and chasing children. Shortly after I got very sick (could have been due to chasing the children...no probably not.) It was, can't get out of bed or eat, sick that is torture for a foodie! When all you can eat is saltine crackers and Ramen noodles…it’s a sad day.
I have been very busy and I have missed my food blogging friends! Though now I think things are on the mend. Me and my Ramen noodles will be back in business soon. Still working on the Internet thing…
One of my sisters has gone gluten free…among other things (no beef?!). So I was on a mission to create a meal that would be nutritious, delicious and edible by all. My final plan was goat cheese lasagna made with brown rice pasta, and homemade tomato sauce. And for those who are still meat eaters a beef bolognaise lasagna. There would also be a green salad with homemade Garlic Parmesan dressing (gluten free).
For the appetizer I made an antipasti platter, including red seadless grapes, goats milk Gouda cheese, sharp cheddar cheese, marinated gourmet olives, and Calabrese Salami (a little something for everyone).Of course I had a great picture...but can not get it uploaded.
Of course with 9 children running around and 9 adults wanting to hang out in the kitchen , I was slacking on the picture taking… And the few pictures I did take are refusing to be uploaded. So this will require some imagination!
This will be less instruction,no measurements, some would say why bother... Well I still wanted to share and I will be back to the real thing soon…I hope!
Home made tomato sauce
Canned crushed tomato's
Garlic minced
Shallots diced
Basil cut in shreds
olive oil
Salt and pepper
Goat cheese filling
Fresh local goat cheese is best, or just a large package soft to crumbly store bought goat cheese. ( not feta)
sheep's milk Parmesan
Roasted red bell peppers diced
Spinach cut into shreds and sauteed with garlic and olive oil then drained
mix all 4 ingredients in a bowl.
Cook brown rice pasta as directed, taking it out of the water just a bit before al dente.
In baking dish spread a small amount of tomato sauce.
lay the pasta over that and then spread the filling on top, layer more pasta and either more filling if there is any left and then top with more pasta and then sauce. Top with fresh mozzarella and bake at 375 degrees for about 45 minutes or until it is all bubbly and slightly browned on top. let it rest for a bout 10 minutes and then serve.
Lasagna Bolognaise
No boil lasagna noodles
Bolognaise sauce
Light small curd cottage cheese
Garlic minced
basil minced
salt
shredded Parmesan
fresh mozzarella sliced
In a bowl mix garlic, basil, salt, cottage cheese and Parmesan.
Assemble as usual topping with the mozzarella and bake at 375 for 45 minutes.
My salad dressing was simply:
Olive oil
garlic
lemon juice
White balsalmic vinegar
Dijon mustard
drizzle of agave syrup
grated Parmesan
salt and pepper
I blended all these ingriedients in my mini blender and tossed on a romaine and arugula salad with Parmesan curls on top.
The evening was a success, the goat cheese lasagna was consumed at an amazing speed, and I survived! I would highly recommend building both lasagnas ahead and baking an hour before serving. This just makes life easier and makes socializing possible. And when the wandering sisters take a break from wandering and get together, there is much socializing!
Thank you for your patience and Bon Appetite!
Then, one of my fellow wandering sisters came to visit and one moved back to Phoenix, where I live. There was a lot of cooking, eating drinking laughing and chasing children. Shortly after I got very sick (could have been due to chasing the children...no probably not.) It was, can't get out of bed or eat, sick that is torture for a foodie! When all you can eat is saltine crackers and Ramen noodles…it’s a sad day.
I have been very busy and I have missed my food blogging friends! Though now I think things are on the mend. Me and my Ramen noodles will be back in business soon. Still working on the Internet thing…
One of my sisters has gone gluten free…among other things (no beef?!). So I was on a mission to create a meal that would be nutritious, delicious and edible by all. My final plan was goat cheese lasagna made with brown rice pasta, and homemade tomato sauce. And for those who are still meat eaters a beef bolognaise lasagna. There would also be a green salad with homemade Garlic Parmesan dressing (gluten free).
For the appetizer I made an antipasti platter, including red seadless grapes, goats milk Gouda cheese, sharp cheddar cheese, marinated gourmet olives, and Calabrese Salami (a little something for everyone).Of course I had a great picture...but can not get it uploaded.
Of course with 9 children running around and 9 adults wanting to hang out in the kitchen , I was slacking on the picture taking… And the few pictures I did take are refusing to be uploaded. So this will require some imagination!
This will be less instruction,no measurements, some would say why bother... Well I still wanted to share and I will be back to the real thing soon…I hope!
Home made tomato sauce
Canned crushed tomato's
Garlic minced
Shallots diced
Basil cut in shreds
olive oil
Salt and pepper
Goat cheese filling
Fresh local goat cheese is best, or just a large package soft to crumbly store bought goat cheese. ( not feta)
sheep's milk Parmesan
Roasted red bell peppers diced
Spinach cut into shreds and sauteed with garlic and olive oil then drained
mix all 4 ingredients in a bowl.
Cook brown rice pasta as directed, taking it out of the water just a bit before al dente.
In baking dish spread a small amount of tomato sauce.
lay the pasta over that and then spread the filling on top, layer more pasta and either more filling if there is any left and then top with more pasta and then sauce. Top with fresh mozzarella and bake at 375 degrees for about 45 minutes or until it is all bubbly and slightly browned on top. let it rest for a bout 10 minutes and then serve.
Lasagna Bolognaise
No boil lasagna noodles
Bolognaise sauce
Light small curd cottage cheese
Garlic minced
basil minced
salt
shredded Parmesan
fresh mozzarella sliced
In a bowl mix garlic, basil, salt, cottage cheese and Parmesan.
Assemble as usual topping with the mozzarella and bake at 375 for 45 minutes.
My salad dressing was simply:
Olive oil
garlic
lemon juice
White balsalmic vinegar
Dijon mustard
drizzle of agave syrup
grated Parmesan
salt and pepper
I blended all these ingriedients in my mini blender and tossed on a romaine and arugula salad with Parmesan curls on top.
The evening was a success, the goat cheese lasagna was consumed at an amazing speed, and I survived! I would highly recommend building both lasagnas ahead and baking an hour before serving. This just makes life easier and makes socializing possible. And when the wandering sisters take a break from wandering and get together, there is much socializing!
Thank you for your patience and Bon Appetite!
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