Category Archives: Great Finds

The Ultimate Cookie: Brown Butter, Passion Fruit Chocolate, Walnut & Sea Salt

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Instead of dark chocolate in this Dominique Ansel cookie recipe, I used Valrhona Passion Fruit chocolate feves.
Instead of dark chocolate in this Dominique Ansel cookie recipe, I used Valrhona Passion Fruit chocolate feves.

Does the world need another chocolate chip cookie recipe?

Absolutely, if it’s one by legendary pastry chef Dominique Ansel.

After all, the man who originated the croissant-donut mashup, the Cronut, definitely knows his stuff when it comes to baked goods.

This cookie recipe, which I took one liberty with, comes from his newest cookbook, “Life’s Sweetest Moments” (Harvest, 2024), of which I received a review copy.

He may be a James Beard Award-winning pastry chef whom Food & Wine magazine dubbed a “Culinary Van Gough,” but rest assured that this collection is designed for the home-cook with 40 recipes ranging from the easy to those that will require a little more time and effort.

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A Visit to Merced, Part II: Hi-Fi Wine and Vista Ranch

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Visit Hi-Fi Wine to discover a unique tasting room devoted to boutique wines.
Visit Hi-Fi Wine to discover a unique tasting room devoted to boutique wines.

Merced, CA — During the pandemic, while the rest of us were binging Netflix and trying to keep sourdough starters alive, Tracy Proietti was dreaming up her ideal wine shop, Hi-Fi Wine.

In 2019, the former lawyer and middle school language arts teacher moved from Baltimore where she lived in a historic building above a wine shop. With time on her hands when life shut down during Covid, she and her mother, her business partner, set about creating this inviting wine bar and shop.

Opened in May 2022, the light-filled, cozy community gathering spot was designed to be a place where wine was eminently approachable.

Lawyer-turned wine shop owner Tracy Proietti.
Lawyer-turned wine shop owner Tracy Proietti.

A restored hi-fi that has a variety of LPs to play is the focal point that gave the establishment its name — for good reason.

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The Aptly Named “Pasta To Make When You’re Not Near the Sea (But Wish You Were)”

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This lemony, briny, and buttery pasta comes together easily with pantry items.
This lemony, briny, and buttery pasta comes together easily with pantry items.

It says it all that I’ve happily made “Pasta to Make When You’re Not Near the Sea (But Wish You Were)” three times already.

And it’s not because I’m longing to be near the water.

It’s simply because it’s such a thoroughly satisfying pasta dish that’s easy enough to make on a whim.

The recipe is from “Le Sud” (Chronicle Books, 2024), of which I received a review copy.

Rebekah Peppler, a Paris-based writer and stylist, wrote the cookbook to highlight recipes from Provence- Alpes-Cote D’Azur, the southern region of France where the French throng for holidays. The 12,000-square-mile region is bounded in the north by the Southern Alps, to the south by the French Mediterranean, the east by Italy, and the west by the Rhone River. As the book illustrates with beautiful photos of the crystalline sea, it’s a postcard come to life.

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Women Getting It Done, Part II: Sherri Wood of Capay Valley Lavender Farm

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The irrepressible Sherri Wood in front of one of her stills at her Capay Valley Lavender Farm.
The irrepressible Sherri Wood in front of one of her stills at her Capay Valley Lavender Farm.

Capay, CA — No one will ever accuse Sherri Wood of lacking gumption or audacity.

After years of working in investment banking, she pivoted to the non-profit world, becoming national founder and chair of One Warm Coat, president of the Girl Scouts of Northern California, and board member of St. Anthony Foundation in San Francisco.

Then, at age 64, when most folks would have eased into retirement, the former San Franciscan went full throttle in the other direction. She started a farm. With no farming experience whatsoever.

And that’s how Capay Valley Lavender Farm came to be in rural Capay that has a population of all of 300.

A bouquet of dried lavender from her farm.
A bouquet of dried lavender from her farm.

“I had no idea that I would do this,” she told me when I visited last month. “But it’s not in my nature to take it easy. I like challenges.

“Plus,” she quipped, “it helps with my golf game.”

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Women Getting It Done, Part I: Amina Harris of The Hive

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Amina Harris, the "Queen Bee,'' at The Hive.
Amina Harris, the “Queen Bee,” at The Hive.

Woodland, CA — You’ve probably done wine tastings, cheese tastings, even olive oil tastings.

But have you ever indulged in a honey tasting?

If not, you need to experience one — pronto.

At The Hive Tasting Room & Kitchen, the largest honey tasting room in California, you can sample honey that naturally tastes like marshmallows (Northwestern Meadowfarm from Central Oregon), cardamom (California Coriander from the Sacramento Valley), Red Hots (High Plains Sweet Clover from the Midwest), and so much more.

I had the pleasure of doing exactly that last month when I was invited in for a visit.

Ishai Zeldner grew fascinated with bee keeping while living in Kibbutz Beit Hashita in Northern Israel. So much so that when he returned to the United States, he immediately dove even further into bee research by enrolling at the University of California at Davis. He went on to become a commercial beekeeper, even bottling his own California Yellow Star Thistle honey with its delightful creme brulee-like taste.

The Hive is a production facility, as well as a tasting room and cafe.
The Hive is a production facility, as well as a tasting room and cafe.
All manner of honey varietals are available.
All manner of honey varietals are available.

Zeldner passed away in 2018, but not before instilling in his family a true passion for bees and honey that continues to this day.

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