Get Your Cookie Fix With Ras El Hanout Snickerdoodles

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Not your usual snickerdoodles.
Not your usual snickerdoodles.

When it comes to cookies, my husband is decidedly “Basic Boy.”

Meaning, he likes his chocolate chip, peanut butter, and snickerdoodle. And doesn’t like to veer to far from them.

So, “Ras El Hanout Snickerdoodles” satisfied both of our appetites. His for the classic. And mine for something a little more adventurous.

This wonderfully chewy and warmly spiced cookie recipe is from “Love Is A Pink Cake” (W.W. Norton & Co.), of which I received a review copy.

It’s by Claire Ptak, a Californian who moved to London to open her Violet Bakery. Of course, you may also know her as a former pastry chef at Chez Panisse in Berkeley. Or you may recognize her as the baker commissioned in 2018 to make the wedding cake for none other than Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.

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Savoring Small Town Cultures

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Small Town Cultures Sliced Red Onions are perfect on homemade pork burritos, and so many other dishes.
Small Town Cultures Sliced Red Onions are perfect on homemade pork burritos, and so many other dishes.

Sometimes I think I ought to be nicknamed “Condiment Carolyn.”

That’s because my fridge is usually filled with all manner of condiments. My husband even jokes that if I packed a hot dog or burger bun with condiments — and nothing but — I would be quite happy.

So, when samples of Small Town Cultures landed on my porch, I couldn’t wait to try these small-batch, fermented condiments.

Cori Deans started her company in the Adirondacks to manage her Crohn’s disease, after finding that symptoms of her autoimmune disease began to subside after changing her diet to include more fermented foods rich in prebiotics and probiotics.

I test drove the Sliced Red Onions and the Turmeric Kimchi, both sold in recyclable glass jars.
I test drove the Sliced Red Onions and the Turmeric Kimchi, both sold in recyclable glass jars.

She now has a whole line of raw, fermented foods made without preservatives, added sugar or added vinegar. They are also all gluten-free, vegan, and non-GMO.

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Dining At Calistoga’s Only Michelin-Starred Restaurant

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A5 Wagyu cap with caviar on a tiny oyster cracker -- one of the first bites at Auro.
A5 Wagyu cap with caviar on a tiny oyster cracker — one of the first bites at Auro.

It took only eight months after opening for Auro at the Four Seasons Resort and Residences Napa Valley to garner a Michelin star, making it the only Calistoga restaurant so honored.

It’s been a long time in coming for Executive Chef Rogelio Garcia, who was born in Mexico City and grew up in the Napa Valley. Last year, he returned to Wine Country to open this fine-dining restaurant after honing his skills at the such revered establishments as the original Cyrus in Healdsburg, the French Laundry in Yountville, Spruce in San Francisco, and Luce in San Francisco.

This marks the first star he’s earned.

And what a triumph it has been, as evidenced by the superlative meal I experienced when I was invited in as a guest of the restaurant earlier this month.

Executive Chef Rogelio Garcia stands underneath his first Michelin star.
Executive Chef Rogelio Garcia stands underneath his first Michelin star.

Pull up to the roundabout driveway of the country-chic resort, and you’ll find the restaurant off to the right. Auro shares the same pristine kitchen as the resort’s casual restaurant, Truss.

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Sink Your Teeth Into Dreamy Scallion Pancake Biscuits

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All the deliciousness of green onion pancakes in biscuit form.
All the deliciousness of green onion pancakes in biscuit form.

Imagine biting into a heavenly allium-scented Chinese scallion pancake — only one that’s loftier, super crunchy on top, and built majestically like your favorite buttery Southern biscuit.

“Scallion Pancake Biscuits” truly are the best of all carb worlds.

This impressive recipe is from “More Than Cake” (Artisan), of which I received a review copy.

It’s by Natasha Pickowicz, a New York city-based chef and writer behind the popular pastry pop-up Never Ending Taste.

Her Chinese and California heritages are on full display in the 100 recipes, many of which showcase seasonal fruit and/or imaginative riffs on classic Asian treats or ingredients.

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Sip, Sip, Hooray: Part 4

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Tasting the 2020 Arkenstone Howell Mountain Estate Blanc (left) beside the 2017 Arkenstone Howell Mountain Estate Reserve Sauvignon Blanc (right).
Tasting the 2020 Arkenstone Howell Mountain Estate Blanc (left) beside the 2017 Arkenstone Howell Mountain Estate Reserve Sauvignon Blanc (right).

Arkenstone Sauvignon Blanc

Moderately priced, racy New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs are my usual go-to spring and summer sips. Napa Valley’s Arkenstone Sauvignon Blancs stand in stark contrast to those.

With the 2020 Arkenstone Howell Mountain Estate Blanc priced at $125, and the 2017 Arkenstone Howell Mountain Estate Reserve Sauvignon Blanc priced at $200, these wines, which arrived as samples, were surely the most expensive Sauvignon Blancs I’ve had.

They’re crafted by winemaker Sam Kaplan, who has been with the small, family-owned winery since 2006. Owned by husband-and-wife Ron and Susan Krausz, this high-elevation Howell Mountain property rises to more than 1,650 feet above sea level.

That means the organically farmed, 13-acre estate vineyard sits above the fog line, making for more hours of sunlight that translates into riper, more concentrated grapes.

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