How to Make the Ultimate Mimosa Bar! No matter what time of year it is, mimosas are always a great idea! Whether for a wedding or baby shower, celebration, or heck, even Sunday football, your brunch needs a mimosa! And we’re here to show you how to create the ultimate Mimosa Bar along with some…
Lifestyle
Smoked Pork Tenderloin Sandwich – And Beaujolais Wines Perfect for a Picnic
Jazz up your summer picnic with a Smoked Pork Tenderloin Sandwich. They pair fantastic with a glass of refreshing Beaujolais. This post was sponsored by Discover Beaujolais and Honest Cooking. As always all opinions, statements, and recipes are my own. Pin for later As much as we’re all about grilling and backyard barbecues around these…
Wine Travel: Discover Conegliano Valdobbiadene, The home of Prosecco Superiore
Discover Conegliano Valdobbiadene, in the heart of the Veneto, in Northeast Italy, where Prosecco is made and thrives. Prosecco often gets lumped into one category — fresh, fruity, and innexpensive sparkling wine. But if you’re willing to look a little deeper, there’s so much more to Prosecco than it gets credit for. In this post,…
Blackberry Aperol Spritz (recipe & video)
A Classic Aperol Spritz Recipe, with a Pacific Northwest twist. An Aperol Spritz is a light and refreshing Italian cocktail with the perfect balance of sweet and bitter. In this Aperol Spritz Recipe we give it new personality by adding some homemade blackberry simple syrup. Aperol Spritz, An Italian Cocktail Anybody who has been to the…
Recipes for Valentine’s Day On Your Smoker or Grill
Our best recipes for Valentine’s Day. Avoid the restaurants this year and dine in. Here are our top 21 Recipes for Valentines Day you can cook on your Smoker or Grill. We even highlight a 3-course meal you can create in one post! I used to be one of the many Valentine’s Day haters. You…
Sparkling Wines to Ring in the New Year!
Bubbly is our beverage of choice around here, and (almost) every Friday you can catch my weekly bubbles toast over on Instagram. We love our sparkling wine! And while we drink bubbles weekly, we also realize it’s the time of year where even those who never drink this magical drink will make an exception for…
12 Wines for Fall Sipping
I like to review wines the way most people taste them, with food. Many of the wine reviews you’ll see on this site are accompanied by a recipe. When we test recipes we usually open a few different wines of various styles that we think will work, then write about the best pairing. But often…
Simplified Smoked Salsa Verde Chicken Soup
A quick, easy, soul-soothing, cold-calming, delicious Smoked Salsa Verde Chicken Soup for when you’re not feeling well. And three ways to prepare in advance of cold season. This post was sponsored by Albertsons. As always all opinions, statements, and recipes are my own. I have bad news, friends. Cold Season is here! Have I ever…
FEAST 2017 Smoked! Photos
FEAST Portland — one of the culinary highlights of foodies, chefs, winemakers, writers, and well anybody who appreciates food and drink, both locally and nationally — is now long gone, but I can still taste it like it was yesterday. FEAST PORTLAND 2017 Not only is this a four day celebration of food and drink,…
The Move, The Barn, New Beginnings
If you’re here for BBQ recipes, you won’t find any today. But I promise you we have some exciting new recipes and videos coming up next week. Today is all about our big move. So if you’re ready to sit down with a cup of joe and see a ton of pictures, continue on… I’ve…
48 Hours in Austin
What to do with just 48 hours in Austin, Texas. Last month I had a whirlwind of a trip to Austin, TX, to be a part of the 300th opening of TownePlace Suites hotels on behalf of The Daily Meal. I wrote a story for them on the hotel and their partnership with Weber Grills,…
12 Rosés to Kick off your Summer
Rosé seems to be at an all time high right now in popularity. It’s everywhere! And, as an avid year-round rosé freak lover, I couldn’t be more excited. Today we have a review of a new book on the subject, and 12 rosé recommendations to jump start your summer sipping. Just this spring three new…
Sparkling Wines to Welcome the New Year
A very bubbly list of some of the best wines to drink to welcome in the New Year. These Sparkling Wines are fantastic for New Year’s Eve, New Year’s Day, or really any occasion for that matter! Bubbly is probably our favorite thing to drink around here, and (almost) every Friday you can catch my…
Oregon Sparkling Wines for the Holidays on KGW Portland Today
It’s the most wonderful time of the year. And by that I obviously mean it’s the season for bubbly! Wohoo! And speaking of bubbly, I got to talk about my absolute favorite wine topic on KGW Portland Today this week!!! Champagne and sparkling wine are certainly available year-round, and I drink bubbly weekly (usually on Fridays,…
Why now is the time to join Food Blogger Pro
Food Blogger Pro is a website and community dedicated to help users start, grow, and monetize their food blogs. As a member for several years this is what I learned from being a part of the Food Blogger Pro community. A few years ago I decided I wanted to take blogging and writing more seriously….
Pairing Wine with Halloween candy on KGW Portland Today
This Halloween wine pairing post is dedicated to all of you who want to break the wine pairing rules and have a little fun on this festive holiday. Pairing wine with Halloween candy doesn’t have to be a faux pas. You can have your wine and candy too, if you consider a few simple tips….
Feast Portland is Coming Soon!!!
One of the annual culinary highlights of many a Portland foodie is coming next week. Feast Portland! Feast Portland: September 15-18, 2016 What is Feast Portland? Now, in case you’re not a Portland foodie, or have just been hiding under a rock (like I was the last few years), it is, from what I hear…
Summer 2016 in Photos…
… And some words. And also some emotional mom confessions. First, the fun stuff! Smoked Steak Skewers, served at an Ember and Vine event earlier this summer. The steak was smoked, then we cut it into chunks, skewered them, and finished them off on the grill for char! So good. Small bites paired with Bells Up…
Show me the heat!
Refreshing summer white wines It’s usually around this time of the year when you see articles about things to help you “beat the heat,” whether it’s drinks, cocktails, activities, you name it. We started the summer out on a hot note. In May and even early June we saw some high numbers here in Portland…
Announcement (Wine Blog Awards) and Deep Gratitude
Happy Friday! Yesterday, as I was just finishing up touring an incredible organization based in the Willamette Valley, ¡Salud!, (an organization I’ve been wanting to write about for a very very long time) I found out some exciting news. My blog was nominated for the Wine Blog Awards, in two categories – Best Original Photography…
17 Genius Uses for a Teeny Tiny Miniature Cast Iron Skillet
Ever wonder what you could do with a miniature 3.5-inch cast iron skillet? Here are 17 Genius uses for that teeny tiny miniature cast iron pan! This past Christmas my mom gave me one. A super teeny tiny miniature cast iron skillet. It is small. Really small. Like 3.5-inches wide small. It’s just like this…
Cooking with Kids on AM Northwest
One of the most precious moments of my life. Getting to cook with my kiddo on live TV! I got to bring my son to cook with me on AM Northwest. When we were presented with the idea of a segment on cooking with my kids, it fell on a date that Sean couldn’t join…
Traveling Wine Country with Twins – Article in Wine Enthusiast
I have some exciting news to share.I’ve been published in Wine Enthusiast Magazine! My piece, which can be found in the “Last Drop” section of the print magazine, is about a topic I’m all too familiar with — Traveling to wine country with my 5-year old twin boys. Now, without giving too much away (stop…
8 Rosé Wines to Kick off Spring
‘Tis the season for rosé! Now let’s be honest, I love love love me some rosé year-round. I drink it while cuddled by the fire, alongside my Thanksgiving dinner, eating grilled steak, and even while shoveling the snow off my driveway. Just kidding, I live in Portland. It snows barely once a year here (but…