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Month: April 2018

Blue Planet Eyewear & A Napa Wine

At Least Once a Day… … I get asked where I got my glasses or a compliment about my glasses. Sadly this specific frame is no longer available, but the company has other really cool eyewear. Ah, I am getting ahead of myself. The frames you see in this picture of me started out as sunglasses. It was during our annual trip to Provincetown that we wandered into a men’s clothing and accessory store, and I found these (as sunglasses). I put them on and immediately fell in love with them. You see, I have been in search of new frames for my…

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Nostalgic Tuna Noodle Casserole

I grew up in a time when the casserole was king. Lately, I have been nostalgic for my mom’s Tuna Noodle Casserole. This meal was always one she could put all together in the morning and bake it off later after volunteering at the community center with her friend Phyllis, selling pool memberships. We all loved this dish so much. It is so simple and filling; just what she needed when raising four kids. Gary was also craving it which meant I had to swap out the mushroom soup with other complementary flavors. I used Cream of Onion and Cream of…

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Smith-Madrone 2015 Chardonnay

Chardonnay is the most popular wine in the USA based on sales volume. That said, I was very, very slow to the starting gate because I “thought” I did not “like” white wine. I have told the story before when several years ago, I was graciously “slapped around” by a winemaker in France who clarified that I had just not found the style of white wine I preferred.  I was so used to only trying the wines that my husband and sister liked that I had never really given most white varieties a chance. Thankfully, I took the information to heart and…

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My All Green Salad is Bright and Flavorful

Don’t you just hate it when so much is happening that it feels like you can never get caught up? Such is where I am today and have been for the past couple of weeks. So yes, I know it has been over two weeks since the Dinner for Ten, but I have to tell you about my all green salad which was the perfect accompaniment to the rich and cheesy lasagna. It is a simple salad with flat leaf parsley as the star of the show. I get so excited when I can make a salad where lettuce takes a back seat.…

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Smith-Madrone 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon

I have always heard that if you love what you do, it will never seem like work. No surprise… and a loud duh, I love drinking wine. More than that, I love trying new wines. One of the benefits of blogging about wine is that it forces me out of my comfort zone. I can not become complacent and drink the same style and variety of wine, bottle after bottle. It is essential that I branch out. That said, it has been ages since I purposefully drank a California Cab. My experience with these Cabs. have been challenging at best, finding them to be a…

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Blind Tasting : A Mutiny and a Game

This is the second of three posts from the Dinner Party for Ten. In this post, I will share with you the blind tasting game that started the evening. Oh, in case you are wondering? Throwing a dinner party during March Madness from some is a crime. What do I know about “the sports.” So yes, the semi-finals of the basketball tournament had to be on for the Loyola game.  My female guests all politely requested that they be able to check in on the game. And it had nothing to do with the nun. Meanwhile, all the guys were…

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Lasagna Melange: Party of Ten

Last Saturday, it was my turn to host a group of friends who gather to drink wine and have dinner at each other’s home. I bumped up attendance by adding my two sisters and Bryan & Craig, so instead of the usual six, we had ten. With wine school that morning I knew that my time was going to be restricted, so I needed to make a one-pan dinner and lasagna is always a great dish to serve. My sisters also volunteered to assist. One did appetizers, and the other did dessert. Whew, that saved me a tremendous amount of time.…

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Bistro À Vin and Pannakakor

Oy, what a delightful but packed full weekend. It started on Thursday with the soft opening of the newest wine bar in Charleston, Bistro À Vin located at 40 Archdale Street in the heart of the shopping district just a block or so off King Street behind Charleston Place Hotel. On Friday, I had to begin preparation for my Dinner for ten on Saturday evening. Then I had my Saturday morning wine class which was awesome learning about several regions in France and blind tasting two wines. I am getting better at this but still not great. Saturday’s dinner party…

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