The hills are awash with vibrant yellow mustard flowers near my house. You can’t live in California and not take notice of our spectacular wildflower displays each spring. Orange poppies and purple lupine are mingled with the yellow mustard blooms creating an abstract canvas that can take your breath away. It’s one of my favorite things about living in this great state.

However, when it comes to the prolific mustard blossom we have another region of the world to thank for our spectacular annual parade of color: The Mediterranean region. Which includes the iconic Provence area of southeastern France. The similarities between Provence and California go well beyond climate. But it’s the similarity of weather that allows the mustard plant to flourish and makes my mind automatically turns to another icon of the French countryside– rosé wine. more »

Did you know I also do a Podcast? It’s called The Table Set. There are three of us on the show and we sit around the table and talk about parties. Parties we’ve been to, parties we want to go to, and mostly parties we plan to have. One of our favorite ‘solutions’ to party planning is something we call brunchify it. Because any party can be turned into a brunch party– no matter what time of day. Just think about it. Everybody likes breakfast for dinner, right? Besides, if ever there were an excuse to throw a brunch party, Easter is it. But what makes a brunch party a success?

Well, let’s look at it this way. What’s the first thing you think of when I say ‘brunch’? I bet you answered ‘Bloody Mary’. Because a good Bloody Mary is the quintessential brunch drink. It became an instant classic upon its arrival in the mid 1930s. Then it was little more than tomato juice and vodka– a bit milder than the brunch drink of today. The modern, spiced up version has become massively popular. So I’d argue that a good Bloody Mary recipe is the first ingredient in a successful brunch party. But don’t expect me to offer one up here. Bloody Mary recipes are abundant. You don’t need my help with that. Besides everyone has their own set of rules, complete with secret ingredients and ‘must have’ garnishes. I don’t want to get in the middle of that tussle. more »

Get ready to raise a glass and say “cheers”. Because I have some exciting news. I don’t know what I did to get so lucky. I wish I could say I slept my way to the top. But, nope. I drank my way there!

I’m sort of exaggerating, but guess what? SAVORY COCKTAILS is going to be my second book. “From the Spicy Bloody Mary and Dirty Martini to the Salty Dog and Sour Papa Hemingway” is how it’s being officially described. But I have a few surprises for this book as well. One of those surprises includes Roast Butternut Squash Infused Vodka and it’s the base spirit in a creative savory cocktail from the upcoming book.

It’s to be a collection of 65 cocktail recipes from Ulysses Press in a hard bound book. But it’s going to a lot more than just the expected cocktails, as I think you’ll see from this squash infusion recipe I’m sharing today. I’ll also being curating quite a few cocktails from noted mixologists, bars and restaurants around the US and Canada– letting them define what “savory” means to them. I promise there will be some really creative and delicious takes on brand new cocktails. Shrubs, Infusions and bitters will also be featured. It should be in stores next fall. more »