Westwood Barrel Tasting and Crush!

With all this cold weather I keep thinking about warm sunny days. Every time we open a bottle of a big red wine I think about our trip to California's wine country and start planning our return trip in my head! As you may recall, on our first trip to Napa we stopped off in Sonoma Square and visited the Westwood Winery tasting room at our friends' recommendation (they are wine club members). When our friends added Westwood to the Google Doc for our return trip I was excited to head back, having thoroughly enjoyed their Pinot Noirs on the first go-around.

Where the Magic Happens!

M.C. Spiedo Grand Opening Party

I was recently invited to the grand opening of M.C. Spiedo, the new restaurant in the Renaissance Hotel in the Seaport District. Chefs and co-owners Mark Gaier and Clark Fraiser are known primarily as pioneers of the farm-to-table ideals at their restaurant, Arrows in Ogunquit Maine. M.C. Spiedo is a unique concept based on the supper clubs in Florence, Italy that began in the 1400's, where modern food originated.The food selections found on the menu draws on inspirations of the Italian Renaissance and continues to re-imagine contemporary food.

Modern Renaissance Decor With Catherine de'Medici

Mango Avocado Salsa - What Tomatoes Are Meant For

It is still freezing cold out, so I need to think summery thoughts! I love winter and snow, but I have had enough this year!

One thing I have started to make a lot is homemade salsa. I'm not a big fan of tomatoes in general, so I was looking for something to do with all the tomatoes we were getting in our CSA. After looking at Megan's mango guacamole last summer I got inspired and made many variations of this recipe, finding it to be the perfect party and deck-time food!

The Ingredients

Ribelle

Turns out my slight break from blogging lasted two months - whoops! Nothing crazy going on, just life in general keeping me occupied. That doesn't mean I still haven't been cooking and eating up a storm, though! To prove the point, some of these posts may turn back the clocks a bit.  This particular post actually takes us back to Christmas time...

Each year at the holidays my mother likes to celebrate by taking our family to a restaurant that is a bit special. In years past we have done restaurants like Clio, Menton and Market. This year I thought Ribelle would be a great choice, not only because of the stellar reviews, but also (selfishly) because my mom would be driving out to Brookline, thus saving us a long ride on the T! Ribelle is the brain child of Tim Maslow, who worked under David Chang in New York for five years before coming back to the Boston area to take over his father's restaurant, Strip-T's in Watertown. After transforming the nighttime menu and making Strip-T's a go-to destination, Maslow found restaurant space in Brookline for his own project - Ribelle.

I must admit, I was a bad blogger because I did not get photos of the menu! So I am doing my best to describe what we ate that night, but it's hard to remember a meal from 2+ months ago! All you really need to know is that the food was spectacular - very creative with layers of flavor.

Carrots with Hazelnuts, jam and mustard seeds