A Food, Spirits & Wine Blog

We all have our heroes – those people who we admire most and who stand out as having made a profound difference in the world. But who would you choose as your modern-day American heroes, and why? And since this is a food, wine, and spirits blog, if you had the chance to sit down with them, what drink would you share with them? As we celebrate the 4th of July, here are my modern-day American heroes along with the drinks I’d share with them if they joined me for happy hour. Whe

As far as I’m concerned, the King of salads is the Caesar Salad, while the Queen of salads is the classic Cobb Salad. Throw in the Wedge Salad with blue cheese dressing, and you have the trifecta of my three all-time favorite salads. But for today, let’s focus on Cobb! Any salad can be a side, but not every salad can be a meal! Sure, you can add protein to any salad and pretend it’s a meal, but there are some salads that are meant to be meals, like the classic Cobb Salad. Th

As I get older, I have a much greater appreciation for time spent with friends and family. Perhaps that’s because Laurie and I have much more time on our hands now since retirement to enjoy these opportunities. And there’s one common thread to each of these engagements with friends and family – the communal enjoyment of food, wine, and spirits! There are a lot of important things in life, but none more important than our health and our relationships. In my case, there might b

I am really enjoying my deep dive into learning all about whiskey, and particularly, bourbons and ryes from the U.S. In addition to my annual whiskey advent calendar for Christmas which provides me with the opportunity to taste whiskeys from around the world, I also took an on-line whiskey class last year (I passed the final exam!) and am now taking the second level course! As always though, the best way to learn about any spirit is to taste it, so here are a few selections f

The classic Italian Caprese salad is one of my favorites, with fresh mozzarella, tomatoes, basil, and some good olive oil and a bit of salt to top it off. I decided to turn this salad into a main dish by basically building an updated version of a caprese salad on top of a grilled chicken breast. Here’s how to make this simple but tasty dish! Floating in our pool is a daily event for Laurie and me – it’s a great way to cool off or just enjoy the nice warm and sunny weather on