Florence for Five Euro

My five favorite one-euro finds in Florence...

 Cannolo at Gelateria dei Neri

Scarf and Florentine lily-adorned leather bracelet at 

Mercato Cascine 

Gelato at Gelateria della Passera

Cornetto con Nutella at Finesterrae 

Cornerstone Sonoma

A superb little secret right off the 121. Countless times I’ve passed right by this eccentric collection of gardens, shops, and galleries. Just this past weekend a serendipitous turn led to great discovery.

Cornerstone Mascot, Axel with his bucket

Cornerstone Sonoma

Fashion Week: Apron Edition

Dreaming of Paris Fashion Week as I strut around my kitchen in this season’s apron collection.

Autumn's Arrival

Autumn waltzes in wrapped in boots, scarves, and cozy sweaters. Its scent is pumpkin spice and its sound is the crackling of leaves. This festive batch of Mini Maple Pumpkin Cheesecakes welcomes my favorite season. 

Pain au Chocolat Cinnamon Rolls

As the first meal of the day, breakfast serves as an excellent motivator. I wake up from tantalizing dreams of sweet and savory combos, excited to bumble into the kitchen and make them a reality.

While I sometimes sleep on my morning meal decision, I really love breakfast for its spontaneous, anything goes personality. You want chocolate chip pancakes and eggs and bacon and hash browns and fruit? Breakfast is the only time you can get away with all that and call it a meal. Lunch and dinner mean business. Unless you’re like me and you like to get wild with breakfast for dinner. Breakfast for dinner feels indulgent and rebellious in the best way.

Speaking of indulgent… these Pain au Chocolat Cinnamon Rolls. Making a fantastic breakfast choice such as this one will surely get your day off to a winning start!

Bevono il vino

Started the weekend early with a visit to Vini in Davis. The jazzy wine bar houses dispensers of reds, whites, and pinks complete with detailed descriptions and beautiful labels. The friendly owner greeted us and explained that we could load up a card so we could taste two-ounce samples of several different wines. Although we may have tasted out of order and made our selections mostly based on cool labels, I loved the atmosphere and the concept of this wine bar.   

A Taste of Sacramento

 This past week I planned a snacking tour of Sacramento with my girlfriends. Our first stop, The Rind opened just four months ago. This fabulous cheese shop has a simple but chic decoration and offers a list of marvelous cheese boards and inspired dishes. Since it was our first of three stops we grudgingly stopped our order at a single “Diving Board”- a way to “dive into” your tasting experience. Following the kind waiter’s recommendation we ordered the Pierre Robert (a triple cream), a Gouda variation, and Morbière (a goat cheese with vegetable ash in the rind). They were served on a wooden board and accompanied by halved strawberries, stacks of crostini, and a small pot of honey. Our waiter encouraged us to spread the triple cream on a strawberry- a brilliant idea! Definitely going back and making this a single stop so I can indulge in the fancy grilled cheese and macaroni and cheese!

I had my first delightful sample from Zocalo at the Bastille Day festival. A carnitas taco smaller than a tea saucer but packed with flavor. When we went back this last time I ordered the carnitas tacos with cilantro-lime rice and black beans- superb! At the end of our meal, and just as we were starting to believe that we were perfectly full, the waiter brought us out a complimentary slice of chocolate ganache layer cake à la mode. Did I mention that we always have room for chocolate cake?

And finally, because my friends simply couldn’t wait to see the last stop on our agenda (and also because we are bottomless pits) we made it to Devine gelateria. The gelato counter here is a thing of beauty full of so many colorful and tasty choices- I was so pleased with my Honey Fig Ricotta gelato! Devine is proud to be a Slow Food establishment, sourcing local farmers for only the best in-season ingredients. If you wander down the back corridor you can peak in the kitchen to watch the gelato being made, and on the way you might meet Isabelle, the shop’s friendly dachshund mascot.