California Dreaming

Cherry Blossoms & Rome.

Right now I seem to have Cherry Blossoms and Rome on my mind. Strange combination, I know. That being said, here's this week's favorite things:

Cherry Blossoms:

Cannell et Vanille makes me drool. The photography combined with the recipes is sublime.

The Kitchn has a great article about how to have a Hanami (flower viewing) picnic. It reminds me of my trip to Japan during Cherry Blossom season, but more of that trip later.

Speaking of Cherry Blossoms,if you are in San Francisco April 11th, check out the Northern California Cherry Blossom Festival.

Rome:

Rome Every Day has the most enchanting pictures of the daily life in Rome. I feel I am in Rome with Elenora's images. She also has a great food blog too, Agliio, Olio & Peperoncino.

One of my favorite magazines, Saveur. This month's issue has "Classic Roman Food". After finishing the feature, I wanted to go back to Rome,now!

A Traveler's Library is a great blog for both the traveler and reader. It was here that I discovered Donna Leon's book, "The Girl of His Dreams", set in Venice. I know this is supposed to be about Rome but it's still Italy.

So there are my favorites for the moment.

Some Like it Hot.........

Are you a fan of Sriracha?

This isn't your "run of the mill" hot sauce. No sir, the Red Rooster (a.k.a. Sriracha) brings a whole new meaning to both flavor and hot. In fact this bottle has a cult following.

It rated "New Flavor of the Year" in the January issue of Bon Appetit. It has it's own Facebook Fan page with 193, 539 fans. Here's one of the recipes on the fan site:

Hawaiian Hot Wings

 Thursday, December 25, 2008 at 9:33am

1 lb or so chicken wings
Salt & pepper
1 pineapple, cut into chunks
1 stick butter
1 cup rooster sauce
1 tbsp each soy sauce, honey and pineapple juice

Season the wings with salt and pepper and bake them at 350 until they're done. In the meantime, melt the butter, then add the rooster sauce, soy sauce, honey and pineapple juice. Simmer it until the wings are ready, then toss wings and pineapple in sauce to coat. Yum!

Courtesy of: Summer Hirschi

Do you have a favorite hot sauce or condiment that you couldn't live without?

January-Guilty Pleasures

When the annual issue of Saveur Magazine  Top 100 arrives in my mailbox, I shiver with anticipation. This is Food Porn, people. The magazine will become dogged eared, covered with finger prints and maybe drool marks.  I squirm with delight when a restaurant, kitchen tool, food product or travel destintation is featured that I have enjoyed and/or used. 

Yes, it's my New Year's Guilty Pleasure but more importantly a resource guide for every foodie. In this issue I found several items and websites that sound really interesting (Yes, they are earmarked).

For example:

  (Photo: Michael Kraus)

Pacifikool Hawaiian Ginger Syrup.

If you haven't read an issue of Saveur, go online and take a peak. Better yet, add it to you gift list to your favorite foodie.