Welcome to the Taste & Savor Blog
Traveling and Tasting: All about the Rhone!
If you like Big Reds and Crisp Whites, then wines from France’s Rhone Valley are for you! And the food? Oh! The food. Lyon, the northern anchor of the Rhone Valley has often been called the gastronomic capital of France. The city of Lyon boasts the largest collection...
Happy National Chocolate Mint Day!
What? You don’t know the date of National Chocolate Mint Day? Honestly, neither did I. Until a bottle of Brancamenta, a minty-fresh herbal liquor appeared in my mailbox. Accompanying the bottle was a note asking me to try it, and if I liked it as much as they...
Chocolate, Chocolate, Chocolate! Eating and Cooking
Shrimp and Chocolate? Yes - if its unsweetened chocolate combined with the luscious flavors of Mexico. Here's an easy and luscious salad that is a perfect entree to share for your Valentine celebration - even if its just for you! Spicy Cocoa Shrimp Salad –...
Winter Warm – Fireplace Cozy – Big Game Chili
Yup, its that Chili time of the year. Frosty and Blustery outside, inside warm and cozy. Chili time... The last couple years I've started a new tradition. A new chili recipe for the big game AND the cold weather. Everyone has to have a chili recipe for the Super Bowl,...
Kicking the New Year Off Right – A Bright and Refreshing Salad Dressing and Ways to Use it!
Happy New Year! If you are thinking about better-for-you eating, I have an incredibly delicious way to get excited about it. The way I see it, the only way to continue past the first few weeks of this resolution time of the year is to make the food you eat absolutely...
Bourbon Sweet Potato Pecan and Quinoa Stuffed Mushrooms
It started with a Facebook post... When the offer from Four Roses Bourbon popped up on our Atlanta Food Bloggers page, I knew there was bourbon in my future. If you check out my profile and discover that I'm an Ole Miss alum, I don't have to tell you I'm a bourbon...
Seven Things You Don’t Know About Serbia
ONE Serbia is beautiful, with a continental climate that means warm sunny summers and lots of sun in the winter. So much sun that there are places like these in the pictures below - right in the middle of Belgrade, Serbia’s largest city. And ski resorts...
Stealth Health in Frankfurt
A view along the street where I am staying in Frankfurt. We've dotted every i, crossed every t and prepared as much as possible for the first ever Culinary and Wine Journey to Alsace and Germany. My partners "in crime" on this trip, Annemarie and Tina have done a...
Med Style Watermelon, Beet and Halloumi Salad
Have you had Halloumi? Its the delicious cheese from the eastern Mediterranean that we often find in Greek restaurants. Halloumi has a distinctive chewy texture similar to Indian paneer and has a very savory. salty flavor because its brined in a salt water solution....
Lunch and Learn with Round Pond Winery
I had the pleasure of lunch with Miles McDonald, one of the owners of Round Pond Vineyards recently at the always-delicious Local Three restaurant. He and his delightful sales director Diane Cline hosted a group of food bloggers, wine buyers and restaurant folks for a...
A Perfect Appetizer for a Spring Weekend!
Easter Dresses and a fun appetizer? As a girlie girl, I ask you, "Does it get better?" This week's Friday Four recipe was one of a handful of gorgeous small bites we served up at Saks for Lafayette 148 and one of my favorite people, stylist Amy Nelson. Gluten-free,...
Doggie Love and Treats
I’ve loved animals as long as I can remember. My mother used to tell the story of my playpen cookie sharing with our family boxer. I don’t remember him, but I’m pretty sure my love of dogs was born with his sweet face poking between the rails. We didn’t have another...
How to Make Steel Cut Oatmeal
It's hard to get out of my warm snuggly bed this time of year. My husband, who is so wonderful in SO many ways is extremely persnickety about the cost of heating, (sigh). He likes to turn the heat wayyyyyy down at night. So, basically we sleep in a deep freeze:) This...
How to Make Vegetable Stock – Ten Tips
Veg Stock ready for the freezer! Yup, its January. Here in Atlanta we are doing two things almost every day. Complaining about the cold weather, and craving soup. I love to follow the seasons in my kitchen, and as a teaching chef - January is all about soups, stews...
The Favorite Recipe of 2014!
I received an email from a favorite chef today - it recapped her favorite 10 recipes of the year. I liked that idea and thought, "Wonder what my 2014 Friday Four readers liked most?" After a long time of extracting data, (more like 15 minutes but still - ugh), I...
Just for YOU – 2015 Sneak Peak Classes
Wow! I can tell its time for gifts! I am getting lots of requests for information about 2015 classes. Just for you all, here's a sneak peek at my classes at Cooks Warehouse. The 2015 catalog will be out soon, but for you special folks...for planning...
Pepper Popped and Roasted Nuts
Its not often that I am prompted write a blog entry and can grab a glamorous picture from Facebook, attach the recipe to it and post it in about 5 minutes... But HALLELUJAH, this is the day. Brenda took the photo and here I am sharing the recipe. Easy peasy, you can...
Asian Stuffed Baby Bellas Paired with Pinot Noir
Don't these babies look scrumptious? Oh yeah, they are! Super easy to make, too. These Asian inspired stuffed mushrooms are a super app for a holiday party...but you can eat them for dinner, too. Just use full sized portabellas and whip up a green salad on the side....
NINE Fantastic Uses for Leftover Herbs
Its that time of the year, the time of the year when I start getting lots and lots and LOTS of emails about what to do with leftover herbs. Maybe it's the all the herbs that people buy when they are getting ready for the holidays? Maybe the cold weather inspires...
Holidays, Sweet Treats and Wine – OH MY!
What do holidays, sweet treats, and some of your favorite wines have in common? It's a quality that may not pop into your mind immediately, or at least until I mention it - it’s the cozy, rich, toasty aromas of warm baking spices. Just like you,...