The Real Stuff: Artisan Bread

When I moved to Southern California, bread, artisan bread, the one we call pan campesino (country bread) was one of the things I missed the most. In Caracas, we were used to having the best bread makers and bakeries.

Chocolate and Zucchini Cake and Happy Zucchini Bread Day!

There are children that are picky eaters and my son Tomás Eugenio is the pickiest. He’s not only picky. He’s stubborn and determined. At the age of 7, he’s committed to a diet full of protein and carbs that only includes an eventual apple or banana as his only fresh fruit. He only eats vegetables in my pizza or pasta sauces. Not to mention he’s a chocolate killer.

The tip of the iceberg. Left Coast Libations

Recently, because of my work and this blog, most of my reading has been “reduced” to rum related, mixology and cocktails and cooking and baking books. Almost monthly, I order a new book shipment from Amazon or go to the cooking section at Barnes & Noble to treat me... Some of my new acquisitions are just waiting for me to read them, while others have already been devoured.

Garlic Bread and Two Lessons

Last time we went to visit Carlos and Ana, we were sitting by the table, ready for lunch, and Andrés Ignacio (9) said he was craving for garlic bread. Then, Carlos kindly took him to the kitchen to make garlic bread!

Solera

I know a cocktail is well balanced when I sip it and want a second one. If I start mixing it regularly and talking about that, it means it’s a “good” one. But if I decide to restock my homemade falernum bottle, just to have it available for that specific cocktail, that means that cocktail is heaven sent.

Romesco Sauce: The Spanish Red Pesto

While experimenting with my arugula and walnut pesto, I was wondering what ingredients I should put together to get a red pesto. Immediately red peppers came to my mind. Pesto is whatever herb or vegetable you can muddle with nuts and oil, I thought…

Comfort Food: Pasta Aglio e Olio

No need to say that I’m a garlic lover, killer, you name it and if it’s related to garlic, that’s me. Pasta aglio e olio is not only my favorite comfort food: the food that I want to eat when I’m extremely happy and the food I want if I’m stressed too.

If life gives you lemons, have fun and make Falernum!

By the grace of 'mixology' and its alchemists, the 'mixologists', exotic ingredients, previously unknown for a newcomer yo this cocktail world like me, have began to appear in my kitchen and bar. Even more: suddenly, they are the new “essentials”… That’s the case of falernum, which is sometimes so difficult to find, that some have chosen to make it at home.