Last Tuesday I celebrated my birthday by spending the evening at home with my family, then, once the kids were in bed, packing up a suitcase to head to the Napa Valley with my sweetie. We left our kids at home in capable hands and headed off to California on Wednesday. The weather didn’t entirely cooperate, so I didn’t get to take as many photos as I’d hoped, but the trip was spectacular regardless.

We’ve been blessed with the friendship of some wonderful people who are, as they say in wine country, In The Business. Luckily, these are friends who never seem to mind letting us tag along on their wine trips. And from my  limited experience, traveling to wineries and vineyards with someone in the wine industry is a whole heck of a different experience than the alternative.

We drank incredible wines, ate some pretty great food, and saw some fabulous sights out there. Below are some snapshots of some of the meals and wine tastings we went to. Part of my brain – or is it my heart? – is still back in Yountville. Come along with me for just a few minutes and I’ll take you there.

If you click through each photo, it will take you to my Flickr account where you can read more about it.

I must confess that I didn’t know who Claire Robinson was until I received a review copy of her cookbook, 5 Ingredient Fix: Easy, Elegant, and Irresistible Recipes in the mail recently. The only Food Network show that I watch if I find it on is Barefoot Contessa. And, truthfully, the only time I ever watch that channel is when I’m working out at the gym on the treadmill or stationery bike or elliptical machine. Weird, I know.

This book intrigued me for two reasons. First, Claire Robinson is from Jacksonville, about an hour and a half north of here. I love discovering locals who’ve become famous. The other reason the book caught my eye is the whole five ingredient thing. Ease is important to me, especially during the work week when life gets pretty hectic. Since my husband and I both work full time, we need all the help we can get.

Claire Robinson describes her 5 ingredient philosophy early on in the cookbook. She believes that each ingredient should stand out, and they will if we cook with ingredients which are at their peak (that is, pumpkins in the fall, corn in summer, and so on). In her words, “When your ingredients are good, there’s no need to muddle the flavor with unnecessary add-ons.”

The recipes are a nice mix of eclectic dishes, but it’s clear that she’s got one foot still in the south. I love seeing dishes like the Smoky Collard Greens or the Stone Ground Grits with Gruyère in the chapter next to the Sake and Lemongrass Steamed Sea Bass. There’s even a cocktail chapter, and what’s not to like about that? There are dishes that sound perfect for entertaining and showing off – like the Whole Striped Bass Baked in Salt or the Duck Breasts with Citrus-Port Cherry Sauce – and dishes which seem just right for Sunday dinners at home with the family – like the Claire’s Carbonara or Sunday Pot Roast with Mushroom Gravy.

And if I haven’t made my point clear already, I really am a fan of any cookbook with a recipe for grits.

The food photography throughout is gorgeous, but I wish there were more of it. Many of the recipes are accompanied by beautiful photos, but not all of them. I used my imagination, and that’s okay. I’ve got a pretty good one.

I tested out the Buttermilk Pecan Chicken recipe since I happened to have all five ingredients on hand one Sunday afternoon. It seemed like something my kids – and my husband – would go for.

Over to the side of each recipe, the author has a section where she lists two things – “What makes this recipe really sing” and “What to toss in if you have it.” I really like this aspect of the cookbook. The first gives the reason behind why the recipe is special. The second gives some ideas on how to jazz up the recipe with an addition or two.

For the Buttermilk Pecan Chicken recipe, the suggestion is some lemon zest in the breading or some hot sauce in the buttermilk marinade. I used some lemon zest in the breading since I happened to have a lemon in the fridge. My husband may have liked the hot sauce, but I wasn’t sure how the kids would like it, so I didn’t go that route.

I also chose not to pan fry the chicken breasts. I did this for two reasons. First, we were having a really nice time playing outside that day, and I wanted to use the 30 minutes oven-baking time to spend time with my kids in the back yard. Second, I wanted to keep this recipe a little on the healthier side to balance out the incredibly NOT healthy macaroni and cheese I served with it.

The chicken was good, but I’m sure it would have been better – crispier – if I’d pan fried it. I loved the fact that it was so simple to prepare, and the buttermilk really did make the chicken moist and tender. I’ll give it another go, and I’ll pan fry it next time to compare the flavors.

Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this cookbook to review from the publisher, Hachette Book Group.

Some years ago, for our family’s annual Thanksgiving dinner, pumpkin pie became my dish. I’m not exactly sure when it happened, but I’m  sure I volunteered to make it. You see, I’m no dummy. I’ve learned that the easiest way to ensure that a favorite item winds up on our holiday menu is to put it there myself.

Last year I started experimenting with some new recipes for pumpkin pie. My original was a variation on the classic Libby’s recipe from the back of the pumpkin puree can. I can’t leave well enough alone, though, so I started playing around with the recipe. I tinkered with the crust and I finally got that right. For the past two weekends, I have been on a mission to improve on the filling.

The first pie I baked was okay, but the cooking method was a little off. The temperature was too low or the time was too short, or a combination of the two. Regardless, I wasn’t satisfied with the way the pie set up. And the spices were not quite right. The second pie was a little better, but I had to do some more adjusting of spices, and I used sour cream in the filling. I decided after that second pie that I’m not a fan of sour cream in my pumpkin pie filling. It makes it a little too creamy for my preference.

With the last pies, the cooking technique was perfect – a technique that the America’s Test Kitchen uses. Their technique is to warm the filling and add the warmed filling to the hot partially-baked pie crust. This method worked quite well for me and gives the pie a nice firm texture.

Unfortunately, with one of those last pies, I learned another valuable lesson. Adding sugar to the pie is pretty important. Don’t skip that step. Sugar free pie pretty much sucks. Although, if you give a taste to your adoring six year old daughter, she will tell you it’s the best pumpkin pie she has ever tasted, even though she will grimace the entire time she’s swallowing it.

I’m done testing pumpkin pies for this year. I really like this version of the pie. It’s got a good combination of sweetness and spice, and I think the little bit of rum and vanilla add some depth that my previous pumpkin pie versions didn’t have. I’m not sure whether I’ve found pumpkin pie nirvana or whether I’m just exhausted from the two marathon pie baking weekends. And even though I never ate an entire piece of pie out of all of these pies, I found it was a little hard to be objective by the time the pie tasting was completed.

So, I asked my husband, what he thought when it was over. His answer? “I really like that old pumpkin pie you used to make.”

ARGH.

For more information on baking pies:
Deb at Smitten Kitchen has a great post on rolling and crimping pie crusts.

Jen at My Kitchen Addiction has a recent post on making pie dough.