Kat Sun

I was grateful for the opportunity to visit both The Meritage and Vista Collina (sister resorts) in Napa to experience some holiday cheer. Tinsel and Royal Teas every Saturday and Sunday This afternoon tea experience is great for families with young ones, but I love a good afternoon tea, so I couldn’t resist. Enjoy a calm walk after brunch around the Meritage Resort… …then head across the street to the Vista Collina to enjoy nine wine rooms to taste wines on their patios and enjoy holiday festivities on the Lawn. The Meritage and Vista Collina resorts are enough to explore in a day, but if decide to stay longer (which I strongly encourage), the resort is a short drive from downtown, which features many noteworthy eateries, and numerous wineries all around town.

3 tablespoons All-Purpose flour 2/3 cup beer (lager preferred) 1 cup whole milk If you use a milk that has less fat content, the dip won’t thicken as much as one that uses whole milk] 1 teaspoon grainy mustard 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon black pepper 1/8 teaspoons cayenne pepper 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce In a pan on medium heat, melt the 2 tablespoons of butter and add 3 tablespoons of all-purpose flour.

When CocuSocial reached out to me to take one of their Master Series cooking classes, I jumped at the opportunity, especially since the one I was looking at involved cooking seafood and was going to be taught by chef Paul Liebrandt. I was nervous going into the class, but chef went at a nice steady pace and made sure to check in to make sure students weren’t left behind. Make sure to read through the recipe so you have an idea of what to expect during class; the chef will walk you through everything step by step, but it’s nice to be prepared. While the bouillabaisse was cooking (we let it simmer for 45 minutes), we made the wonton ravioli.

As I’ve continued to try to stay home as much as possible, I’ve been trying to find dishes to make that don’t require a lot of effort, use ingredients that I already have at home (I don’t want to have to buy ingredients for a dish and not end up liking the dish or not be able to use the ingredient again), and don’t produce a lot of leftovers. I buy Trader Joe’s 6oz tomato paste and scoop all of it into a 16oz Ball mason jar and fill (almost to the top) with water. I poured half of my tomato sauce (8oz) into a pot on medium-high heat and added 6-8oz of water. Banza’s rotini pasta requires roughly 9 minutes to cook and I ended up cooking it for a little bit more as I tasted the pasta around the 8 and 9 minute marks for “done”-ness.