Road Trippin'

Hey, remember me? My sincere apologies for being MIA lately, but it's been a crazy couple of weeks. I spent a week working at the 30th Annual FOOD & WINE Classic in Aspen! Check out a recap of this amazing this event from ABC's The Chew here. I won't dote on the Classic, but I will share my ultimate highlight with you....Yep, that's me with a couple of my favorite things, THE Jacques Torres and his impeccable chocolate chip cookie. He had us dipping the cookie into a sweet port wine! So long milk, port wine is where it's at!

Photo: Rory Tischler

Photos: Allan Zepeda

On the heels of the Classic, four of my FOOD & WINE buddies, my husband and I decided to take a little detour back home–by way of RV to California! We started in Aspen, drove over to Arches National Park in Utah, up to Park City, swept through Lake Tahoe in California, over to Napa and ended in San Francisco! It was an unforgettable six-day adventure, exposing us to some of the most breathtaking places America has to offer. Here's a photo of the crew on day 1. We named our western tour, "Clay Davis and the Solo Cups." (Yes, I realize it makes no sense.)

Photo: Luis Zepeda

Here's a sneak peek into how we got that shot. Hint: it involves a tripod and lots of running.

Our Route

We had the best BLT's and rum runners lakeside in South Lake Tahoe. I'm naming the BLT the "unofficial" summer sandwich!

Here's a wedding hosted in the immaculate French Laundry Garden. In my next life, I will live solely off of Bouchon baguettes!

Photo: Luis Zepeda

A different kind of "Pigskin"

This past Sunday (yes, I gladly skipped the Giants and Patriots games for this pigskin) I was both honored and ecstatic to serve as a judge at Cochon 555 here in New York City. If you happen to live on the west side of Manhattan, your nose probably directed you straight to the event (I still smell like bacon). If you aren't familiar with Cochon 555, here's how it went down: Five chefs, five pigs and five winemakers took over the lighthouse at Chelsea piers and turned manhattan into a pork paradise. Each chef created a menu from a heritage breed pig and I was more than impressed with the talent in the room. This year's roster of chefs included Marc Forgione of Restaurant Marc Forgione, Bobby Hellen of Resto & The Cannibal, Ralf Kuettel of Trestle on Tenth, Shaunna Sargent of Betto, and Damon Wise of The Monkey Bar. All of these chefs could have been the champion in my opinion, but the amazing Marc Forgione brought home the bacon. He also had one of my favorite dishes, Pork Consomme With Rillette Tortellini. Because I'm generally a sweets kinda gal, I couldn't resist the salted caramels From Trestle On Tenth (I may have stashed a few in my purse for later). The best part is that chef Forgione now gets to compete against the nine other regional winners at the finale Grand Cochon event at the FOOD & WINE Classic in Aspen, June 17, 2012. Hope to see you there! Here's to Cochon 555 for raising awareness about sustainable agriculture and for allowing me to be part of such a great event! 

 

Who knew pork could be so beautiful? the deviled egg topped with cracklings was a favorite from Betto.

Bacon Popcorn and yummy salty caramels from Trestle on Tenth.