Category Archives: SIDE DISHES

INVERAWE and SMOKED SALMON PATE

Anyone hooked on smoked salmon has probably heard of Inverawe and Robert & Rosie Campbell-Preston. Robert & Rosie opened Inverawe Smokehouse in Argyll, on the West Coast of Scotland, in 1980. Robert was the fish smoker, an art he learned growing up on the banks of the Awe. Rosie tackled the marketing, a talent she […]

CÁCERES, CULINARY CAPITAL OF SPAIN, 2015 & MIGAS

The food of Cáceres rocks! The restaurants are rad! The take-home edible souvenirs are wicked and wow! No wonder a jury composed of top representatives from Spain’s hotel, restaurant and publishing industries, declared the city “The Culinary Capital of Spain, 2015.” The city, in the province of the same name, sits in the sparsely populated […]

Tongabezi, Victoria Falls, Sweet Potato Jam, Zambian Beans

  Let’s cut to the chase. Victoria Falls is certainly worth a visit. Called the world’s largest sheet of falling water and deemed one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World, this UNESCO World Heritage Site is a bucket-list must-see.   But to those who love distinctive hotels, resorts, and other accommodations, Victoria Falls […]

SAXON HOTEL and recipes for MUSHROOM SAUCE, AVOCADO SALSA AND TOMATO GINGER CHUTNEY

What do Bill Clinton, Justin Bieber, Oprah Winfrey and Mick Jager have in common? All stayed at the Saxon Hotel in Johannesburg and for good reason. The one-of-a-kind property epitomizes luxury, security, service and quite pizzazzy comfort. The Saxon claims a pedigreed location, sequestered in the city’s upscale Sandhurst neighborhood. Grand estates, each and every […]

RIVIERA MAYA: TWO GREAT RESORTS/ONE GREAT RECIPE

Time to confess. I’m promiscuous. I sleep around. Sometimes I practice a sort of serial monogamy, seduced by the pleasure of one. On the other hand, I believe “the more the merrier” and “variety is the spice of life,” so have been known to jump into a different bed each night. That’s not to say […]

CUPCAKES AND MORE

I know. I know. Cupcakes are all the rage, and this restaurant specializes in them. And, yes, they are luscious. Yet when I visited Daisy Café and Cupcakery in Madison, Wisconsin, other items claimed a larger place in my heart. Many cafes can take good cake, top it with rich butter cream and win wows, […]

HEALTHY, WEALTHY AND WISE

Don’t you just hate it when you can’t get your MRI scan, dental crowns, acupuncture and a facial in the same day, at the same place. Oh, and did I mention botox, a pedicure, fitness counseling and cooking classes? Those who find the inconvenience of multi-stops annoying can now enjoy one-stop health and fitness shopping […]

Gulf Shores, Lucy Buffett and L.A.Caviar

Lucy Buffett (yes, Jimmy’s sister) runs the exceedingly popular Lulu’s at Homeport Marina, a restaurant on the Intercoastal Waterway in Gulf Shores, Alabama. With service both indoors and out and live music, Lucy’s “high-class dive” attracts boaters, families, tourists and neighbors to dine on casual-beach-bar type food. Although Lulu’s features predictable Alabama pub fare heavy […]

Summer Magic in the Farmers Market

Almost every city has a farmer’s market, but best of them all has to be the Dane County Farmer’s Market in Madison,Wisconsin. Held outdoors, rain or shine, every Wednesday and Saturday from May to November (and indoors, on Saturdays, in winter), the market draws the most crowds on summer Saturdays when vendors set up about […]

CAPTAIN COOK CRUISES

Although he was not the first European to discover Fiji (Abel Tasman was in 1642), Captain James Cook is literally and figuratively credited as the first to put the archipelago on the world’s radar (such as the radar was in 1774). Therefore I thought it super symbolic to begin my exploration of Fiji on a […]