FOOD & WINE
7/1/22 Weekly Wine Picks
7/1/22 Wine Access Weekly picks this Week: A Rosé Champagne that will blow your mind not your budget, from a winery that Dom Perignon and Krug get grapes from. A red from Bandol that's a darling of Michelin restaurants that just might become your new Cabernet...
Keller’s Buttermilk Biscuits
Why Keller's Buttermilk Biscuits? This recipe is based on Thomas Keller's recipe from his incredible cookbook Ad Hoc at Home. When I was working as a consultant/Executive Chef starting up a restaurant, I put Keller's Sandwich on the menu, which was a monster fried...
Strawberry Sorbet
It's almost Memorial Day Weekend! Strawberry sorbet made from fresh strawberries is one of my favorite dessert components of all time. I love using this strawberry sorbet recipe for client dinners. The sweet and refreshing sorbet pairs so well with so many different...
Hi! I'm Sydney,
nice to meet you!
I left a marketing career in Hollywood to go to the Culinary Institute of America. After a few years of working in restaurants, I am now a private chef and sommelier in the 30a area.
Wine FAQ’s – Answered!
Is Wine Vegan?
Is wine vegan? Is it not? I think it depends on the vegan. Here's the deal. Clarifying wine happens a few different ways. Some of these processes are vegan, and others may not be. Fining is one process of clarification. Fining occurs by adding a "fining agent" to a...
Why Wine Contains Sulfites
Why do wines have added sulfites? What do Sulfites do, anyways? SO2, Sulfur Dioxide is a naturally occurring part of the winemaking process. It is a byproduct of making alcohol. However, it can also be added at a few different winemaking points to preserve the...
Wine Structure: What is Tannin in Wine?
Tannin is a characteristic found in red grape skins and seeds as well as oak. They cause an astringent or bitterness when either too much is extracted from grapes or when young. As a wine matures, either in a fermenting vessel such as oak or stainless steel, the...
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Apple & Squash Soup with Bacon and Ricotta
Apple and Squash Soup means that fall is HERE y'all! I'm going to be honest with you for a minute. Soup gives me a bit of PTSD. Is that odd? Sous Chef Jobs Here's the deal though. When I was a Sous Chef at a restaurant (that shall remain nameless) I had to make two...
Aligoté: The Middle Child of Burgundy
Aligoté is the "other" Burgundian white wine. Simply enough, when you typically see Burgundy white wine it's 100% Chardonnay. If you're waiting for the other shoe to drop, thinking, "That's way too easy" -- you're right. Depending on the region, vineyard, and...
Classic Beef Chili
Sometimes you just need some classic beef chili. This is a no-frills, flavor-packed, delicious, old-school chili. Most importantly, this is the chili my mom taught me to make. I've adapted slightly and moved some of the steps around, but for the most part, it's the...
Healthy Seed & Nut Bars
I am obsessed with these healthy seed and nut bars! They are packed with tons of nutrients, protein, good fats, and just the right amount of sweetness. I like to cut these up into smaller cubes and keep them in the freezer to keep on hand. You can be flexible with the...
Paleo Pumpkin Spice Muffins
I came up with these paleo pumpkin spice muffins, that are also nut free, for some very special clients of mine. In a previous post (on Peruvian chicken skewers), I mentioned that I have been hired to cook for some clients in October with a lot of different dietary...
Grillo: Sicilian White Wine
This Grillo from L'arca was the first bottle of wine I tried from Martha Stewart Wine Co. Sicilian White Wines You Need to Know: Grillo We’ve already done a post about an intro to Sicilian reds, covering Frappato, a native red grape. Later this month I will also be...
Pound Cake Bites – The Best Accident
These accidental pound cake bites came about because it's The Somm Chef's birthday month, my birthday month, and the anniversary of Ian and I moving down to FL (and sort of the anniversary of The Somm Chef inception). In short - September of last year was quite the...
Intro to Napa Chardonnay: Chateau Montelena
Chateau Montelena may not be a name you're too familiar with. However, you may have heard of the movie "Bottle Shock" with all-star cast Chris Pine, Alan Rickman, and Bill Pullman. This film is (loosely) based around the blind tasting in 1976 called the Judgement of...
Carbonara with Pancetta: Go To Weeknight Meal
Carbonara is an awesome meal for those nights when you don't feel like cooking and when you're out of groceries. Bon Appétit says that it's the perfect "no food in the house" dinner, and I completely agree. So what is Carbonara? Carbonara is an egg-based sauce that...
Truffle Pasta Dough
Truffle pasta may sound like a lot of work, but I promise it's actually quite easy. And no - you don't need a stand mixer, or a food processor, or even a pasta machine to make it! You can use those things, of course, but not required. The thing I love about homemade...
