Life

Foodbuzz Fest 2011 in San Francisco

by sabrinamodel on October 7, 2011 · 22833 commentsFoodbuzz+Fest+2011+in+San+Francisco2011-10-08+00%3A01%3A31sabrinamodel

in Life

In just under one month, I’ll be at Foodbuzz Fest 2011 in my hometown of San Francisco. This conference is especially meaningful for me. One year ago, I was a brand new blogger, attending my first conference, meeting new people, like John from Foodwishes, Greg from Sippitysup, and Marc from No Recipes. Those three were the first food bloggers I ever spoke to in person. I keep in touch with all three through Twitter and email. Marc was a contributor to my Bake Sale for Japan and John and I have become friends over the past year. Foodbuzz is also where I met a couple of my favorite people, Irvin of Eat The Love, Kimmie from Full Circle Adventure, and the ever so naughty girl Linda of Salty Seattle.

This year, at Foodbuzz Fest, I’ll be leading a breakout session called Blog Design Bootcamp with Kristin of The Cuisinerd.
This session will be a super fun look at branding and designing a food blog.

• Here are some of the things we’ll cover:
• What is your brand?
• How to build that brand, visually
• How to use photography to build your brand– on the cheap
• How to make individual posts more beautiful
• And, we’ll walk one blogger through a real time branding exercise

I know that this year will involve meeting new friends and seeing some of the friends I met last year like Nate from The Chocolate of Meats… get the recipe

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My First Party at My New Place + Intense Dark Pairings

by sabrinamodel on September 22, 2011 · 220515 comments2011-09-22+16%3A03%3A57sabrinamodel

in Life, Sweets

There’s nothing like a deadline to help a girl get moved in! When Ghirardelli approached me about hosting a tasting and pairing party for their Intense Dark chocolates, I may have thought better of it considering we just moved into our place a month ago. I love chocolate, of course, and you know I love wine, and parties… don’t get me started. I truly couldn’t resist, though, when I learned that during the month of October, Ghirardelli would be donating $50,000 plus $1 from each specially marked Intense Dark chocolate bar to the National Breast Cancer Foundation. The tasting parties, would be a way to help raise awareness, and so, I was in!

Last Saturday, with the help of two of my besties, I put the finishing touches on my living room and kitchen (we won’t talk about the bedrooms). I’d already been cooking for days prepping a pretty extensive tasting menu.

Before we get into the menu, I’d also like to thank Leslie Sbroco who was so kind as to give me some amazing wines, especially the extraordinary Sandemand Armada Rich Cream Oloroso Sherry which, I’m still savoring the last few sips of.

Evening Dream 60%: Yuzu Pots De Cremes, The Gluten Freed Gourmet’s Gingerbread, Lemon Brioches
Served with: Rieslings, Ice Wines, & Late Harvest Rieslings

Twilight Delight 72%: Spiced Plum Jam, Spicy Caramel Sauce, Strawberries Blueberries and Raspberries, Ciabatta,
Served with: Garnacha, Spanish Red Blend, Merlot, Bay Spiced Lager

Midnight Reverie 86%: Carmelized Onion and Parmesan Tart … get the recipe

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Peanut Butter, Love, & Loss… Pies for Mikey

by sabrinamodel on August 12, 2011 · 213326 comments2011-08-12+16%3A17%3A55sabrinamodel

in Life, Sweets

Monday morning I read a tweet that stopped me in my tracks from Jennifer Perillo from In Jennie’s Kitchen. “He’s gone. Any [sic] my heart is shattered in a million pieces.” Then I saw a link to a post entitled One Last Dance, that was when I learned that Mikey, Jennifer’s husband, had suddenly died from a heart attack.

I don’t know Jennie in “real life”, just through tweets exchanged and a blog thoroughly enjoyed. I have thought of Jennie and her girls all week- have stopped and taken a little moment each day to send them a little love each time they’ve popped into my head. Losing my parents was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to navigate and I just can’t imagine what it’s like for those little girls, so young. The thought of losing a partner is gut-wrenching and my heart is filled with tenderness for Jennie. Her gorgeous and courageous post about her last date with Mikey is such a reminder to cherish the ones we love.

Earlier this week, Jennie asked that everyone who could, make Mikey’s favorite, Peanut Butter Cream Pie, today—the day of his memorial service. As many of you know, I am moving house, pie making can’t really happen right now, but here are some links to those who made pies.

This post is dedicated with love and compassion to Jennie Perillo and her family and to my husband, Joshua, who I love with my entire being. I … get the recipe

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Apparently, I’m not Superwoman. An update and some photos.

by sabrinamodel on August 2, 2011 · 20946 comments2011-08-02+21%3A11%3A45sabrinamodel

in Life

I know I promised part four of Design and Branding 101 for food bloggers today, but I’m afraid I’m going to have to punt for a few days. As many of you may know, we are moving into our beautiful new rental home. While it’s only two miles down the road, it seems like an epic journey. Packing has taken up almost every ounce of energy I have, and while I do tend to think I can do just about everything in the course of a week, sometimes that’s just not true.

I promise to bring you an awesome post based on the presentation that Irvin and I did at Blog Her Food in the coming days. Also, this Thursday is my birthday. I’ll be making myself a birthday cake- the flavor of which has been crowd-sourced. You can still weigh in here! Oh, and in honor of the big 3-8, Foodzie will be giving away a tasting box! How cool is that?

Until then, enjoy some recent photos.

SF Chefs Food and Wine is this is coming up this weekend. Have you gotten your tickets?

Here are some photos from the salumi and beer pairing preview event where I had an absolutely blast. Talk about unprecedented access to chefs: I learned more about Paul Canales and Staffan Terje than you can possibly imagine. I’ll never tell, but I can say, the SF Chefs is the perfect place to gain behind the scenes knowledge of some of your favorite … get the recipe

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Quinoa Cakes & A Big Move

by sabrinamodel on July 26, 2011 · 203911 commentsQuinoa+Cakes+%26+A+Big+Move2011-07-26+13%3A00%3A41sabrinamodel

in Breakfast, Life, Recipe, Vegetarian

I am in the midst of a move, which means I’m packing boxes, cleaning house, and sneaking in my writing time just about whenever I can. Cooking, however, has just not been on the list of priorities. This is partly because I’m so incredibly busy, partly because I am ready to say goodbye to my old kitchen with it’s funky stove, mismatched 80’s tile and hideous cabinetry (one cabinet actually has $25 marked in grease pencil high in the corner). I am so ready to move into our new 1940’s era house which still has it’s 1940’s era tile (turquoise and black!!), even the paper lining the shelves in the cabinets is adorably vintage and in great condition. New appliances are on the way, AND I got to pick them out and contributed some extra money to upgrade them.

This house is so perfect for us. In the past, when I’ve closed my eyes, and pictured a home, it looks like this, with light streaming in from all sides. With mouldings that feature little details like swag bows. With skylights all over and a basement for hanging charcuterie and keeping my home canning projects! With a big garden (well, pile of weeds which will soon be a garden). With plenty of space for Joshua to work on his various projects but not be too far away like he was in our last house. It’s just perfect.

But back to the present… take out! In the form of sushi, dim sum, … get the recipe

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Brunching at The Ritz- Beach View, Caviar, & Kitchen Tour. Yes Please!

by sabrinamodel on July 24, 2011 · 20161 comment2011-07-24+18%3A00%3A28sabrinamodel

in Breakfast, Life

I often wonder what it’s like to live the life of a full time food-writer. Would I wake up in the morning, flip open my calendar to see it chock full of assignments and exciting travel? Would I look over notes from my editor as I sipped my morning cup of maté. Could I generally take my time answering emails until I’d walked the dog and fed the chickens? Yes, in my full-time food writer fantasy, I have chickens.

As it stands now, I write two-three pieces a week for The Tomato Tart, two per month for Mission Local and I’ve just been bumped up to two per week for Treehugger’s Green Wine Guide (starting September 1). I also work a pretty cool full-time job for an amazing company which I am fortunate to actually love.

Still, it was fabulous when, on Fourth of July weekend, I had the full-on fancy pants food writer fantasy fulfilled. Thanks to my amazing friend Steven Holt of The Ritz Carlton Northern California, I was treated to a behind the scenes kitchen tour and three-hour brunch at the Ritz Carlton Half Moon Bay. Previously, I had only enjoyed cocktails and Bellinis at this ocean-front hotel, but the brunch at their restaurant Navio has a fantastic reputation so I was really excited to sit down and eat as well as get a good behind-the-scenes peek at their kitchens.

The day could not have been more perfect. Anyone who is familiar with the California … get the recipe

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Chef Dominique Crenn + Watermelon Gazpacho with Compressed Cucumbers

by sabrinamodel on July 3, 2011 · 19675 comments2011-07-03+12%3A41%3A54sabrinamodel

in Life, Recipe, Soup, Vegan, Vegetarian

Last Saturday was fantastic. I mean really really great. I woke up, walked the dog, fussed around the kitchen a bit. Made some tart dough, got dressed in favorite summer dress and headed downtown to attend a cooking demo at Macy’s in union square.

I must admit this was my first time attending one of the culinary council’s demos (I’ll definitely go again). So, why now? Two words. Dominique Crenn. Chef Crenn is one of the hottest chefs in the country right now, and though I haven’t had the chance to dine at her extraordinary restaurant, Atelier Crenn, it has been at the top of my list since it opened earlier this year. I have it on excellent authority that we will be doing the 11 course tasting menu on my birthday!

I arrived early for the demo and had a chance to chat with Chef Crenn, a recent champ on Iron Chef (battle yogurt vs. Chef Symon). I dug her instantly and was thrilled to find that we share many of the same food philosophies. She spoke passionately of food as art, of soulful cooking, and of spending time eating and enjoying conversation and laughter with the people you love being an important part of an excellent meal. (see, I told you we shared a lot in our food Philosophy).

Helping with the demo/MCing the event was the utterly charming Liam Mayclem the host of Foodie Chap on KCBS. I also can’t say enough good … get the recipe

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Team Tomato Tart at SF Food Wars Pie or Die (part 1)

by sabrinamodel on June 14, 2011 · 189617 comments2011-06-14+08%3A36%3A56sabrinamodel

in Life, Sweets

You may have noticed that it’s been radio silence over here for more than a week, but if you follow me on Facebook or Twitter, you know that I’ve been waist deep in pie. SF Food wars Pie or Die took place over the weekend, and I was in my kitchen literally every spare moment of every day for the past couple of weeks.

I was set on developing a pie with flakiest crust imaginable, the sweetest honey mead caramel, bruléed nectarines from Blossom Bluff Orchards, and juicy sweet blackberries cooked in blackberry honey wine. I want to give a huge thanks to Driscoll’s Berries who donated their luscious organic blackberries for my pie. The berries are so rich in flavor, juicy, and sweet and the folks that work there are pretty darned sweet too.

Saturday morning, my darling friend Kimmie from Full Circle Adventures arrived from San Diego. I love Kimmie for this, you see, she just packed up and moved from San Francisco about two weeks ago. Kimmie is an amazing baker (and storyteller), she kept me calm in the kitchen during a series of setbacks and made this weekend more fun than I can tell you. You can follow Kimmie on Twitter and Facebook too for lots of cupcake talk, fun banter, and (if you were around last night) Mavs happiness.