As the holiday week nears, we prepare in our home to celebrate Christmas en masse, as only can be accomplished when the Cichello clan gathers. Seven kids in ten years, all now with life partners, thirteen grandchildren, four dogs, and a bun in the oven. We are massive numbers, and now that so many of the grandchildren are grown adults, we ... Read More »
We had a fantastic Sunday night. Dennis wanted to make dinner. When he wants to cook, I have to force myself out of head chef mode, and accept instead the title of sous chef. Or just cheerleader sometimes. (Cue glass of wine.) Dennis was working on some appetizer recipes for Thanksgiving on Sunday. We tasted a Buffalo Chicken Dip, sinfully, ... Read More »
Ending my series of blogs from Ireland, I wrap with the final thoughts from our return flight home. We are a highly distractible family, admittedly. Okay, not my siblings and all, but me and my husband and kids, yes. A favorite line from The Holy Grail that personifies us, at the Bridge of Death while facing the Gorge of Peril: ... Read More »
A blog about food and wine… and controversy? Why not? If you can’t discuss controversial themes while sharing a glass of wine and some appetizers, well then will you just talk about the weather? Who has the right to keep information confidential? Edward Snowden – love him or hate him? While you might expect me, a hopeless leftie college professor ... Read More »
Apparently, the one week of 80+ degree weather that the Adirondacks had back in the beginning of May is all that we’re getting for summer here in the North Country. I should never have put away my long johns or packed up my winter sweaters. It was foolhardy behavior on my part. I mean, Lake Placid got 3 feet of snow ... Read More »
Some girls love it. I hate it. Pink. An entire clothing store with its name. The singer with that horrible name? Love her. She is edgy, and more about black leather than… than… PINK! Anna, co-blogger – where do you stand on pink? When it comes to wine, I find pink surprisingly appealing at this time of the year. This ... Read More »
La crisis. In Spain, the crisis needs no modifier – it’s not the economic crisis, it’s not the housing crisis, it’s not the unemployment crisis, it is simply the crisis. It is all of those and more. But in true Spanish fashion, at the same time, it is none of those. Spain, like many of its EU neighbors, is trying to emerge from worldwide ... Read More »
What are your all time favorite cities? Boston and DC on the east coast rate highest for me. San Fran knocked my socks off out west. But Madrid… Madrid holds a special place in my heart. De Madrid al cielo! From Madrid to heaven! That was the marketing slogan in place the first time I went to live in Madrid. ... Read More »
There are many roads to Santiago, and there are many reasons for walking there. Equally, there are many circumstances for how we all, as individuals, choose to walk the Camino. Today we arrived in Santiago, around 1:45 pm. We ran into people we knew in the plaza in front of the Cathedral, and snapped photos happily away, in a dry ... Read More »
Confession: I did not have the opportunity today to try my new niceness with our friends from Minnesota. I did, however, learn to ask more questions, as those same friends do often. Today’s lessons: 1. The horizontally trellised grape is called catalán rojo, and it makes a white wine, unless it is left to ferment, in which case it makes a rosé. ... Read More »
Sauced In New York Sometimes the food is in the sauce, sometimes we are