liv bites

Luckily for me, part of being a food expert is developing a keen sense of taste. That means my culinary education has included several tasting sessions so far, including but not limited to: wine, caviar, champagne, smoked fish and coffee. Life is hard, no? Most recent was perhaps the most exciting spread of all: cheese! [...]

I truthfully cannot say enough good things about my instructor at cooking school. I’ve never met someone quite so approachable, yet whose approval I seek beyond all else. When Christmas rolled around, she reinforced just how amazing she is by giving each and every one of us students a hand-written card  and a bag of [...]

When it comes to food, my assistant and I agree on most things. He’s turned me on to his loves like olives and peppers, and I introduced him to the wonderful world of Greek yogurt. But there is nothing he loves more than meat — especially sausage. It constantly impresses me how he can sneak [...]

My cooking course is as traditionally French as it gets, so I have to admit I feel a little thrill when we make something that’s not covered in cream and cheese. Last week’s workshop was a truly special treat: Antipasti and Stuffed Pasta, two of my favorite foods to eat with a big glass of [...]

Every year on Christmas day, my sister and I wake up early in the same bed (it’s a Christmas Eve tradition). We still hobble downstairs in our pajamas, drink a cup of coffee and giddily open the presents that have been sitting under the tree with our names on them. Then my mom fixes us [...]

Jim Dodge, an acclaimed Bay Area baker, came into class before our winter break to teach us all how to make holiday breads. I had been looking forward to it all week, since bread-making has been one of my most favorite subjects we’ve focused on in school. And what happened during our holiday bread workshop [...]