Romney Steele, author of “My Nepenthe: Bohemian Tales of Food, Family and Big Sur,” will be chatting up her new book at 4 p.m. Sunday at Readers’ Books in Sonoma. If you’re in the neighborhood, stop by for some  lore and a glass of wine from Pisoni Vineyards. Part cookbook, part photography and part history and memoir, “My Nepenthe”  pays tribute  to the famous restaurant perched on the cliffs of Big Sur that was created by Steele’s grandparents,  Bill and… Read More »

Everyone’s giving Christmas cookies this season, but how many cookies can we eat? Ok, don’t answer that. Every Christmas, in an effort to be a little bit healthy, I make a big batch of granola and give out bags of the crunchy goodness to family and friends. This year, I even sent some to my cousin in Alaska, with some of his favorite jasmine tea. Here’s a recipe for homemade granola from The Inn at Occidental. If you use a… Read More »

 Bravo TV’s “Top Chef Las Vegas” shifted  from the Nevada desert to the vineyards of Napa  last week, after whittling down  its contestants to the final four. During  Part 1 of the Season Finale,  local foodies watched the contestants cook some serious Wine Country cuisine for guest judge Michael Chiarello of Bottega restaurant in Yountville.  They were asked to execute a grape-based  Quickfire Challenge on the  rollicking Napa Valley Wine Train and  a harvest party  Elimination Challenge  on the garden… Read More »