My Three Latest and Best

Can I say how much I love chili dogs? It may be soley due the circumstances in which chili dogs are usually eaten -- outdoors and/or at sporting events. But I love chili dogs -- from Cincinnati-style with bitter chili and tons of shredded cheese to big, sloppy road trip chili dogs from Dairy Queen.

Sibo in Pittsburgh: Recently spent a weekend in Pittsburgh had so much great wine and food. From the dinner we cooked together to the wine we drank (and drank and drank) at Sibo, the hot spot of Cranberry and Mars. The surprise hit of the trip? The Murphy Goode Claret. Fantastic. Plus those spiced pecans we snacked on all weekend. So good!

Kudos Kudos Kudos to Steve Oakley, Lisa Cunningham and Brian Fowler for another phenomenal wine dinner at Oakley's Bistro. From the standing "o" duck (recreated from Steve's recent Cakebread workshops) to the '92 Cakebread Zin, it was all fantastic! My favorites of the evening? The 1992 Cakebread Cellars Howell Mountain Zin (of course!) and the really great 2003 Wente Reliz Creek Reserve Pinot Noir (a great buy for the money and a great food wine). If the evening had a star, for me, it was dessert and the Late Harvest Cabernet. Rumor has it one of the only Late Harvest cabs produced in Napa will soon be available in Indiana from Olinger -- the 2001 Van der Hayden Vineyards Late Harvest Cabernet Sauvignon -- with a phenomenal chocolate panna cotta with bingo barbecue caramel corn. Great work, everyone!