Late Summer Gazpacho

September 21, 2019

In my opinion, there is absolutely nothing more delicious than a garden tomato pulled right off the vine, especially when it’s still warm from the summer sunshine. While the tomato season seemed impossibly late this year, we still have a TON of tomatoes on the vines both at our home and at the vineyard, which is a special treat this late in the game. When a full-blown 100 degree + heatwave kicked in last week, we decided to make some gazpacho for guests coming through for the weekend. Truth be told, I’ve been dying to create a gazpacho since we were in France in May during one of the hottest heat waves they’ve ever had on record. During our adventures, we ducked into La Bastides de Gordes Palace, an absolutely stunning luxury hotel in the south of France, for a quick reprieve from the heat. We ventured to the bar for something cold and were met with a wonderful “surprise and delight” tray of gazpacho with our wine. It was such a welcomed break from the heavy cuisine we’d been enjoying during our trip and given the fact that we were so hot, and that the gazpacho was delivered without us even needing to ask, we were thrilled.

This recipe (modified slightly from the NY Times Best Gazpacho recipe after some trial and error) was what we decided to blend up last weekend and it was absolutely incredible. I have a feeling the heat isn’t totally gone for the year so hopefully you’re able to test it out before the season is over.

PS: Pair with one of my favorite Sauv Blancs if you’re in the mood 🙂

LATE SUMMER GAZPACHO
Yield: ~1 quart (eight 1/2 cup servings)
Wine pairing: Sauvignon Blanc

INGREDIENTS

2.25 lbs assorted vine ripened tomatoes, halved, cored, and seeded *see note below*
1 small/medium yellow or sweet onion, roughly chopped
1 clove garlic
1 Anaheim pepper, cored, seeded, and cut into chunks
1 medium cucumber, peeled and cut into chunks
2 tsp sherry or red wine vinegar
2 tsp sea salt + more for garnish
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil + more for garnish
6 basil leaves + more for garnish

*Note: We used a variety of tomatoes to maximize the depth of flavor. I used what we had ripe in the garden: heirloom, roma, and golden cherry tomatoes which I think pack the most flavor for your punch of the three. We did not seed the cheery tomatoes and opted to throw them in whole.

DIRECTIONS

Combine tomatoes, onion, garlic, basil leaves, and pepper in a high power blender (I use this one). Blend on high for 2 minutes.

While the motor is still running, add vinegar and 1 tsp. salt. Next, slowly add olive oil into the blender in a steady stream. If you have ever made your own mayonnaise, you may be familiar with this technique. Your gazpacho will start to emulsify into a wonderful whipped consistency with the addition of the olive oil.

Once all ingredients are thoroughly combined (total blending time of roughly three minutes), pour gazpacho through a fine mesh strainer or sieve, pressing mixture through with the back of a spoon if necessary. Discard solids and taste gazpacho for flavor. Add more salt, vinegar, or basil if needed and blend for one more minute if so.

Pour into a glass pitcher, cover, and refrigerate for 6 hours or overnight. When ready to serve, pour in chilled glasses (I used these), and garnish with a drizzle of olive oil, flakey sea salt, and a sprig of basil.

Pair with a crisp Sauvignon Blanc and enjoy! Cheers!

GAZPACHO ESSENTIALS:

2018 Harvest Party

September 6, 2019

I can’t believe it’s already been almost a year since our first harvest party at the vineyard, but October will mark twelve months since we hosted our inaugural fall celebration. Since we’re getting ready to host our second harvest party in just over a month, I’ve been looking back and reflecting a bit on what we did right, places to improve, and brainstorming new ideas with the team to make an even bigger impact this year. I can’t wait to spill the beans with you soon! First, a little context on 2018.

The weekend before our harvest party, my mom had a major surgery (hysterectomy, appendectomy, and multiple lymph node biopsy) to remove a massive ovarian cyst that had grown rapidly and turned into cancer over the course of the previous month. When she went into surgery, we weren’t sure what we were dealing with, but her incredible surgeon confirmed that it was cancer as my dad and I completely crumbled in the hospital waiting room. He was optimistic that they’d gotten it all and that she might not need further treatment based on what he was able to tell so we clung on to those words for the next few days. Thankfully, later that week, we received the news that she was stage 1A (!!!!) and no further treatment was necessary, but recovering from such a major surgery was going to be difficult. We were absolutely ecstatic at the news, but knew we needed to focus on her getting better. Her post-operative delirium was terrifying to say the least and she needed 24-7 monitoring by my dad and I following the surgery. We took turns sleeping, him usually at night, while I took the night shift to make sure she didn’t try to walk around by herself or put strain on her healing incision getting in and out of bed.

The week leading up to our harvest party was more physically and mentally trying than ever before in my life. My mom has always been my rock, but has been an even bigger sense of help and stability in the years since acquiring the vineyard. Being a caretaker for her that week filled me with gratitude for how lucky we’ve been as a family in terms of health, but was also crushing knowing that so many families don’t get that same prognosis. Every single day and moment is a gift. What kept me going that week was knowing that every chance we have to connect people with our mission to help make the world a better place, by funding clinical trials for other women fighting diseases, funding meals for children fighting hunger, funding fire re-build efforts and more, should not be taken for granted. This is what we were going to be doing at our harvest party – highlighting worthy causes that needed our help.

Our first Harvest Party was absolutely stunning, totally moving, and went off without a hitch! I’m SO excited for round two this year and I’m thankful that my mom is here with us, healthy, and will be bringing her talent to the table once again 🙂 We have so much to celebrate in 2019!

I’ll be sharing more details soon, but in the meantime, take a look at last year’s event! Since it was our first harvest party, we kept things simple with heavy apps and fairly simple and economical decor (lots of greens and fall foliage, simple bud vases with seasonal florals, bowls of seasonal fruit to be snacked on or repurposed after the event – one of my favorite event decor hacks). Let me know what you think! Cheers!

{we kept details simple with bud vases and bowls of seasonal fruit}

{guests were greeted with a delicious apple cider mimosa}

{one of my favorite bars I’ve ever styled! those colors! bar & back-bar by found rentals}

{our beautiful and incredibly talented winemaker, Mari Coyle}

{our architect, David Rulon, with his daughter, Gabby}

{Rob Mondavi Jr., Mari Coyle, and my husband, Jake}

{Jake and I with two of our largest partners and close friends, Erik & Deborah Anderson}

{Our friends and longtime supporters, Deb & Brian}

{Incredible presentation by our friend and immensely talented photographer, Laura Schneider}

{tour of the winery (under construction)}

Life Lately: Golden Hour

August 23, 2019

Tuesday evenings generally consist of a pilates class for me before I head home for the night to make dinner and unwind. Last Tuesday, however, following a VERY long interview with a very passionate candidate, I wound up missing my class and found myself at work a little later than normal. The last 60 minutes before sunset are almost always golden at the vineyard, but on this particular night, the light was exceptional. I wound up strolling through the garden and vines, camera in tow, to capture just a sliver of nature’s magic.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

[ view to the pathway/entry to the garden at the vineyard ]

[ tobacco drying racks currently being used as make-shift gates until our “real” gate gets installed ]

[ our green beans took off like wildfire and are finally climbing the arch into the garden! ]

[ the tiniest green beans! ]

[ the light on the vines was incredible! ]

[ august cabernet grapes ]

Sauvignon Blanc Harvest / 2017

October 23, 2017

UPDATE: I wrote this post before the devastating fires that swept through Napa, Sonoma, Lake County and Mendocino beginning October 9th-20th, 2017. I’ll share my thoughts on the fires and how it impacted our community as soon as I get my head back above water. xo – Meg

In Napa Valley, harvest is one of the first indications that the seasons are changing. This summer was so jam packed with work, sourcing trips, events, photo shoots, and multiple design projects, that the 2017 harvest season arrived shockingly fast. When our Director of Wine at ONEHOPE called to tell me that we were going to be harvesting our Sauvignon Blanc on August 24th, while ecstatic that I was going to be in town to shoot, I was simultaneously a little bummed that summer was really coming to a close and that it felt like it had passed by in a blink. Now that pumpkins and fall produce have arrived in stores and the temperatures are cooling with particularly chilly mornings, I’m choosing to embrace it and I’m looking forward to a change in pace after a marathon of a summer. Here are a few of my favorite shots from that day.

PS: I blogged about harvest last year here and how monumental it was in shaping my views on the Mexican American farmworkers here in Napa Valley. Watching this crew harvest 12 tons of grapes by hand in just under three hours only reaffirmed my views that we need to be taking care of our farmworkers here, not only in the wine industry, but in agriculture in general. As consumers become more and more conscious of how and where their food is being farmed, I hope they also pause to think about where their wine is coming from and the work behind it, the next time they open a bottle. I’m so honored to be working for a company that cares so much about the production process and the people behind it. Cheers!

Fig + Prosciutto Salad with Almond Milk Ricotta

September 21, 2017

Currently in Napa, the mornings are crisp, the vines are changing color, and harvest is in full force. It’s clear that fall is just around the corner (tomorrow in fact) and that summer days are coming to a close. I always get a burst of energy when the seasons start to change and I feel it in the fall more than any other time of the year. A new wave of productivity usually takes over for me and I’m inspired to cozy up and try new recipes with a different influx of produce at the market and in the garden. Just as sweet summer stone fruit is winding down for the year, figs reach their ideal ripeness between the end of August and early September in Northern California. Using nectarines and brown turkey figs as our jumping-off point for a late summer salad, I completed the dish with almond milk ricotta, arugula, a simple vinaigrette and Viognier to pair.

I asked our Director of Wine at ONEHOPE, Mari Coyle what wine she would pair with this and she said, without a doubt, Viognier. I was delighted, as Viognier has become one of my favorite varietals since Jake introduced it to me six or seven years ago. I asked Mari for some background on why she selected this wine and she said, “the nectarine brings out the stone fruit flavors in the Viognier, while the figs compliment the spicy ginger and honey notes in the wine. Rhone whites are often mineral-like in flavor with viscosity like honey. This minerality seeks salt, found in the Prosciutto. Arugula plays off the spicy notes again and a little Ricotta sets the stage for the honey dressing which oozes to complete the perfect Viognier pairing.”

Wham bam. Sounded fabulous. And it was. Enjoy!

FIG & RICOTTA SALAD
Yield: 1 serving
Wine Pairing: Viognier

INGREDIENTS

4 tbs. Kite Hill Almond Milk Ricotta
1-2 brown turkey figs, sliced
1 nectarine, sliced
3 oz. prosciutto, very thinly sliced
1/4 cup arugula

Dressing
2 tbs. olive oil
2 tbs. red wine vinegar
1 tbs. honey
1 clove garlic, minced
salt & pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

Using the back of a spoon, spread ricotta irregularly on a plate or platter.
Form prosciutto into small bunches (one slice of prosciutto per bunch) and stagger the bunches along the outside of your plate.
Fill in negative space with sliced figs and nectarine.
Top with arugula and drizzle dressing over top.
Serve with ONEHOPE Viognier.

PS: Nervous about almond milk cheese? I was too. Here’s a little (actually kind of long) back story on my relationship with nut milk cheeses…

I haven’t talked about it much over here, but I made a complete 180 in terms of my diet and lifestyle this year. With major cleanups to my diet and a new found love for pilates, I’ve tried to reverse years of careless eating and have seen incredible changes to both my health, both physically and mentally. My goal in January was to lose 30 lbs before I turned 30 (April! A bit of an aggressive goal), but when I found pilates and dropped inches while building more muscle mass than I’ve had since college, it became less about the number and more about how amazing I was feeling. I made it down to 22 lbs lost by my 30th and I’m hovering at 25-27 lbs lost now, knowing that one day I’ll drop those last 5 or so. For now I’m happier and feeling better than ever.

A big part of my diet change was cutting out dairy almost entirely. I’ve mentioned this before, but having grown up in the midwest, dairy, particularly cheese, was a huge part of my diet growing up. It was unfathomable to eat eggs, a salad, a sandwich, chili, literally almost anything without cheese. I LOVE cheese. After moving to California and getting into the wine industry where cheese is one of the most prominent pairings for wine, my love for cheese only grew with the discovery of burrata, Humboldt Fog, Truffle Tremor, triple cream brie… it was endless.The thought of a nut milk based cheese irked me and I refused to give them a try until I scrolled past a picture on Instagram. The shot was of a fully loaded sandwich with a delicious combination of sprouted bread, turkey, avocado, jalapeno sauerkraut, and Kite Hill almond milk cream cheese. WHAT?! I hopped on to Kite Hill’s site to see where they were sold and were conveniently at my local Whole Foods. I picked up a package on my next visit and gave it a try. It was love.

When I started seeing figs in the market, I picked some up and started scouring the internet for some new fig recipes to try. A frequent combination that intrigued me was ricotta with sliced figs and honey. I knew that Kite Hill had an almond milk ricotta that would be perfect for this dish and it truly was. I can’t wait to explore some more recipes with almond milk cheese this fall. Cheers!

Have an Adventurous Weekend!

June 10, 2017

{Tuscany 2016}

What are you up to this weekend? My parents AND sister have officially moved to California so we are all getting together for our first dinner together since they all became California residents. I’m so excited! This is a tremendous step for our family and having them near by for the first time in eight years fills my heart to the brim.

On a totally separate note, we haven’t done any major travel this year and in the midst of so much chaos at work, I’m really starting to really get that itch to go somewhere new. Seeing friends jetting off to Europe and Asia has my awakened my inner travel bug and I’m craving the disconnect and adventure of being in some place totally foreign. Are you doing any big traveling this year? Where are you headed?

Cheers!

Meg

Cleaning It Up // Easter Leftovers

April 19, 2017

One of the greatest things about any major holiday (aside from gathering with friends and family) is the food. And one of the greatest things about the food is the leftovers. From Thanksgiving turkey and stuffing sandwiches, to ham and cheesy potatoes after Easter, leftovers always give me something to look forward to after our families have returned home and life goes back to normal post-holiday.

That being said, I’ve done a major overhaul on my diet and lifestyle this year and I know how easy it is to get completely derailed by a holiday. I vowed to not let that happen and I’ve been more successful than ever at bouncing back after work travel, birthday celebrations, etc. However, in the sake of tradition, I didn’t want to completely change our family’s Easter menu and I inevitably ended up with (easily a week’s worth) of leftovers that I knew were going to kill my stomach if I indulged. In an effort to hang on to the holiday for just one more day, I decided to whip up an Easter “bowl” that would allow me the nostalgia while also being a lot better for me than filling up on dairy and sugar.

I wanted to keep that “honey baked” ham flavor, without the prosed cane sugar, so I made a simple dressing with a tiny bit of honey and dijon mustard to pay homage to the classic. What I love about this dish is that it’s full of vitamins from the greens and healthy fat & protein from the egg. While there are a decent amount of carbohydrates in the quinoa (check your labels), it’s a superfood that’s packed with protein and will fill you up without spiking your blood sugar, causing an inevitable crash later. See what I did below:

Easter Bowl

INGREDIENTS

A few pieces of leftover ham (we only glazed half of our ham so I pulled these pieces from the unglazed half)
1/2 cup prepared quinoa
1-2 cups greens (I used spring mix)
1 egg
2-3 tbs dressing (recipe below)
Salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

Prepare quinoa (or reheat 1/2 cup if using leftovers).
When quinoa is within 5 minutes of being finished, fill a sauce pan 2/3 full of water and bring to a boil to poach your egg. I follow these instructions and they’ve never failed me.
After your water is heating, place ham in a small skillet over low heat and prep your dressing (below).
Once all components are complete, assemble your bowl, drizzle with dressing, and finish with freshly cracked pepper & a touch of salt. Enjoy!

Dressing (serves two so serve half and store remaining dressing for up to 1 week in the fridge)

INGREDIENTS

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tbs. dijon mustard
1 tbs. balsamic vinegar
1 tsp. raw honey

DIRECTIONS

Combine all dressing ingredients and whip together with a fork or whisk until well combined and texture is consistent.

What do you think? What’s your favorite way to repurpose holiday leftovers?

Spring in Napa

April 18, 2017

Swung by the vineyard on Friday to give the girls from Found Rentals a tour. So grateful for sunshine!

Happy Tuesday! I hope you had a lovely Easter or Passover weekend with loved ones! My parents were in town so it made for a fun and delicious day in the kitchen. Northern California has had the wettest year on record with Easter being no different, so while it wasn’t bright and sunny like last year, it made for a cozy afternoon of cooking and table setting with my mom and dad. Jake and I celebrated my 30th (for the final time!) at The French Laundry the night before with friends (Megan, who was also turning 30 and Erik, Megan’s fiancé and Jake’s college friend & business partner), so we were really feeling Saturday’s wine consumption – ha! The low key Easter celebration was just what the doctor ordered. Here are a few snaps from the weekend!

PS: I wanted to acknowledge what a privilege it was to celebrate at the iconic French Laundry. As two foodie couples, this was a dream of all of ours and we took some time to reflect on that before dinner. Jake and I decided that 2017 was going to be a year of experiences, not things, and it was truly an experience that I’m so thankful for and that I’ll never forget.

F R I D A Y // Happy place

Tiny clusters of Sauvignon Blanc forming.

SATURDAY // The French Laundry (iPhone snaps)

Had to grab a group shot in front of the famous blue door.

Excited and anxiously awaiting the first course!

Kitchen tour! The energy was magnetic. There was plenty of hustle bustle, but I was shocked at how calm, collected, and genuinely kind the staff was. They made us feel more than welcome and even offered to take pictures for and with us.

S U N D A Y // Easter

Easter table with my mom. Recreated last year’s look (more details here).

Spring strawberry salad with pomegranate vinaigrette, candied walnuts, and feta.

My dad’s famous Deviled Eggs (with parsley ironically resembling the Michigan mitten).

So thankful for my parents. It was truly wonderful having them here and I can’t wait for them to be officially California residents in six weeks!

Hello Spring!

April 14, 2017

Spring has arrived in Napa Valley and I always seem to have a new burst of creative energy when the seasons change. Excess creative energy inevitably leads me to my little home on the web which is how I ended up here! There are so many things that have gone down in the past few months that I haven’t shared, but below is a quick rundown without diving into too many details.

Estate8 is moving along faster than ever (drywall starts next week)! I’ve been posting about this pretty regularly over on Instagram so you’re probably pretty up to speed if you follow me over there.
My parents officially bought a home in Vacaville, CA (about 30 minutes from our home) and I could not be more thrilled for them to move here in June! They’re visiting right now to get their new home spruced up and move-in ready in about six weeks.
My sister and her husband decided to move to California as well and are officially enroute to the west coast! This was the biggest shock for me of all and I seriously can’t believe they’re moving here!!! I’ll share more on this story at another time because it’s a good one!
I turned 30! It’s still setting in so more on that later too… ha!

Things have been crazy busy while trying to juggle the Estate8 project and still keep up with my real full time job at ONEHOPE so I hadn’t had time to think about Easter (one of my favorite holidays) until last week. Since we’re hosting some friends and family and there was no real time to try to think of something new for our table this year (and because I loved last year’s so much), I decided to stick with almost the exact same look. I was flipping through pictures from 2016 and realized I never shared these so I figured I’d get them up here on the blog.

The inspiration for it all started when my parents and I were exploring St. Helena a few years ago and I found these tiny, vintage farm animal caricatures at a resale shop. I had no idea what I’d ever use them for and my mom thought I was crazy, but at $20 for the set, I knew I had to have them. I believe they were labeled as cupcake toppers, but last Easter I decided to put one at everyone’s place setting as a starting point for the look and took things from there. I had these rose wine glasses on hand from a photo shoot, picked up some peachy pink napkins (similar) and a vase (similar), pulled out my gold flatware, tossed in some simple florals from Trader Joe’s and we were ready to go! I’ll be recreating the look on Sunday and I can’t wait for everyone to gather round. Wishing you a very happy Easter or Passover! Cheers!

PS: Links to the products I used (or similar) are below if you want to recreate this look in your home for a spring brunch or dinner. xoxo

Wine Wednesday / Cabernet Harvest

November 2, 2016

A few weeks ago, I had the honor of being at our first Cabernet harvest since Jake and I moved up to Napa. Our Sauvignon Blanc harvest was pretty mind blowing (I wrote about it here and here) so I was excited to get in the vines for the second round of the year. This time, however, our winemaker asked me to meet him at Clos du Val after all of our grapes were picked so that I could participate in sorting for the first time. I was so slammed that day, but dropped everything to be there. Having the opportunity to sort grapes with our winemakers, Tony Coltrin and Rob Mondavi Jr. who are legends in the valley, was far too awesome of an opportunity to pass up. Here are some of my favorite shots from that day.