Lifestyles of the Rich and the Not So Famous

We returned yesterday from Naples to a hail storm and 30 mph winds here in Santa Fe - kind of a brutal homecoming. I could easily get used to winter in Florida. They were having record lows and it still seemed like summer to us. We wined, we dined, we slept in a crazy comfortable hotel king sized bed and, oh yeah, we did do a little bit of work. Our seven course meal we cooked (priced at a mere $10, 000 per guest) went off without a hitch. Here's me and Andy in our host's incredible, brand new kitchen. He's making gnocchi . . . I'm just looking pretty I guess.

The Naples Winter Wine Festival is a charity event to raise money for at risk children in the Naples area. Celebrity chefs and their entourages (Emeril being the only true celebrity as far as I'm concerned) are invited from all over the country to cook and schmooze with the filthy rich. Needless to say, we had a great time and drank a lot of really incredible wines. Andy made a list of most of the best ones we tasted; I just kept going back for more.

As pastry chef, I was only responsible for the last two courses of our dinner:

Tangerine Curd Tart

Caramelized Blood Orange, Honey Sabayon

Pomegranate Sorbet, Fresh Ginger Creme Anglaise

followed by a little plate of Mignardises: Chocolate Peppermint Cookie, Lemon Butter Cookie with Lemon Buttercream, and Mission Fig Almond Pope's Hat Cookie.

It goes without saying that after six other fabulous courses, they just nibbled at the last two but I try not to get my feelings hurt by that. Anyhoo, it was a great experience. This was my first trip out of town without the kids since they were born and I've definitely decided that needs to happen a bit more often. I kind felt like my old self again - not that my new mommy self is a bad thing; it just felt good to realize that I can still be sorta fun and good for a few laughs.

So Valentine's Day is just around the corner - time to dust off the craft table, not to mention decide what pie or other dessert might be worthy of my favorite holiday. Hearts, hearts, hearts! Oh, how I heart hearts!