Denise Ward's Page

Living on the Central Coast can be overwhelming this time of year. With Farmers' Markets occurring almost every day of the week, Farm Stands dotting the countryside, it becomes difficult to decide what to cook and how! I've recently started offering a series of cooking classes to help showcase produce and products that abound here. The first class will be July 9th and will feature:

Baby Arugula with Stackhouse Farms Peaches and Greensward Nurseries Sunflower Greens
This course will… Continue

There is simply nothing better that a good food and wine pairing. Last week's "Winemaker Dinner" was simply awesome. A group of six participants and myself prepared a fantastic menu. We began with pan-seared scallops which we served on a bed of farro flavored with fresh thyme and mushrooms. We began with Silver Mountain's Chardonnay. It is like no other Chardonnay....made from estate grown, organic grapes from the Santa Cruz Mountains. It is crisp and dry with a lingering oak finish.

Fo… Continue

Well, I may a little behind the curve on this, but the other day my craving for Moroccan flavor for my spaghetti squash dish was the vehicle for my discovery. Since I cook with mostly fresh herbs I rarely dig through some of my dried spices stuffed away in the rack. But when I examined by ground Coriander I realized that it must have been long past it's "recommended 3 months in the pantry". So, I headed to our wonderful New Leaf market to see if they carried spices in bulk. And they do! So, I gr… Continue

Friday night we offered a Girls' Night Out cooking class. The menu was the result of a competition we held during the summer called the "Chowhound Challenger". Participants submitted menu ideas for what they considered to be a fun collection of food and drink that "girls" could really appreciate. The winner, Dornia Hoffer, suggested preparing the types of foods that are a bit fussy, delicate, and not at all manly. There would be no Barbeque sauce at this meal and definitely no meat or potatoes (… Continue

I've just returned from an amazing,albeit frigid, visit to Bavaria. For me, most vacations are defined by their culinary experiences and this trip was no exception. After having been away from Germany for 10 years I needed to know if my memories of the delectable Kaiserschmarrn had become loftier than the reality. What I hadn't realized is just how many variations of this Austrian specialty there are. It is basically a pancake-type mixture made with eggs, flour, and milk that can be somewhat scr… Continue