dinners with friends

An annual Easter tradition, this year in its 18th itineration.  A gathering of friends old & new for a scrumptious pot luck lunch, a boisterous sit down lunch in a converted barn, followed by...

http://www.dinnerswithfriends.com/2018/04/an-annual-easter-tradition-this-year-in.html

A visit to Latteria Studio had been on my list for a while, ever since meeting Alice Adams last year at Il Baciarino , where she was collaborating on Emiko Davies' second cookbook Acquacott...

http://www.dinnerswithfriends.com/2017/08/latteria-studio-rome-food-photo-studio-prop-rental-cooking-school.html

Last month has been unusually hot along the Mediterranean, with a hot Scirocco wind blowing from Africa meaning lazy days spent in the shade of our casetta patio, reading, relaxing and embracing...

http://www.dinnerswithfriends.com/2017/07/spaghetti-carbonara-maremmana-summer-recipe.html

Last month found us returning to the Colline Lucchesi, the fertile olive and wine growing hills surrounding Lucca, a region I had vowed to revisit after scouting culinary tour destinations for...

http://www.dinnerswithfriends.com/2017/08/lucca-hills-tuscan-farmhouse-dinner-airbnb-friends.html

A balmy summer evening in the rolling hills of Maremma, an annual birthday tradition and a surprise visit of old friends ... The occasion was Paola's annual birthday dinner, hosted by our fri...

http://www.dinnerswithfriends.com/2017/09/a-birthday-celebration-il-baciarino-vetulonia.html

Summer has arrived again, and as in the past couple of years we have escaped San Francisco's summer gloom and returned to Vetulonia, an Etruscan founded hilltop town nestled into the rolling hil...

http://www.dinnerswithfriends.com/2017/07/a-favorite-kitchen-and-rustic-table-in-the-maremma.html

We are back in Italy and what a treat to start off with a drive into the Tuscia region to join Alice Kiandra Adams  {proprietress of Latteria Studio and author of the always inspiring Rustic...

http://www.dinnerswithfriends.com/2017/06/lubriano-infiorata-sunday-lunch-in-with-alice-kiandra-adams.html

A couple of weeks ago we decided to take a road trip, driving from San Francisco to the California desert on a quest to see the desert in bloom. We followed the back roads from the Central Valle...

http://www.dinnerswithfriends.com/2017/05/mediterranean-inspired-flavors-in-desert.html

Yesterday brought a rare glimpse of sunshine to a week of dreary downpours, so spotting the Achilles Heel  pop up on Instagram was the perfect excuse for an impromptu escape from the office, h...

http://www.dinnerswithfriends.com/2017/03/tacos-cala-achilles-heel-pop-up-lee-desrosiers.html

It has been a crazy winter in California. After five years gripped in a near existential drought, this has been the wettest winter on record, with near biblical storms causing destructive landsl...

http://www.dinnerswithfriends.com/2017/02/big-sur-bakery-orange-marmalade-tart-favorite-cookbook.html

After spending the past holidays at home, this winter we felt a sudden rather sentimental urge to hop across the pond for Christmas in the "old world" among family and friends. And with the ...

http://www.dinnerswithfriends.com/2017/01/boulevard-leopold-bed-breakast-in-antwerp.html

We couldn't have asked for a more perfect first weekend of December: a crisp and sunny fall day turned into a glorious sunset and an almost balmy evening under the moon and stars.  After a l...

http://www.dinnerswithfriends.com/2016/12/a-swiss-cheese-fondue-under-the-stars.html

Even after calling California home for almost eighteen years now, I still have a somewhat ambiguous relationship with the Thanksgiving holiday. As expat orphans we have been lucky to be gracio...

http://www.dinnerswithfriends.com/2016/11/thanksgiving-picnic-with-friends-west-marin.html

SF AMATRICE Italy Earthquake Relief Fundraiser I ♡ San Francisco. This pretty much sums up the experience of SF AMATRICE,  the Italy Earthquake Relief Fundraiser I was honored to suppo...

http://www.dinnerswithfriends.com/2016/09/sfamatrice-italy-earthquake-fundraiser-san-francisco.html

Disclaimer: this post was supposed to go live months ago. Let's blame the jet lag ... returning from Europe just a  couple of days prior to this dinner, I ended up getting distracted with work/...

http://www.dinnerswithfriends.com/2016/11/full-buck-moon-dinner-west-marin.html

Walking into Intérieur No. 253 makes for a striking first impression - from the museum elevator you step into a narrow hallway, opening on both ends to grand dining halls with tall arched win...

http://www.dinnerswithfriends.com/2016/09/interieur-no-253-rolandseck-arp-museum-remagen.html

Before moving to San Francisco in the late 90s I lived in Cologne, in a classic apartment with tall ceilings overlooking Friesenplatz - and right across the street from "XX", pronounced Dos Equi...

http://www.dinnerswithfriends.com/2016/08/bar-schmitz-brasserie-restaurant-glacier-cocktail-bar-cologne.html

Finally a long overdue update on this blog, while still playing catch up with so many rolls of {digital} film after this year's #anItalianroadtrip ... After exploring the Colline Lucchesi , s...

http://www.dinnerswithfriends.com/2016/07/pizza-with-friends-olive-grove-mapitout-tuscany-anythingtuscan.html

The impromptu invitation to a summer lunch in the Florentine hills arrived a day before, in the form of a private cooking class hosted by cookbook author and blogger Emiko Davies  at the magic...

http://www.dinnerswithfriends.com/2016/07/florentine-emiko-davies-summer-cooking-class-lunch.html

A {late} dispatch from Maremma and what has turned into our home away from home ~ Il Baciarino , a rustic agriturismo nestled in the hills of Maremma, Tuscany's rugged coastal region. As we a...

http://www.dinnerswithfriends.com/2016/06/il-baciarino-vetulonia-cooking-at-la-dolce-vita.html

Traveling in Italy, I often wondered what it might be like living in one of the centuries-old villas that dot the Italian countryside. This summer, while scouting the Colline Lucchesi region for...

http://www.dinnerswithfriends.com/2016/08/visit-tenuta-di-valgiano-villa-explore-colline-lucchesi.html

This year's Italy adventure started off with one of those experiences that make me love traveling with Airbnb : we had arrived in Florence two days prior, hopped into our tiny rental car and es...

http://www.dinnerswithfriends.com/2016/05/matraia-valgiano-colline-lucchesi-farm-lunch.html

It's crazy how time flies by these days. I still remember Diego as a baby and have shared many meals with Diego and his parents, so it's not surprise he has made various appearances on this blog...

http://www.dinnerswithfriends.com/2016/05/a-sunny-birthday-lunch-for-young-and.html

Last Friday was one of those rare San Francisco days that start off with a pink sunrise, turn sunny  and windless - and actually stay balmy into the evening, making it the perfect night for a b...

http://www.dinnerswithfriends.com/2016/04/house-concert-windy-chien-nate-baker-the-renderers.html

After days of long awaited rain all over California, West Marin is exploding in spring colors right now, with lush rolling green hills and blooming wildflowers as far as the eye can see - and th...

http://www.dinnerswithfriends.com/2016/03/easter-egg-hunt-potluck-west-marin-in.html