Professional Eater, Storyteller, and Wine Traveler
Here is The Blissful Adventurer 2012 Year in Review Haiku. Haiku was one of my most successful creative expressions here in the blog world in 2012 I want to share some of the best of the best with you all today for my final blog of 2012; easily the most successful year I have a had as a storyteller. [Read more...]
Trieste Canal
Friuli Friday Photos Finale is my final Friday blog of 2012. These shots are from an extraordinary spring adventure in Friuli-Venezia-Giulia and one from the Veneto just next door. We are in Northeast Italy here, in a land still seeking an identity after changing hands frequently in the 19th and early 20th centuries. I never would have thought I would have eaten the best sauerkraut of my life in Italy, and I did. Tall people, Fascist art, pork in a dozen ways on one plate, my kind of weirdness shared with friends. Nicolas Emery, the famous Rubicon explorer, his fiancée Giulia Laveto (aka juujee), and of course The Schmee were all present and on board for wine, food, and Friuli. [Read more...]
True for me and these fine bloggers
The Most Influential Blogs of 2012 is my tribute to some of the finest work on the web done by caring curators of quality and passion. These individuals and their work gives me cause to pause on my birthday today to celebrate along with them because of what their influence means to my work. For those of you looking to find truth in advertising, look no further than these fantastic sites. [Read more...]
The Blissful Adventurer – 2012 Blog of the Year
Imagine my surprise when I clicked on the link from Cara Olsen to her outstanding blog This Little Light and saw she had selected me among a few of her very talented peers as Blog of the Year for 2012. Cara herself had received the honor and as the protocol dictates shared her love and recognition with other writers she admires in the same vein. Cara, as many of my readers already know, is a novelist/blogger of exceptional mettle and integrity. Her work proves one can have faith and a firm grasp of the human condition and that they are not mutually exclusive. To be chosen by such a talented scribe is truly a blessing in these end of 2012 days. Thank you Cara Olsen. You are blessed and blessed with good taste 
[Read more...]
Rodin Sculpture Garden – Stanford University
Hipstamatic fun photo Friday is a joyful exploration of the depths in iPhone photography that help me to document The Blissful Adventurer. These images represent my particular vision of the images I see and are intended to alter mood and shift perspective. Hipstamatic is an application for mobile phone cameras that has inspired me since its inception and I hope very much it remains a fixture in the app world. [Read more...]
Ghost Rock Canyon – Utah (Hipstamtic, Snapseed, Old Photo Pro)
Fun Friday Photos is a new segment for me to show creative techniques and experimental photos that exude playful, whimsical, or dramatic twists on their original counterparts. I like the idea of sharing a bit of my behind the scenes work and I hope you all will enjoy telling me your thoughts.
Happy Friday everyone and enjoy the images. [Read more...]
Risotto alla Carbonara
IMO Thursday this week sets out to explain a bit of my passion for risotto and blissful experimentation. A few days ago the phenomenal Italian wine writer and philologist Jeremy Parzen posted a wonderful article on the origins of La Carbonara. In the article Jeremy goes down a few theories of how the famous pasta with bacon and egg sauce got its name. As always I was intrigued by Jeremy’s excellent research and interesting way he makes the communication of facts so easy to follow and entertaining. [Read more...]
The Trulli Cones of Gelso Bianco
Italy Images from a Month on the Boot is a 3 part series of photos I have found deep in the annals of my iPhone from this past May in Italy. I have recently attended some seminars on iPhone photography and I am getting better at creating images that I believe invoke the feelings I have when I travel.
I took the shot above at the wondrous Masseria Gelso Bianco in Puglia, Italy. This facility owned by my very dear friend Antonello Losito is one of the most stunning properties along the heel of the boot. The 5 bedroom villa with pool, 11 trulli (the conical-shaped iconic roofs of the area), and a world-class professional kitchen is the perfect getaway for family or friends to one of Italy’s culinary and scenic gems. Staying here felt like coming home to a place I will always treasure. I loved being on the roof and shooting this shot as I watched the sun sink after a very rare rain shower. [Read more...]
Real Risotto for Real Joy
This post is taken from something I did last year. I have made risottto more than 300 times in my life and I believe mine is right up there with the best I have had. If you want this rice to blow your doors, follow my lead here and make it like a champion.
Recently, and likely often, I have risotto on the brain. When I began my article on the subject last week I actually intended to share some favorite tips with you and I digressed into telling a passionate college story.
Now I would like to share with you some things I do to make risotti my friends and family enjoy. I have two classes of risotto that I make: A weeknight version with commercially produced stock and a “Special Occasion Risotto” with homemade stocks and usually something like chanterelles or truffles in the mix.
Today I am explaining the basic Risotto Milanese (giallo) taught to me by my dear friend Benjamin and augmented by yours truly over the years.
Great Risotto begins and ends with the Rice:
The King of Rice [Read more...]
75 Years and Still Amazing
San Francisco – The California Move (Arrival)
Our first full week in California culminated with a picnic with friends in Crissy Field with friends. The Golden Gate Bridge is celebrating its 75th anniversary all year and I must say she still looks amazing. [Read more...]
