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It’s rosé season! I’ve always been on board with sipping rosé in the summer months, but in recent years it’s become a real trend. Everywhere I go I see the #yeswayrosé hashtag, right along with #roséallday. While I don’t recommend downing a bottle a day, I do think rosé has a rightful place among the most refreshing wines of summer. I am still working hard on my WSET degree and part of that includes reading as much as about wine in my free time as possible. Thankfully, my rosé knowledge just got a huge boost from Victoria James’s delightful new book, Drink Pink: A Celebration of Rosé. Illustrated by Lyle Railsback, this fun book is informative and enlightening. It covers the entire history of rosé, since, despite its recent trendiness it has been around for centuries, and includes several delicious recipes.

Here is a recent chat I had with Victoria, and a chance to win her new book!

1) Rosé has experienced a huge boom in popularity in the past few years yet it’s been around for a long time! What motivated you to write this book now?

It is true, rosé has been around since the 8th century BCE! However, it has never been as relevant as it is today. In the United States it is the largest growing category in wine. Today producers are making rosé for the sake of making rosé, it is not simply a byproduct of red wine production or something made from rotten grapes or young vines. Since they now are able to command higher price points for rosé (20 years ago they could never charge $35+ for a bottle!) there is a lot of focus going into high-quality winemaking. This is happening all over the world.

DRINK PINK came out at a time when rosé is trending, in an effort to combat the low-quality swill that puts pink wine in jeopardy as a serious category. I wanted to write a book that celebrates exceptional producers and styles of rosé. Hopefully, people will start demanding the good stuff and put the “lifestyle brand” and large corporations to shame.

I first met Ali Stafford several years ago at a gather in New York. Since then I’ve been following her wonderful blog, Alexandra Cooks, and was so excited when her first book was published last month. It is called Bread Toast Crumbs: Recipes for No-Knead Loves and Meals to Savor Every Slice and is easily the best ever guide to bread baking I’ve ever read. The key? She starts off with a family no-knead bread recipe that is hands down amazing. From there is riffs on all kinds of breads with add-ins and flavors, all of which are easy to make. She also features a whole chapter on recipes featuring toasted bread and, finally, a chapter featuring bread crumbs. It is basically all you’ve ever wanted to know about bread and I couldn’t be happier to share the little chat we had:

1) This book is so inspired! It is clear that homemade bread has been a staple in your life forever. How did you come up with all the different variation on baked breads that are in this book?

Thank you! Yes, homemade bread has been a staple in my life for as long as I can remember. My mother seemed to always have a bowl of bread rising on the counter, and she always had a stash of sliced bread in the freezer, which we used for toast every morning. What’s funny in regard to your question about creating the variations of the peasant bread is that I didn’t make a single variation of my mother’s bread until I posted the recipe on my blog, which led to readers writing in sharing their own variations and asking questions about how to adapt the recipe in various ways.

So, the first goal in creating variations of the bread was to address the questions I had been asked over the years: How can I incorporate nuts and seeds? How can I add cheese? How can I add spices and herbs? How can I incorporate whole wheat flour or other flours into the bread? Can I use beer or milk in place of the water? Once I had recipes that demonstrated how to make these simple substitutions, I thought about the classics: brioche, cinnamon-swirl bread, anadama, white sandwich bread, whole wheat sandwich bread, hamburger buns, etc. Once those recipes were included, my editor suggested thinking about how we could push the simple peasant bread even further: monkey bread, pizza, pull-apart dinner rolls, focaccia, pissaladière, etc. My mother, with whom I wrote the book, loved working on the variations and still comes up with creative adaptations. A recent favorite of hers replaces ¼ cup of the liquid with fresh orange juice, and she adds fresh orange zest along with 1/3 cup of sesame seeds.

Beautiful gemstone soap. (Lief Shop, $6 each)

Dinner Chez Moi, a delightful cookbook to inspire her summer cooking (Amazon, $16)

A candle that smells like the south of France. (Food52 Shop, $48)

Fun bon bon earrings for summer evenings with friends. (Tuckernuck, $78)

A selection of rosé from Martha Stewart’s Wine Co. Because a recommendation from Martha is always good! (Martha Stewart Wine Co, starts at $90)

The prettiest wreath for her door. (Terrain, $88)

Organic Dark Chocolate Spread. Obviously. (Le Pain Quotidien, $11.25)

A gift certificate for reflexology that will leave her feeling relaxed and reenergized. (Prices vary)

A lightening bolt necklace because she moves so fast! (Shinola, $190)

The cutest jewelry pouch for taking on travels! (Clare V, $75)

Mother’s Day is just around the corner and it’s time to start stocking up on her (your) favorites. Prosecco is one of my favorite drinks this time of year. Each bubbly sip is light and refreshing, and it pairs so well with all kinds of foods. It is reminiscent of champagne, but with a slightly sweeter flavor. Prosecco comes from a specific region on northern Italy, similar to the way Champagne comes from Champagne, France. It is known for being less expensive than Champagne since it is cheaper to produce, and is an excellent base for popular cocktails like Bellini’s and spritzers.

Earlier this month I received two bottles of Prosecco that were absolutely delicious and I want to share them with you in case you are looking for some guidance at the liquor store!

The Piera Martellozzo D.O.C. Extra Dry. The light, fruity bubbles make it perfect for pairing with light fish, shellfish, or a seafood scallops. We also loved the bottle of Mionetta Prosecco Brut. It features flavors of golden apples, pears, and slight honey-like sweetness. It is perfect for mixing with a little St. Germaine or peach purée to make a terrific Bellini. You can even enjoy either of these as an apertif!

(Disclosure: I was sent this wine to try and we really enjoyed it. We hope you do too!)

I almost called this an Easter cake but it really is so much more versatile than that. It is bright and cheery and perfect for spring. Yes, my children ate it for Easter, but it honestly could be served nearly any time of year. The best part is that the batter comes together in one bowl, which makes it convenient for anyone short on time or interest in doing dishes. I also was able to enlist the help of my 4 year old in making it to begin with – a fun project for both of us! Here is the recipe if you need a fun, quick recipe for this spring and summer. Enjoy!

Last month a super fun book arrived in the mail for me to peruse, Stirring up Fun with Food: Over 115 Simple, Delicious Ways to Be Creative in the Kitchen. Initially I figured it was just another celebrity cookbook, but upon further inspection I realized that it is not just a just-for-kicks publishing project. This book is, in fact, amazingly cool and features terrific recipes for families. Sarah Michelle’s whole premise is making food fun for kids. But the key is that it is regular food – not “kiddie” food that a parent would never want to try. Here she and Gia have taken delicious recipes and made them a little more fun for children, but kept them perfectly appealing for the whole family.

Luckily, I got to have a little e-chat with Sarah Michelle about her work and here are a few fun things she shared! :

Sometimes I buy bananas and they last for a week on the counter and the kids eat them all time. Other times they turn brown within 24 hours of coming home from the store! It’s so frustrating, but that just gives me another excuse to bake. In an attempt to break away from our favorite banana bread recipe I made this easy banana crumb muffins with our latest round of brown bananas.

When I get into a cooking rut the first thing I do is turn to recipes and books I love. Sometimes I just spend a week or so revisiting old recipes. Other times I decide to crack open favorite books and challenge myself to try something new. It can be anything from a full dinner recipe, to a quick baked treat, to a cocktail. There is no limit to what I’ll try and having someone else already have written the recipe for me a huge help. Not to mention, reading the recipes of others is a terrific learning opportunity. Hardly a recipe goes by when I don’t learn a new technique or flavor pairing.

It’s that season again…time for new books! I’ve been loving all the new covers I’ve seen popping up on my screen lately. It’s been wild to see all the good stuff that is coming out this spring. I can’t wait! Here are five books I’ve pre-ordered or ordered so far this season:

Provence to Pondicherry: Recipes from France and Faraway by Tessa Kiros. I am a longtime fan of Tessa’s and this book is one of her best. It is equal parts history book, travel companion, and cookbook. Fascinating and lovely, a joy to read. (released March 7th)

Dinner Chez Moi: 50 French Secrets to Joyful Eating and Entertaining by Elizabeth Bard. I’ve adored her previous books and cook from them all the time. I can’t wait to see this one! (coming April 4th)

The Wellness Project: How I Learned to Do Right by My Body, Without Giving Up My Life by Phoebe Lapine. I’ve been a longtime fan of Phoebe’s and I can’t wait to read her memoir. She’s had a long road battling autoimmune disease and in this book she bears all so we can learn from her journey to wellness. (coming May 16th)

Food52 Mighty Salads: 60 New Ways to Turn Salad into Dinner — and Make-Ahead Lunches, Too by the Editors of Food52. I basically buy all of their books and this oneis especially intriguing because I am psyched for summer produce! (coming April 11th)

Food52 Ice Cream & Friends: 60 Recipes & Riffs for Sorbets, Sandwiches, No-Churn Ice Creams, and More by the Editors of Food52. I am a huge fan of homemade ice cream and haven’t got a new ice cream cookbook in a while. Naturally, this looks amazing since it is from Food52 and I’ll be sure to get the ice cream machine out once it warms up! (coming April 11th)

I have to stop in today to share some cool stuff I just got from TripAdvisor. I’ve recently started working with them and I am so excited to dive into their brand. I’ve always loved using TripAdvisor for advice on where to eat and sleep when I travel. The site is without a doubt the most comprehensive travel site on the web and it is my first stop whenever I need information. People always write in with the best advice and I love reading their comments. Recently TripAdvisor teamed up with eBags on a new luggage collection and I was lucky enough to preview it.

Today I am catching up from two days of work on a super exciting new project I can’t wait to reveal. In the mean time, I have to post about this super recipe I found on My Little Paris when it landed in my inbox last week. It is a recipe from Poilane, one of the many amazing places we visited when we traveled to Paris a few springs ago. It is the best kind of sweet in that it is delicious and it barely takes any effort.

Pasta is my comfort food and there is no limit to the number of pasta dishes I’ll make. I wish I could make it every night, but in the name of excess that is definitely NOT a good idea. When I do make it I try to bulk it up with some vegetables and protein. This helps make the dish filling and nutritious, not just a giant bowl of carbohydrates.

The other night I made this easy angel hair pasta dish. I added lots of peas, stirred in cooked pancetta strips, and bound it all together in a light pink sauce. It is the perfect tasty yet light meal to enjoy on a weekday winter night. It was made even easier by the fact that the peas were Cascadian Farm Organic frozen peas served fresh from the freezer. It is so nice to have frozen product all stocked and ready to go in the winter when the local produce is not available! I warmed them up right in the sauce.