I have never liked my birthday. Not for the fact of birthdays, any excuse to have a party, but for the date - December 26^th - Boxing Day, the day that people recover from Christmas celebrations, pen their New Year resolutions, and gear up for the next holiday. That is until this year.

Then, there’s one of the greatest guys I’ve ever met, Chef Jeff Roberto (Sushi Jeff) of Sushi on a Roll. He was one of the most gracious and entertaining hosts we’ve had the pleasure to work with. Sushi on a Roll (SOAR) is a really cool sushi only catering company.

If you know me, you know I love a good braise, especially one marinated in an entire bottle of Pinot Noir.  The recipe I found for Beef Daube (pronounced Dob) was ideal for a Sunday.

Today, I had an unexpected culinary surprise, all because of a very well prepared piece of toast.

I’m a lunch & dinner kind of gal, and I’m not a real fan of breakfast foods. So, what the heck is it about the Saturday morning feast that changes the whole paradigm?

Although tamed down and classed up, we hit the road with all the same zeal of a college road trip. Arguably, there are few better places for road trippin’ than Arizona. This time, we pointed south to a small part of Arizona we had yet to explore but had heard a lot about, Sonoita and its wine country.