recently i got to go on a winter wonderland adventure in yosemite. i had never been before, and to be honest was not even sure exactly where it was (even when i was there), but i will go back for sure.

the ahwahnee hotel in the valley of the park is full of history and is a beautiful and charming place to stay. every january they host various chefs from all over the country for a series of events called 'chefs holidays'. somehow i was lucky enough to be one of these chefs this year. go hang in one of the most beautiful spots in the country and all the 'work' i have to do is a cooking demo (which i love doing anyway)? would have been tough to pass up.
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(photo via bbaltimore's photostream)

a super huge thank you to everyone who kept us entertained today with the jokes and riddles. there was a bit of everything from laffy taffy wrapper jokes to dirty jokes to jokes tailored specifically for the last wandering goat dinner. so obviously, we've gotta share a few...
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last week was very exciting in the world of cooking schools as my alma mater celebrated the renaming of all of their campuses around the country! i am a graduate (a very long time ago) from the now named le cordon bleu school out in scottsdale. it is great that all of the schools have taken on the name that has been respected and looked up to in the culinary world for so long!
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this week we had the honor of cooking at the james beard house in nyc. in efforts to raise funds for the james beard foundation, the house invites chefs from around the country to cook wine paired dinners, selling tickets to supporters of the foundation. james beard and the foundation stand for culinary excellence so we were excited to be invited to cook, representing the new restaurant, girl & the goat. i had cooked at the house once before with a few other top chef contestants, but this was the first time as the sole chef, so i will admit i was a bit nervous heading out there.
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