Napa Rose Chef’s Counter

Back in February 2020, my mom and I had the chance to eat dinner at the Chef’s Counter at the Napa Rose restaurant at the Grand Californian Hotel (one of the hotels on the Disneyland Resort property). It was a super cool experience, certainly one to remember, especially since just a few weeks later is…

The Cookbook Challenge: Week 4

Still playing catch up on my Cookbook Challenge posts! I have been keeping up with the actual challenge part, just been bad at posting about them. Life is somewhat back to normal so I’ve been busy outside the house more often, so luckily the week 4 cookbook was another one based on quick and easy…

The Cookbook Challenge: Week 3

Well, week three and I was only partially successful at the Cookbook Challenge. I did cook a recipe from a cookbook but didn’t get a chance to blog about it, so I’ve got some catching up to do! The cookbook for week three is actually not a published cookbook, it was one we put together…

The Cookbook Challenge: Week 2

I epically failed at getting great photos of this week’s challenge, but I did do it. I did it as part of my meal prep for some lunches. This week’s book was:’ About The Cookbook Title: Bobby Flay’s Mesa Grill CookbookThe Author: Bobby FlayWhere to Buy it: Amazon Bobby Flay is one of my favorite…

The Cookbook Challenge: Week 1

This week began the cookbook challenge series I mentioned last week! So without further ado, the first randomly selected book was… About The Cookbook Title: The Pioneer Woman Cooks: A Year of HolidaysThe Author: Ree Drummond (aka the Pioneer Woman) As you can see, this one came from Target (I am pretty sure my friend…

2022 Blog Series: The Cookbook Challenge

Oops… it’s been a minute, hasn’t it? And by a minute, I mean more than a year. Yikes. Well, I am back and dusting this blog off again (and hoping that I am better at holding myself accountable to keeping the dust off this year more than I have been). And what better way to…

Home Cooking with Heather: Lavender Hone Truffles

Based on the posts I’ve seen, I’m not the only one but ever since the social distancing/stay at home orders due to Covid went into effect last year, I’ve found myself getting into new hobbies/staring new projects. Like a lot of people, I got into bread making and the number of house plants has definitely…

Pork shoulder with fig rosemary port wine jam

I recently made a LOT of fig jam (for that story, you can read here). Pork and figs are a pretty classic combo but most of the recipes I found were for pork tenderloin, and I wanted to use the pork shoulder I have sitting in our outdoor freezer. so I kind of improvised. Here’s…

Chef’s Counter Experience at the Napa Rose

As I have mentioned in my previous blog post, I have been fairly intentional about getting gifts for my mom that are more centered on experiences rather than things. Well, this past Christmas she decided to do the same and made reservations for something I’ve been eyeing for years: dinner at the Chef’s Counter at…

A Weekend in Temecula

For Christmas the last couple years, I have looked for more experiential gifts for my mom. In 2017, I bought a mini plan for the 2018 season at the Pantages and in 2018 I bought her tickets to see one of her favorite Christian bands, MercyMe, in San Diego in 2019. I wanted to keep…