jklon1

Any thoughts on a commercial panini press? Last weekend I ate at Cafe Fanny in Berkeley and noticed that they have a Nuova Simonelli panini press. Are these reliable? What does 'ino use? Thanks. Jonathan

Thanks for all the replies. The recipe called for 2 1/2 cups of flour. I would not be suprised if I used double that...I wish I saw your note about the sweet potato gnocchi. I did a test batch last night before freezing the rest. Chewier then the sweet potato ones a made last time but good flavor (roasted garlic gloves, sage, salt, white pepper, dried oregano) so I'm going forward. I'll try to report back. Thanks.

I'm making gnocchi for a dinner party this weekend and wanted to know if others have had success/problems with making the gnocchi in advance? Is it better to roll and cut the day before and then boil and saute the day of, or roll and boil the day before and then just saute the day of? Also, I would like to make either a sweet potato gnocchi or a butternut squash gnocchi. I've made the sweet potato before. When making butternut squash I've heard the puree needs to drain after roasting - any experience here? Thanks.

J does make a terrific sparkler. Looks like the itinerary is changing somewhat - Seavey is having an Open House. And I was able to make an appointment at Barlow. Regarding Pine Ridge, I've enjoyed their wines in the past but on another thread (different site) I heard that it has been disappointing of late?

Carolyn: In your opinion, aside from the wine (I love their rose) what makes Schramsberg "THE place"? melkor: I didn't even think about Mumm. And we're doing Pine Ridge so good to be close to the Silverado Trail. Hmmm. KatieLoeb: I haven't been to Artesa. Good one. We are coming up 121/12 through Carneros. This would probably work out well. Thanks for the posts...

I'm showing some first-timers around Napa and thought it would be nice to start out tasting some sparklers. I've never been to one of the wineries that pour sparkling in Napa. Are any worth a visit? I've heard the cave tour at Schramsberg is nice but that might be too far north for the first stop of the day. How is Domaine Carneros? Or do we scratch the sparkling and head to Silver Oak for the 9AM tasting? Thanks. Jonathan

Good for Tony with his new winery. Bad for fans of RMS Distillery. Their Special Reserve Brandy was excellent. They would include pinot noir juice from the estate in the pre-distilled blend... What happened to their stock?