Dungeness Crab at Fisherman's Wharf

Fishermen still moor their boats and unload their catches daily at Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco. I walk along Jefferson Street in the early morning, and see tanks full of live crabs at Alioto-Lazio Fish Company, one of only two commercial fish-processors and sellers here, and one of less than two dozen companies at the Wharf that still catch and process their own fish. The family-run operation opened in 1940 and offers shipping services throughout the nation.

Hours later, I walk back towards the docks for dinner. Classic fish stands line the sidewalk where vendors extol the virtues of their enormous shrimp, plump Dungeness crab, succulent swordfish and glistening oysters as hundreds of visitors stream past. Stomach growling, I enter Nick’s Lighthouse - a seafood institution since 1934.

Gingham-checked vinyl covers the tables, fake grapes hang from the ceiling and model ships and thousands of Christmas lights line wooden walls. I seat myself as Sinatra croons and order linguine with crab and tomato sauce. Huge bits of crab are tossed in a chunky light tomato sauce and tiny shrimp pile high on my house salad. I order a crisp chardonnay, dig into my pasta and wonder if the crab came from the Bay this morning.

Fantastic Flavors

You'll never go hungry - or thirsty - at Honor Mansion in Healdsburg, California - a resort inn that mixes luxury with a homey vibe. If you haven't already bought wine at a Sonoma winery, there's a crystal decanter of sherry in your room, and another in the main house near the public access computer.

Ready for something warm and decadent? Check out the free, 24-hour cappuccino machine, with four flavored syrups and sprinkles of cinnamon, nutmeg, or chocolate. Add a chocolate chocolate chip cranberry cookie dipped in white chocolate for a real treat.

Snuggle into your lofty comforter with the newspaper, pot of coffee and biscotti that arrive outside your door each morning. Then bask amidst antiques, linen, and lace as you enjoy the breakfast buffet in the main house. From fresh juice and mimosas to fruit and yogurt, and house specialties such as breakfast strata or Eggs Benedict, there are choices to satisfy every appetite and palate. Each evening the dining room becomes a complementary wine bar with mouthwatering hot and cold hors d'oeuvres.

But there's more to Honor Mansion than eating and drinking. Swim a few laps, practice your putt, work on your tennis swing or jump shot, or even try your hand at croquet or bocce ball. And, after a hard day of visiting wineries, sip some sherry as you luxuriate in your over-sized soaking tub. It doesn't get much better than this.

Au Naturel

The yeasty aroma of freshly baked artisanal bread, and exposed brick, surround me inside Fervere Bakery in Kansas City, Missouri's revitalized Westside neighborhood. Racks of rustic loaves flank the wall, and customers dip samples into herbed olive oil.

Owner, Fred Spompinato, has spent the last 7 1/2 years creating his over-sized, crunchy-crusted loaves using organic milled Kansas flour and a brick-limestone oven with a centuries-old French tradition. The only mechanized equipment that he and his two co-bakers use is a large mixer. Other tools of their trade include Belgian linen used in proofing and large wooden paddles that heft risen dough into the oven. While most of the world sleeps, they're hard at work creating incomparable loaves for appreciative customers who drive as much as half an hour to purchase and enjoy them.

Because Spompinato decided he would not be consumed by his business he only sells bread on Thursdays through Saturdays – until they run out. So you'll have to visit Kansas City to try Pain Complet, Ciabatta and Cheese Slipper, or Olive-Rosemary, Polenta and Grain Travel Breads. Fervere Bread is worth the trip.

Iced Elegance

Sunshine lovers might be surprised to learn there's plenty of sun beyond the coasts or the Southwest. While Seattle and Boston only see sun 164 days per year, Denver enjoys sunshine 245 days annually, and Kansas City enjoys at least a few rays 216 days per year.

After a massive ice storm, brilliant sun sometimes creates a sparkling fairytale world in the Kansas City area. We're infamous for the ice that arrives at least once each winter season - the result of weather fronts that collide at the country's mid-section in harsh yet beautiful ways. Our bushes and rooftops glisten with iced elegance as roads become impassable skating rinks and decades-old trees groan beneath the weight of frozen water. One late October ice storm toppled dozens of trees still laden with fall leaves and disrupted power for several weeks.

But when the ice comes and then sunshine arrives, neighborhoods become true winter wonderlands for a few hours and photo frames.

The Power of Two

Sometimes the greatest dishes are also a gift of simplicity. My husband happened upon this 'recipe' for the grill about a year ago and we've enjoyed it many times since. Chorizo infuses green cabbage with spicy goodness and tasty moisture in this no-fuss dish.

Chorizo & Cabbage
Makes two to three servings

1/2 pound ground chorizo
1 large green cabbage

foil


1. Remove and discard core from cabbage. Roll and shape a piece of foil into a coil that will fit the base of the cabbage and keep it level during grilling.

2. Heat chorizo briefly in a frying pan to release natural juices - about five minutes.

3. Pack chorizo tightly into cabbage opening and place on foil coil, in grill. Cook on medium low heat for approximately 50 minutes until chorizo is lightly charred on top.

4. Let sit for five to ten minutes. Cut in wedges and serve.

Winter Respite

Beyond my open door and balcony railing, tall palms rustle softly above manicured golf greens and grass-decorated beach as gulls sail above gentle swells. On my first morning at Amelia Island Plantation, the fireball sun cast a rosy glow across my wall, as purple surrendered to pale blue. The next morning, murky fog hid two-foot swells that crashed against the beach. On this last morning of my vacation pink and orange rays illuminate a pale blue sky and cast golden light across calm, still-dark water.

I snuggle into my robe, sip piping hot coffee and pull out my camera. Half a dozen shots later I turn towards breakfast - a fluffy frittata with perfectly cooked asparagus, baby carrots, and broccoli flowerets, and a generous serving of lightly cooked and seasoned red potatoes. A fruit plate bears eight slices of cantaloupe and honeydew, plus a handful of incredibly plump raspberries, blueberries and strawberries.

After breakfast I begin my final walk beside the ocean, calves straining against packed and shifting sand as my toes squish through liquid beach and dodge shell fragments strewn along the high tide line. By this evening, I'll return to Midwestern ice and snow.

Better Butter

In an effort to avoid trans fats we had switched from margarine to a soft spread that was loaded with omega-3 fatty acids – long before this became the prevailing nutritional wisdom. That the spread also had loads of omega-6s didn’t mean much to us - until I found information that omega-6s actually produce more inflammation in the body, which could possibly lead to increased incidence of blood clots.

Then I noticed there were far more omega-6s than omega-3s in our soft spread, which didn’t sound good because a family member had previously undergone heart surgery. Butter looked like a better option all the time, especially since we wouldn’t use a lot of it, but refrigerated butter was difficult to spread and butter left at room temperature might grow rancid.

Enter the butter keeper, a small crock that you fill with a little water before upending the butter-filled inner piece of the crock into it, to form an airtight seal. Change the water every two or three days, keep it closed unless you’re using the butter, and the all-natural spread remains sweet, fresh and, most of all, highly spreadable.

It was the best $10 I had spent in ages.