Napa Valley – Cliff’s Family Food Truck

Man oh man. Just looking at this photo makes my mouth water again. Smoked mozzarella, basil, fresh firm tomatoes, freshly sun-dried tomatoes and a drizzle of olive oil. Yum.

I confess, this is the only dish I ate at Cliff’s Family Food Truck, and usually I aim to try more than one dish before giving a review. That said, this was so tasty that I wanted to sit and try everything on the menu. Alas, my life is hard and, had I stayed, my partner and I would have been late to our next wine tasting. So I’ll tell you what I do know.

The food was deliciously simple with exceptionally fresh, high quality ingredients. The smoking of the mozzarella paired with the sundried tomatoes exploded a technicolor palate of flavor in your mouth. While you wait for your food, which isn’t long because the truck chefs are fast, you get to sit out on a sunny patio under a gardened trellis, the sun trickling through. At the lunch hour, it was full, but still easy to find a seat amongst the 10 or so tables.

If you ever get a chance to make it out that way, I would highly recommend it. Oh! And if you try a different dish, like one of their tasty flatbreads, please let me know what you think!

Cheers from me to you! xoxo

The Madevilla Cocktail

Just in time for the last few weeks of summer, I wanted to share my favorite summer drink. It’s cool, refreshing, and feels like drifting away on a tropical island. Plus it packs a hell of a punch, so use wisely. It also scales up really well since all the ingredients are one part to one part.

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup mango rum
  • 1/4 cup coconut rum
  • 1/4 cup coconut seltzer
  • 1/4 unsweetened cranberry juice
  • Ice

Instructions

  • Mix rum and juice in a glass
  • Add ice
  • Top with seltzer

Enjoy these last summer days! xoxo

The Most Epic Ranch Dressing

Due to popular demand, I’m bringing my ranch dressing to the main stage. I confess, I didn’t think this blog would contain recipes at first, but here we are. This ranch is what I have dubbed my “COVID Ranch” because during that time some people baked bread, and I… well I perfected my ranch dressing. With no further ado, I’ll get to what you came here for — truly excellent ranch dressing in less than ten minutes.

Instructions

1) Mix together until blended:
1/2 cup mayo
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup whole milk or buttermilk

2) Add in and then mix the following ingredients:
1 1/2 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp dried dill weed
1/2 tsp dried parsley
1/2 tsp dried chives
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp fine sea salt
1/8 tsp fresh cracked pepper

3) Refrigerate until chilled. If you wait overnight, the flavors really pop but it can be consumed as soon as it is assembled.

This ranch will last for up to 5 days in the fridge.

Variations

If you like your ranch more lemon-y or with more dill flavor, you can increase up to 3 tsp or 3/4 tsp respectively.

Parmesan black peppercorn ranch: Add 1/4 cup grated parm and triple the pepper.

Jalapeño ranch: Omit dill. Add 1 tsp jalapeño juice and 2T diced pickled jalapeño.

Happy ranching! xoxo