That fresh, delicious pink wine screams “Drink me!” as the weather turns warmer. (Or we pretend it’s turning warmer and hope we don’t wake up to snow.)

I’m not talking about your momma’s pink wine. The ubiquitous pink wine of the 70s and 80s was a totally different beast. Marketed to Americans as blush or white zinfandel, this sweet, cloying concoction exploded in the era of Michael Jackson and Madonna. Wine producer Sutter Home made 60 times more white zin in 1986 than 1980; however, the production and consumption of this version of pink has fallen drastically since the 90s.

Today’s rosé is usually made with more finesse. By leaving the pressed juice from red or black skinned grapes with the crushed skins for a few days, the wine takes on some color. The actual grape involved varies widely, including pinot noir, tempranillo, cabernet, malbec and zinfandel. The skins are then removed before the wine ferments, unlike with red wines.

The color varies greatly, from almost red to a soft orangey-pink, depending on the grapes’ variety and the winemaker. This wine can be used in sparkling and still styles.

The resulting wine is refreshing and delightful. Additionally, it is meant to be consumed while it’s young and is usually reasonably priced. Just what we all need at the end of off-season. I prefer wines that are made in the old world style, although you can find heavier rosés such as Crios rosé made from malbec.

Look for wines that call themselves rosé, or rosado from Spain, or rosato or cerasulo in Italy. If you’re worried about the wine being too sweet, be sure to avoid anything called blush or “white” anything: zin, merlot, cab. By checking the alcohol percentage, you can almost always guess the sweetness of the wine. Anything below 10 percent is probably going to seem sweet to your palette.

A few favorites that can be found locally:

Domaine de Nizas from Languedoc, France
Le Cengle from Cotes de Provence, France

And Sparkling:
Jeio Cuvee Brut Rosé
Lucien Albrecht Brut Rosé

Lets welcome spring with a glass of the ultimate transition wine.  Drink Pink!

To me there are a few indicators that let me know when the full tsunami of tourists are coming quicker then expected. It is almost like watching the water recede.

1)   Sundresses: Way back when I was studying to possibly be a professional, I would always make sure I camped out on the lawn on campus at the cusp of spring. For my friends and I, there was a competition. Which lovely coed would be the first to wear a sundress? With the first sundress appearance came the coming of spring. It was like Punxsutawney Phil not seeing his shadow.

2)   Buses: Usually these massive coaches contain grandma and grandpa and people from the far East. They are never here more then a day or two. My only concern is where are they going to eat since Teton Steakhouse closed.

3)   Different Folks for Different Strokes: We all know the winter crowd is different from the summer crowd. People don’t ski in high white ankle socks and velcro shoes. Don’t forget about the sweet cargo shorts. (I used to wear cargo shorts, I can’t hate too much)

4)   Occupancy of the Virginian RV lot. Easily the biggest indicator ever. I went to the library the other day, and noticed the lot is almost full. May God have mercy on our road-biking souls! Seriously be careful kids. There is nothing like a gaping-gaper on 22 behind a 3,000 pound RV crawling up your butt when he “has never see the Tetons before.”

But lets talk about the good news….

After a few weeks in Moab (like everyone else) and a quick stint in our nation’s capital, I almost didn’t want to leave.  I got my fill of vitamin D, Chinese food, playoff hockey and the opposite sex.

Life was good, but if this summer is anything like what I witnessed recently at a new restaurant grand opening, then HALLALUJAH! Sure it was mostly locals and a copious amount of beautiful people and awesome beer, but I feel strongly that the tempo of the summer has been set. With the early arrival of summer comes the early arrival of the summer crowd. So Jackson, dust off your big boy pants and lets get to work. There will be plenty of time to cruise around String Lake and get silly.

Sincerely,

Your friend and Bus Boy!

PS. Old Crow Medicine Show July 4^th at Snow King!?!?!

With a newly remodeled kitchen, they have the space and efficiency to create lots of interesting seasonal dishes for the spring menu. Highlights include butter-dipped spring radishes with three sea salts and dill flowers, a white pizza and white and green asparagus salad. I am anxious to try the Sriracha seared tuna when I go, and don’t miss the spring vegetable lasagna, which was on the menu last spring and was amazing!

Also look for Executive Chef Jeff Drew to make a special appearance on The Today show on May 21, when the morning news show visits Yellowstone. Drew will be preparing pecan crusted trout and Eskimo Bars live with Matt Lauer between 7 and 9 a.m.

Look for more news about an upcoming alumni dinner in June. Dishing will keep you posted!

I grew up having Key lime pies for dessert, particularly in the summer. They are such a yummy southern specialty. They are easy to make. Best served chilled and the sweet/acidity is a nice accompaniment to finish off almost any summery dinner.

Key limes, which are generally hard to find, tend to be more tart than the Persian lime we can always find stocked in stores. They are small, and unlike our “normal” limes, have small seeds in them too.

Grown in warm, dryer areas such as Florida, where the name association comes from the Florida Keys, the limes are in season from May until September. While I have no idea how long supplies in Jackson will last, I grabbed my first two bags immediately from Albertsons and got excited about the dessert to come.

A traditional Key lime pie is made with a graham cracker crust, but my sister, who is a chef, started making hers with an Oreo crust and that is how we generally prefer them in our family. There is something about the lime and chocolate that really works for the pies. I am giving the recipe for the Oreo crust, which I encourage you to try, but know a good graham cracker crust could substitute is you aren’t into chocolate.

There is nothing particularly difficult about making this dessert. The hardest part, I must say, was squeezing all the limes. Time consuming would be a better description (it probably took me 30 minutes). I always put a small straining colander over a bowl and separate the seeds while I squeeze. Because these limes are smaller, it took a while to get through enough of them to make enough juice.

Because this dessert is lighter tasting and not super rich, I generally go ahead and make two pies at one time. One pie will cut into six large pieces. Girls may say “oh, that is too much” but they usually finish and are the ones asking for more.

What to top it with is also personal preference. Tradition often calls for meringue, but I like fresh whipped cream.  I whip heavy whipping cream with a little vanilla, powdered sugar and more lime zest. If you want the pie to be beautiful, pipe it out using a pastry bag and add small slices of lime to the twirls of cream. Carefully placed raspberries can also look nice.

But really, the pie tastes so good you don’t need any extra accouterments. Just enjoy it, and keep it simple.

Other times of the year, there is decent bottled Key lime juice you can buy. It really will do in a pinch, but please take the extra effort to squeeze your own Key limes while you can get them fresh!

(This recipe makes two pies.)

First and foremost, now is the time to prep your soil for the upcoming season.  With the ground unfrozen, you can begin tilling and cultivating your soil.  If you added compost or any other organic amendments to your beds in the fall, you’ll need to loosen up that soil and break up any clumps.  Now is also a good time to add a little more compost, fertilizer or potting soil as you’re already mixing things around.  Your soil should be loosely packed down to about a foot or two deep and spread out to a level surface.  Once the soil is ready for planting, you can add any sort of trellises, supports or borders to your beds, depending of course on what you plan on planting.  With the weather being unpredictable any time of year in Jackson, I finish my garden prep by readying my row covers.  Young plants, either newly transplanted or recently sprouted from seed are especially vulnerable to an overnight frost and you’ll benefit from being able to protect them at a moment’s notice. To accomplish this, I simply have some PVC pipe arcing across my raised beds that I can pull a sheet or frost cloth over. The PVC pipe is held in place by tall nails or stakes and you can secure the cloth or sheet to the ground using stones or other stakes.

Now is the fun part—mapping out and planning for this season’s garden.  If you took notes on your garden last year, pull those out and reference them as you plan for this season. Make particular note of where each plant was located in your beds and what did not perform well. When deciding what to plant this season, I make a list of those vegetables that did particularly well last year and those that I’d like to try either again or for the first time. You’ll need to pay close attention to the following:

• Space needed
• Time to mature (I avoid plants that require over 90 days to mature)
• Tolerance to both cold and heat

Knowing these details about each item in your garden will tell you where to plant, when to plant and whether or not you should plant from seed or by transplant (either grown indoors from seed, or purchased from one of our local nurseries). But most importantly, I remember what I begrudgingly forced into my diet due to too much yield and what I wish I had more of—this is, after all, a foodie’s garden!

I also try to be mindful of some tried and true crop rotation practices:

• Follow beans with cauliflower, carrots, broccoli, cabbage or corn, but do not follow with onions or garlic.
• Follow beets with spinach.
• Follow carrots with lettuce or tomatoes but not with dill.
• Follow cucumbers with peas or radishes.
• Follow kale with beans or peas.
• Follow lettuce with carrots, cucumbers or radishes.
• Follow onions with radishes or lettuce.

Once my list is made, I begin to map out my beds with those above considerations in mind. Crops like lettuces, spinach, radishes, and arugula grow quickly and are fairly frost tolerant so you can plant them directly from seed when your beds are ready. I like to reserve one bed for these early crops and as soon as the heat of the summer arrives, I replace the bed with a more tender, heat and space loving plant that needs to be transplanted into the garden like squash or cucumbers. On the other hand, some crops, like broccoli and Brussels sprouts prefer the cooler weather and can’t handle the summer heat.  If you haven’t already started these plants indoors from seed, you’ll want to only plant these vegetables in your garden as transplants, rather than from seed or they won’t have time to mature before the heat arrives. Likewise, plants like beets, carrots, parsnip, chard, kale, onions, leeks and garlic require a long time to mature but are cold-tolerant so you can actually put those seeds in the ground as soon as your beds are ready.

And finally, planting! Get those cold season seeds or starts in the ground and be weary of imminent weather in case you need to throw the cover over them at a moment’s notice. If you are growing your own, warm-season starts indoors, get those going.  Start your tender herbs like basil, cilantro and parsley indoors in pots that you can move outdoors as soon as the weather dictates it.

Don’t forget to take notes, keep it simple, start small and remember what you’ll actually eat!

Sample all of the Roadhouse Brewing Co.’s beer selections during American Craft Beer Week..

Jackson Hole has about one brewery for every 7,000 people. And if you factor in breweries from the region, there’s about one for every 3,000. That’s what I call well served.

And to celebrate all that’s brewing in our local beer community during American Craft Beer Week, the valley’s newest brewery, Roadhouse Brewing Co., is hosting a series of events next week.

The party starts with Roadhouse Brewing Co.’s grand opening at 5 p.m. Monday and runs through May 19 with nightly events for the duration of American Craft Beer Week.

“We have quite a lot of breweries, especially for a mountain town,” says Don Watkins, who is doing PR for the Roadhouse Brewery. “I feel like we’re pretty lucky for where we live.”

Stop by the Q Roadhouse and Restaurant, where the brewery is housed, starting at 5 p.m. Monday for the grand opening celebration. There will be new beers, specials and music by Jet Black Ninja Funkgrass Unit.

In addition to the current tap list (Sacred Creed Saison, The Curtain Belgian Wite, Veil of Composure Strong Pale Ale, Helping Friendly Prussian Stout), they have additional releases scheduled throughout the week.

Here’s the schedule for the rest of the week (all the events start at 5 p.m.):

•Tuesday — Buy a pint glass and the first beer is free, new Roadhouse beer release

•Wednesday — Craft beer from neighboring breweries and randalled beer with specialty ingredients

•Thursday — Buy a pint glass and the first beer is brew, new Roadhouse release and music by the Miller Sisters

•Friday — Craft beer from neighboring breweries, and randalled beer with specialty ingredients

•Saturday — DJ spinning tunes with new randalled beer of choice

•Sunday — Craft beer from neighboring breweries.

And if you have been in a cave, you can read all about Roadhouse Brewing Co. here

Nani’s new decor combines sleek banquets, brick walls and hay-textured walls to create a beautiful space.

Atmosphere enhances everything. And at Nani’s, a newly remodeled look creates an updated, yet classic, environment to enjoy the food you have always loved.

The Parker family, who have been in business serving classic Italian fare since 1990, wanted to enhance the character of the older building they occupy on Glenwood Street. Son Buck Parker said they wanted a modern, clean atmosphere that would enhance the food. Along with the help of General Manager Erin Neary, the owners aimed to “keep the character but offer a rustic clean look.”

The updated decor offers red banquets, a copper bar, brick walls and some western touches. “The updated décor reflects the new generation,” said Parker. “We wanted it to be modern rustic and keep the old world Italian with some cowboy touches.”

Details, like incorporating hay into the textured walls, create a look that plays homage to old world Italy where walls were often built that way.

Nani’s Sicilian room displays old family photos and utilizes the curved window that used to be in the front.

To go along with the new look, Nani’s streamlined the menu to make it easier for customers to read. Options are separated into smaller categories, but the menu still contains the favorites customers have enjoyed for years. ”We wanted to streamline some things to make the menu easier to browse. There are a lot of options, and sometimes people were overwhelmed.”

The Sicilian room, which is a separated area open on most nights but also available for private parties, plays homage to the the restaurant’s history, reusing the old, curved window that used to be in the front of the restaurant and displaying family photos.

Nani’s will be offering weekly specials/deals and be sure to check their Facebook page for exclusive offers. The restaurant is open seven days a week right now from 5:30 until 10 p.m.

One of the most divine soups I’ve ever had is the BLT Soup at Trio restaurant. I’ve had it dozens of times, whatever the season, and I never tire of the smoky bacon lardons, crispy croutons and tangy arugula pesto swirled into the simple tomato soup.

I didn’t realize how perfectly simple and easy it would be to make it at home until I stumbled onto the recipe in A Taste Of Wyoming by Pamela Sinclair.  My favorite restaurant soup can be prepared in 30 minutes from ingredients I always have on hand:  canned tomatoes, garlic, chicken broth, bacon and stale bread.

The day I made BLT Soup, the snow was piling up outside on my deck. I hadn’t seen a bundle of pesto-worthy arugula for months, but I still wanted that burst of peppery green that is the sine que non of Trio’s famous BLT soup.

I pawed through my CSA share from Snowdrift Farms.  There were bags of Asian braising greens, baby spinach, kale and a bundle of radishes with bright green tops. Who needs arugula with this cache of greens?

I used my favorite canned tomatoes for the BLT Soup — an Italian import of sweet cherry tomatoes that I buy whenever I pass by Pearl Street Market. While the soup bubbled away — already warming me up — I prepared the croutons. The chefs at Trio favor sourdough, but all I had on hand was a loaf of olive thyme bread from 460Bread, gone stale from last weekend’s dinner party. I cut off the crust, cubed the bread, tossed it with butter and olive oil, and after eight minutes in the oven my stale loaf had been repurposed into irresistible buttery croutons for the soup.

The lardons — bacon cut into little rectangles and fried — were also done in no time. I made more than I needed, thinking they’d be good tossed over salad, pasta, eggs and potatoes throughout the week.

I lopped off the greens from the radish bunch, cut them into slivers like a chiffonade of basil, and quickly sautéed them in a tiny bit of bacon fat — my arugula pesto stand-in.

For my kids’ lunchboxes, I made simple grilled cheese sandwiches on brioche (soft and easy to chew for the teenager with braces), which I cut into triangles for easier tomato soup-dipping, and double wrapped in foil to stay warm.

The radishes — the first crunchy, recently harvested, bright food I’d had this spring — were the perfect snack, dipped in butter and rolled in salt, just like the French do.

Newman’s Ginger-O’s from the grocery store, an old favorite cookie, were tucked amongst the goodies for dessert.

Even though I cut the Trio chef’s recipe for BLT Soup in half, I had enough soup for all of our lunchboxes, with two more quarts to stash in the freezer for the next cold front.  Just in case it’s going to be a long spring.

And if you’re looking for things to do this weekend, remember that the Latino Resource Center is hosting a Cinco de Mayo fiesta (early) tonight at Center for the Arts. For $40, you get access to the party with a live auction, Latin food, salsa dancing, live music from Central and South America and two free drinks. That party starts at 7 p.m., and tickets can be purchased here.

Then on Saturday, the Center hosts a Derby Day party from 2 to 6 p.m. The Jackson Hole Pony Club presents the 2013 Kentucky Derby live on the big screen with Kentucky-inspired food by Cafe Genevieve, specialty Derby drinks by Wyoming Whiskey, a live auction of equine art pieces from Grand Teton Art Gallery and an equine-themed silent auction. Admission is $35 in advance and $40 the day of (it includes all food and one glass of wine or beer). The event begins at 2 p.m., with the live stream beginning at 3:45 p.m. The auction starts at 4:30 p.m.

On Sunday, for the actual Cinco de Mayo holiday, El Tlaxcalteca in the Kmart Plaza is offering 10 percent off your bill all day and a happy hour on beer from 6 to 8 p.m.

If you’re a restaurant, let us know of any specials or events you have going on this weekend. We’ll keep a running list here.

From time to time, this does happen. Even to those of us that love to cook. All the sudden, you go from having a bunch of ideas in your head that you want to make or try, to feeling underwhelmed by everything. What is a cook to do? Start researching.

I have a stack of food magazines, so that is usually where I begin. Bon Appetit is my personal favorite. There are generally a ton of great recipes and ideas for cooking projects in there.

Pinterest is another great way to try to get inspired. I have mentioned this website in a past column and stand behind the fact that the website is one of the best ways to get inspired. You can find inspiration for anything here, really, but I am partial to looking for food ideas and there are lot of them. Punch in an ingredient and seconds later you will find an infinite list of ideas that come with the added bonus of photos.

Don’t have an idea for even an ingredient you want to cook? Simply explore the “food and drink” category and something may catch your eye.

I have a large stack of cookbooks that at one point I loved. Now, they sit like relics on my sideboard. I still love to flip through them every once in a while but, frankly, almost never cook from them. I know I should declutter the house and get rid of them, especially since most of the recipes (or similar versions) can be found online, but I just can’t do it. They are sort of an homage to another time (pre-Internet) of my life and are still beautiful to peruse every now and then.

When all else fails, I often just ask my husband or upcoming dinner guests what they are in the mood for. This is my least favorite method for coming up with something for obvious reasons. One, it gives me less control. Two, people often request things I don’t want to make (think spaghetti with meatballs and chicken Parmesan).

Finally, my last resource for inspiration is simply having to cook something. Tonight, I have invited friends over. I have no idea what to make them nor do I really feel like cooking, but I am going to come up with something.

I am starting with this: chicken (since I have it in the freezer already). I know, I know. This sounds pathetically lazy. I did warn you that I was feeling uninspired, but maybe I am just being lazy. Either way, on Pinterest, I quickly found something that looked interesting and easy.

This recipe was adapted from one I found on a website. It looks easy, but since I love cilantro it could be good. Already, my inspiration is coming back. I am thinking an avocado, tomato and cucumber salad and a jalapeno rice dish to go with it. It really was that easy. Now, after just a little online browsing, I am feeling ready to tackle a new dish and get going in the kitchen. Let’s hope my dinner guests are happy.

This seafood pasta from Giovanni’s gave even this celiac-suffering diner a good option.

I had given up on going out to eat at Italian restaurants since I found out I had Celiac Disease. I didn’t think it was worth getting stuck with only a salad, or one allergy friendly dish on the menu. But I decided to test my luck at Giovanni’s, and I was pleasantly surprised!

I had heard mixed reviews about Giovanni’s, and let me set them all straight — the food is great! The staff is very friendly and knowledgeable about allergy-friendly options.

I started off the meal with the vedura chopped salad. It has wild arugula, watercress, lettuce, edamame, avocado, pumpkin seeds, beets, cucumber, quinoa, blood oranges, radish, pomegranate kernels and pear topped with a pomegranate-honey vinaigrette. I can’t remember the last time I enjoyed a salad so much. It was a great mix of fresh flavors and textures. I would highly recommend it.

For my main course, I ordered the special of the night. A seafood pasta with shrimp, scallops, clams, zucchini, squash and kale in a creamy tomato-alfredo sauce. It was amazing. I enjoyed every bite. I have never had pasta with kale before, and I’m hooked!

Gluten Free

Any pasta can be made gluten free! All of the sauces are made without wheat products, and there is a gluten free noodle available. There are many non-pasta dishes on the menu to choose from that can be adjusted for the wheat free diet. Not to mention the many, delicious salad options!

Dairy Free

Most of the dishes are made without dairy. The pastas with tomato sauce do not have dairy; however, the alfredo sauce is made with dairy. There are many substitutions that can be made to accommodate a dairy free diet.

Vegetarian

Most of the pastas have meat and/or fish in them, but they can be ordered without. I particularly enjoyed the pasta here because it is veggie packed. The salads are also a fresh and filling alternative.

Nut Free

Only the salads and desserts are made with nuts. All other dishes are safe for those with nut allergies. The atmosphere is a very nice change for the Jackson scene, and usually not too busy. They also have great off season specials.

I am back! And by back, I mean back in the kitchen with enthusiasm about it again. I have more time on my hands, there are more spring vegetables trickling into the markets and I am finally enjoying making more food at home.

It feels good; cooking is fun!

This last weekend I made green veggie enchiladas, good, healthy breakfasts and grilled chicken on my new Green Egg to have around to make more meals with. It easily puts me in a good mood when I make healthy and delicious meals.

I have even had a couple of friend over for dinner in the last few weeks and one of my dinners was a great success. I ventured out into new territory and made bahn mi sandwiches. Though these Vietnamese sandwiches are somewhat of a foodie fad right now, no one besides me had ever tried one. I am in love with them and happy now to have a method for making them on my own.

I had one last time I was in Charleston at a trendy new place there. Aspen Market serves a good one on their hot sandwich menu. And, most recently, I had one at a spa in Texas. I went there with my family and ordered it off the lunch menu the first day. It was so good I ate the same sandwich every day during my entire stay there.

The prepared it simply, with a lot of fresh jalapeños and cilantro on top of the chicken. I didn’t realize until I had it off a more diet-conscious menu that it is a rather healthy sandwich but it naturally is.

A typical bahn mi can contain any kind of spiced and grilled meat on a baguette. What makes it a bahn mi a bahn mi is the pile of cilantro, pickled veggies and a Vietnamese sauce you put on top of the meat and bread. Some preparations offer fish sauce, hot sauce or rice vinegar as toppings but the version I made called for a creamer, spicier version that adds to the dish.

Making the dish was basically just prep work. Marinate and grill chicken breasts. Peel, slice and quickly pickle some veggies in a rice vinegar dressing and mix together the simple sauce.

Because this sandwich is made more by tastes than by recipe, I have provided instructions for preparing it rather than a strict recipe. You can feel free to adjust anything in it from the meat filling to the veggies I choice. Make the sauce spicier if you prefer or creamier with more mayonnaise if you can’t handle spice.

Hate cilantro? Try basil or mint in its place. I used a baguette but it would work on a brioche roll too or even, in a wrap or pita.

Chicken Bahn Mi Instructions

Sauce:

• Mayonnaise (about a cup)
• Lime juice (from about 2 limes)
• Sriracha (about 1/4^th a cup)

Whisk all ingredients in a small bowl until combined. Taste and adjust the lime/spice ratio to your desire.

Chicken:

Marinate the chicken in a mixture of olive oil, lime juice and seasoning. I added fresh jalapeño, salt, pepper and kafir lime leaves. Let sit for about 30 minutes or longer then grill. Slice thinly when it has cooled.

Quick pickled veggies:

Add to a bowl 2 thinly sliced jalapeños, one thinly sliced English cucumber, and about a cup of shredded carrots. Cover in rice vinegar and a small amount of sesame oil and let sit, covered, for about an hour.

Peel the leaves off a bunch of cilantro.

To make the sandwich:

Slice open a crusty baguette loaf. Spread a generous layer of the sauce onto both sides of the bread. Place the chicken on the bottom layer of the bread. Top with the pickled veggies and a generous amount of cilantro.