Why & How You Should Pair Fruit & Protein

Rebecca McKinney

I was born a foodie. My dad is a chef, baker, and restaurant owner and my mom might as well be because she owns whatever kitchen she walks into. I grew up working in my family’s restaurant and bakery in Pawling, New York – McKinney and Doyle. I started behind the bakery counter at 12 years old after begging my parents to let me start working. At 16 I worked as a hostess. By 18 I was serving tables and training behind the bar where I then worked every other weekend throughout my college career. Even now, when I am visiting my family in New York, I help out where I’m needed. To make a long story short, the food and restaurant industry has been my life for as long as I can remember.

I wanted to create this blog for a few reasons. First and foremost, to share tips, tricks, and knowledge about the food and beverage industry in general but also to help people see a different side of the restaurant world. Every restaurant has a totally unique culture and world within it. I want to help open people’s eyes to more than how fast the service is or how easy or hard it is to secure a reservation.

So, thanks for stopping by! I welcome your ideas, input, and feedback and hope you enjoy!

Eat well & travel often,

Becky McKinney

Latest posts by Rebecca McKinney (see all)

You know, there’s a reason people say, “eat the rainbow.” The more colorful your plate, the more nutrients you’re getting (unless the colors are coming from Skittles – sadly, there are no nutrients in those). Dark leafy greens are possibly the most nutrient dense but those aren’t that fun. Lucky for us, fruit is both beautiful and healthy and can do major things in terms of boosting your weekday dinner. But, isn’t it hard to pair fruit with protein? We’ve all seen berries in salads but not so much on our chicken …Continue Reading

How To Pair Food & Wine

Rebecca McKinney

I was born a foodie. My dad is a chef, baker, and restaurant owner and my mom might as well be because she owns whatever kitchen she walks into. I grew up working in my family’s restaurant and bakery in Pawling, New York – McKinney and Doyle. I started behind the bakery counter at 12 years old after begging my parents to let me start working. At 16 I worked as a hostess. By 18 I was serving tables and training behind the bar where I then worked every other weekend throughout my college career. Even now, when I am visiting my family in New York, I help out where I’m needed. To make a long story short, the food and restaurant industry has been my life for as long as I can remember.

I wanted to create this blog for a few reasons. First and foremost, to share tips, tricks, and knowledge about the food and beverage industry in general but also to help people see a different side of the restaurant world. Every restaurant has a totally unique culture and world within it. I want to help open people’s eyes to more than how fast the service is or how easy or hard it is to secure a reservation.

So, thanks for stopping by! I welcome your ideas, input, and feedback and hope you enjoy!

Eat well & travel often,

Becky McKinney

Latest posts by Rebecca McKinney (see all)

 

I absolutely love to throw dinner parties. I get really into it too, planning out cocktails and hors devours to snack on before the meal and then mapping out an entire menu. I like to set the table nicely and pick up a new centerpiece. The music playlist is always thought out beforehand and I spend hours preparing the apartment Pairing Wineto be guest friendly. The more dinners I plan and parties I throw, the more I care about whether the drinks I am serving compliment the food. It never used to matter. “ People can drink what they want, I don’t have time to figure out whether or not it goes with each course.” I have also always been spoiled having Andrew, our GM and sommelier at M&D, available through text or quick call so if I’m being honest, I never had to learn how to do this on my own. But one day I decided enough was enough and I needed to learn. In the following post I am going to take what I’ve learned about pairing wine (cocktails another day) and condense it to keep it short, simple, and easy to follow.Continue Reading

Drab Dinner Blues Cured With Wine

Rebecca McKinney

I was born a foodie. My dad is a chef, baker, and restaurant owner and my mom might as well be because she owns whatever kitchen she walks into. I grew up working in my family’s restaurant and bakery in Pawling, New York – McKinney and Doyle. I started behind the bakery counter at 12 years old after begging my parents to let me start working. At 16 I worked as a hostess. By 18 I was serving tables and training behind the bar where I then worked every other weekend throughout my college career. Even now, when I am visiting my family in New York, I help out where I’m needed. To make a long story short, the food and restaurant industry has been my life for as long as I can remember.

I wanted to create this blog for a few reasons. First and foremost, to share tips, tricks, and knowledge about the food and beverage industry in general but also to help people see a different side of the restaurant world. Every restaurant has a totally unique culture and world within it. I want to help open people’s eyes to more than how fast the service is or how easy or hard it is to secure a reservation.

So, thanks for stopping by! I welcome your ideas, input, and feedback and hope you enjoy!

Eat well & travel often,

Becky McKinney

Latest posts by Rebecca McKinney (see all)

It’s the middle of the week which means that for a lot of people, dinner is starting to feel like a chore and reheating leftovers sounds way better than whipping something up. I’m all about ease and convenience so I’m not going to sit here and tell you to that you red-wineabsolutely have to snap out of it and test out a new recipe tonight. If you don’t want to cook, don’t cook! Either go out and treat yourself or reheat something from earlier in the week. However, if you go the leftover route, I do suggest making one small tweak: spice it up with some new wine.Continue Reading

The Blue Olive: More Local Holiday Shopping Tips

Rebecca McKinney

I was born a foodie. My dad is a chef, baker, and restaurant owner and my mom might as well be because she owns whatever kitchen she walks into. I grew up working in my family’s restaurant and bakery in Pawling, New York – McKinney and Doyle. I started behind the bakery counter at 12 years old after begging my parents to let me start working. At 16 I worked as a hostess. By 18 I was serving tables and training behind the bar where I then worked every other weekend throughout my college career. Even now, when I am visiting my family in New York, I help out where I’m needed. To make a long story short, the food and restaurant industry has been my life for as long as I can remember.

I wanted to create this blog for a few reasons. First and foremost, to share tips, tricks, and knowledge about the food and beverage industry in general but also to help people see a different side of the restaurant world. Every restaurant has a totally unique culture and world within it. I want to help open people’s eyes to more than how fast the service is or how easy or hard it is to secure a reservation.

So, thanks for stopping by! I welcome your ideas, input, and feedback and hope you enjoy!

Eat well & travel often,

Becky McKinney

Latest posts by Rebecca McKinney (see all)

 

The Blue Olive is a premium olive oil and vinegar tasting bar located at 26 Charles Colman Blvd. Its owners, Beth and John Canevari, have been Pawling residents for over 10 years. They once visitedThe Blue Olive a store with the same concept in Boston, had an amazing experience, and wanted to share it with the Pawling community. Together, with co-owners and close friends John and Laura Leahy, their dream became a reality last July when the store opened.Continue Reading