Cheers, darlin'.

Sorry I've been off the grid a bit lately - it's been a busy month! Off I go again tomorrow morning for a family ski trip, but I'll report on plenty of good eats when I return.

Also a bit of exciting news: Nick -- my high school sweetheart and chef de cuisine on my birthday last year -- and I got engaged on Friday! Thanks to all the wonderful and thoughtful well-wishes we've received over the weekend! He took me to Acqua al 2 for dinner and proposed under the Lincoln Memorial -- a truly spectacular evening.

Last weekend, my friend planned to celebrate her birthday by taking a few of us to Barrel Oak Winery (AKA "BOW," getting to their dog-friendly spirit), a lovely little vineyard in Virginia. The grounds are gorgeous (a serendipitous setting for an impromptu "engagement shoot" she snapped for us), and the tasting takes place in a beautiful country house with an upstairs loft where we camped out all day.

We brought a fabulous picnic lunch which carried us through the afternoon:

• Curried chicken salad with dried cranberries, served on croissants
• Vegetable pasta salad
• Edamame salad with lemon and Pecorino Romano
• Pie crust crackers (Parmesan-thyme, salt and pepper, and black truffle salt varieties) with cheeses
• Crudite and crackers with dill dip

We had a lovely afternoon tasting local wines: while some were better than others, we particularly enjoyed a Cabernet Franc and their house red (which they called BOW House Red). While we certainly didn't mean to co-opt the birthday celebration, it was nice to be with friends to share our happy news.

~

Mark Bittman's Edamame Salad

2 c edamame

2 T olive oil

juice of half a lemon

zest of a whole lemon

salt and pepper to taste

Pecorino Romano cheese, shaved into curls

(I omitted the mint)

For a picnic-friendly version, combine olive oil, lemon zest, lemon juice, salt and pepper in a jar to shake and pour over the salad just before eating. Store cheese curls in a container and toss with cooked edamame onsite.