PORTLAND, Maine — There's no smoke and mirrors about it — Americans are eating a lot more smoked seafood than they used to.

Jerome; Willcox; Mormon Lake

Picking up some fresh wines for summer is in the bag — or shopping cart, actually — as supermarkets get in touch with their inner sommeliers.

The Bistro at Kokopelli Winery will close on May 26, with plans to re-open in September as Crust.

HEALDSBURG, Calif. — Sometimes visitors to MacMurray Ranch, the 1,500-acre (600-hectare) spread owned by movie and TV actor Fred MacMurray for a half-century, want to know: Where's the heliport? Where's the screening room?

Fancy having Brangelina, Drew Barrymore and Dan Aykroyd over for dinner? No problem, they'll even bring the wine.

NAPA, Calif. — Love the lush and lovely Napa Valley but hate how expensive it can be? You're not the first. In the late 19th century, writer Robert Louis Stevenson moved his honeymoon to the rustic but free setting of an abandoned mining camp when the $10-a-week going rate for Calistoga hotels proved too much for his slender purse.

On Sunday, the popular PBS restaurant review show, “Check, Please! Arizona,” hosts its first food festival at CityScape in Phoenix. While attendees enjoy a plethora of food and wine samples and live demonstrations from award-winning chefs like Robert McGrath and Chris Bianco, one humble festival booth — Pittsburgh Willy’s Gourmet Hot Dogs — takes the next step in its Cinderella story.

Local chefs featured on the Eight, Arizona PBS show “Check, Please! Arizona” gather at the inaugural Check, Please! Arizona Festival, where fans and foodies can sample some of the Valley’s best restaurant fare and audition for upcoming episodes of the show. Cuisine from at least 36 of the independent restaurants – from five-star dining establishments to tucked-away cafes – previously featured on the show will be offered.  Among event highlights are cooking demonstrations, panel discussions and the chance to audition in front of cameras.

The silky petals of a fragrant pink shrub rose; the crunchy texture of a gravel path; a nook where grass rustles and a stream runs. What we smell, see, hear, touch and taste can make a garden walk a wonderful sensory experience.

Mark was on the verge of losing it. A deadline was approaching for an important client and the success of the project was hinging on his teams activities.

My trick to throwing a great party — and I love throwing a great party — is to keep my stress level as low as possible. Because an at-ease host makes for at-ease guests.

More than 700 wines, liqueurs, ales, microbrews, coffees, teas, and sparkling waters will be available for tasting at the March 24 Bon Vivant food and drink festival, along with food from more than 30 Valley catering companies, restaurants and resorts.

This weekend downtown Chandler will be piled high with more than 20,000 pounds of BBQ at the Great American Barbeque and Beer Festival. The roster of restaurants dishing up ribs, brisket, pulled pork and chicken includes old favorites Famous Dave’s, Honey Bear’s BBQ, Joe’s Real BBQ and Tom’s BBQ, along with some newcomers including Porkopolis.

After Jody Farley Berens and Andy Royal lost their close friend, Michelle Singleton, to cancer in 2005, they noticed that while there were plenty of organizations aimed at helped in researching and battling cancer, there weren’t enough to help cancer patients get through the rigors of their day-to-day lives.

Gardening can be an intoxicating hobby, especially if the botany is booze-related.

I have a new favorite word. “Despite.”