Author Meg Houston Maker

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Meg Houston Maker
Columnist
Meg Houston Maker, MA, CSW, is a writer curious about nature, culture, food, wine, and place. She’s passionate about traditional food-ways, artisanal food and wine production, and the human connection to landscape. Meg is former columnist and former Executive Editor of Palate Press. Find her essays about communications, social information, and writing on megmaker.com. Find her essays about food, wine, and the pleasures of the table on Maker’s Table. Follow her on Twitter @megmaker.

What I Learned Inside the CIA

Meg Houston Maker
Features
3
No, not that CIA—the other one, in Hyde Park, New York: the Culinary Institute of America. I’m an experienced cook. I’ve done my 10,000 hours in the kitchen, maybe even 10,000 hours chopping onions. I know about mise en place. I know how to mince a shallot. I have decent

Monastrell: It’s From Murcia

Meg Houston Maker
Features
9
“Smile!” I felt the vineyard stones crunch under my feet as I backed up for the photo, squinting and grinning in the clean midday light. Head-trained vines stood in stiff regiments behind me, the scenery yielding to craggy mountains against a backdrop of crystalline sky. It was my fourth and

Wine With Salad: Pairing Tricks from the Pros

Meg Houston Maker
Features
4
Your guests have arrived, and your dinner party is bubbling along. Everyone’s twirling flutes of Champagne and nibbling canapés as they chitchat and catch up. You sit for apps, and more wine is poured. The chatter now mingles with jolly tintinnabulations of cutlery and stemware. Soon that course is through,