After-Work Gourmet by Lisa Messinger

"Apps," the wildly popular applications for iPhones and other "smart phones" — Apple reports there are more than 100,000 varieties available of this rapidly advancing new technology for their phones alone — are often only as fun as you make them. Sure, you can have a dictionary at hand, read a book or even open your minivan's sliding door with an app, but apply a little creativity of your own and you might just find yourself on a progressive picnic through the wine country.

That's the light bulb that went off in my mind when I was clicking through information about some food and wine apps. So far, most recipe apps just mimic recipe websites — not desirable on the small phone screen. Wine apps tend to rate the vintages just like wine guidebooks. I like the innovative Mr. Picky Wine Tasting Apps (www.mr-picky.com) because they take advantage of the technology to make it a truly interactive experience.

For instance, not only are there scores of winery descriptions, contact information and hours listed in their Santa Barbara, Paso Robles and Temecula Wine Tasting Apps designed around California hotspots, but Google Maps opens up to guide you to your next tasting destination and a click of a button gets the vintner on the phone. A "Near Me" button tracks your location and lets you know which wineries are closest.

Extensive Tips and Favorites sections advise you to the best picnic (or wedding!) spots, recommended restaurants and gourmet stores. Like many apps, these sell for just 99 cents each at the Apple iTunes store (http://www.apple.com/itunes), although they surpass the information in many full-size books. This all inspired my idea for a progressive wine country picnic.

Like a progressive dinner party, where one potluck dish is eaten at each of varying locations, why not pack a picnic built on creating dishes to match specific wines you'll be tasting or purchasing at wineries along the path suggested by your app? This equals wine-tasting fun multiplied by even more fun.

I asked Mr. and Mrs. Picky, native Santa Barbarans who are known to be gourmet cooks as well as wine experts, for examples to get your creative juices flowing. Like many food and wine reviewers, the couple often goes incognito.

They suggested an easy, yet exceptionally flavorful, sandwich on country bread. First, fresh rosemary is whisked into mayonnaise and then paired on the thick bread with beefsteak tomatoes and a smokey blue cheese, like the famed Rogue River variety that is made by the manufacturer by covering it in Syrah grape leaves, which have been macerated in pear brandy.

When the graphic designing/food writing couple picnic, they pair this with 2007 Purisima Mountain Vineyard Syrah from Beckmen Vineyards in Los Olivos, which Wine Spectator noted as "a gorgeous Syrah that has come out of the gate strong and is dark, rich and full-bodied, showing spicy wild berry and blackberry, with hints of boysenberry and black licorice and touches of sage and pepper and gushes with flavor from start to finish with fine structure and depth."

Like at many wineries nationwide, the setting is as tasty as the wine and ripe for picnics. Beckmen features a duck pond with little wooden gazebos surrounded by acres of green grass and vineyards. Mr. and Mrs. Picky worked there one summer to gather research — and for the healthy purchasing discounts.

Again, as with numerous wine trails nationwide, another gorgeous setting is within minutes.

Coquelicot Estate Vineyard (prounounced ko-klee-ko and named after the striking red flower that canvasses the French countryside) is less than a mile away. This is where Mr. and Mrs. Picky would choose to have the next course of a progressive picnic: A six-fruit-filled lavender- and mint-infused honey-kissed salad.

With the dish that functions as part side dish/part refreshing dessert, they sip the 2007 Coquelicot Estate Riesling, which is dry but not sticky or syrupy. The Wine Enthusiast noted it is "like a perfectly stacked mille-feuille of apricots and white peaches."

As for the idyllic setting, gushes Mrs. Picky, "There is also a bocce ball court and the entire grounds always seem scented with jasmine!"

ROSEMARY-BLUE CHEESE PICNIC SANDWICHES

Rosemary mayonnaise:

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon finely chopped rosemary

1/2 teaspoon grated garlic

3/4 cup mayonnaise

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 teaspoon lemon juice

Sandwiches:

8 slices country-style bread

5 ounces smokey blue cheese (see Note)

1/4 head romaine lettuce

2 large beefsteak tomatoes, cut into 8 slices

Yields 4 servings.

To prepare mayonnaise: Combine the oil, rosemary and garlic in a small pan over low heat, stirring occasionally and cook until garlic begins to sizzle; about 5 minutes. Remove from heat to cool completely.

Stir the 3/4 cup mayonnaise, salt and pepper together in a bowl. Whisk the lemon juice and the olive oil mixture into the mayonnaise until smooth. Stores refrigerated up to 5 days.

To prepare sandwiches: Spread 1 1/2 teaspoons rosemary mayonnaise on each of the 8 slices of bread. Slice cheese into 1/3-inch-thick pieces and divide among 4 slices of bread. Layer with lettuce and tomato and top with remaining bread slices. Slice in half and serve or wrap and chill for up to 3 hours.

Note: Famed Rogue River Smokey Blue is sold at amazon.com, or you can order directly from the Rogue Creamery online store, roguecreamery.com, or substitute blue cheese of your choice.

Variation: Add cooked, crisp smoked or regular bacon to the sandwiches.

— www.CountryLiving.com

LAVENDER-SCENTED FRUIT SALAD

2 tablespoons honey or agave nectar

3/4 teaspoon dried edible lavender (see recipe instructions or substitute 1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh mint)

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Pinch salt

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

1 peach, sliced into 1/2-inch-thick wedges

1 nectarine, sliced into 1/2-inch-thick wedges

1 large plum, sliced into 1/2-inch-thick wedges

1 cup raspberries

1 cup blackberries

3/4 cup blueberries

1 tablespoon small whole mint leaves

Yields 4 servings.

Combine honey, 1/3 cup water, edible lavender (often available in supermarket spice aisles), pepper and salt in a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring until honey has dissolved. Remove from heat and cover; let steep 10 to 15 minutes, or until room temperature. Strain into a serving bowl; discard lavender and stir in lime juice.

Add peach, nectarine and plum slices to honey mixture, and toss well. Add berries and the 1 tablespoon of mint leaves. Toss gently to combine. Refrigerate 1 hour, or until chilled.

— www.Health.com

Lisa Messinger is a first-place winner in food writing from the Association of Food Journalists and the author of seven food books, including "Mrs. Cubbison's Best Stuffing Cookbook" and "The Sourdough Bread Bowl Cookbook." She also writes the Creators News Service "Cooks' Books" column. To find out more about Lisa Messinger and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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