Often wrongly equated with the cookery of the capital city, Vienna, Austrian cuisine is an amalgamation of dishes from all parts of the Austro-Hungarian empire.

3 cups all-purpose flour

Debbie Yee, pastry chef, Julia’s Kitchen

Jim Bertolucci, chef at Springs of Napa retirement home, has a new feather in his toque. He’s one of two chefs in California selected to participate in a week-long Culinary Conclave at the Culinary Institute of America at Hyde Park in New York. Bertolucci has been providing the meals at Springs for 21 years.

Adapted from Wild About Game by Janie Hibler (Broadway, 1998)

Dear editor, Your article on the destruction of non-native plants and trees in the Oxbow ("Return of the native species," March 31) is another government boondoggle.

Cooking demonstrations, open to the public at the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone in St. Helena this month explore “Cuisine of the Rose” foods of Lyon, France.

1/2 cup fromage blanc

Don’t be worried about those signs in the window of Annalien, downtown Napa’s Vietnamese restaurant, which make it appear that there’s a new owner. Owner Anna Lien has just bought out two of her partners and according to ABC regulations has to post her wine and beer license in the window fo 90 days.

It’s so nice to have a birthday during the spring. It’s as if the sun is shining and the cherry trees and camellias are blooming just for me. The whole world feels bright and young and fresh, so I can’t help but feel that way myself. And happily, my birthday didn’t fall during Passover this year, so I get to eat what I want. As I write this, the banana cake is baking in the oven, filling the house with a wonderful aroma.