Category Archives: Entrée

Prosciutto, Mozzarella, and Cantaloupe Salad

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prosciutto mozzarella and cantaloupe salad

As much as I loved summering in Florida, visiting friends and family, it’s nice to be home again. Whenever I travel, especially for long stretches, I start to yearn for my kitchen. A kitchen is a very intimate space and the objects and ingredients within a kitchen tell a story. This summer I was in a kitchen devoid of personality—a hotel kitchen. Alas, no hanging pots and pans, no piles of randomly stacked cooked books, no handwritten notes, no jars of spices from far reaches of the world, and no stashed away goodies for late night snacking. read more

Tabouleh (Burghul and Parsley Salad)

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Tabouleh, burghul and parsley salad, I recently featured two recipes with pancetta, after all what’s not to love? However, this week I want to present a tabouleh recipe to show that vegetarian food can be equally delicious and fulfilling. This healthy and flavorful tabouleh stems from the Middle East and consists of burghul, parsley, scallions, mint, and tomatoes tossed with a lemon vinaigrette. Burghul is a type of whole grain wheat, making this salad extra nutritious. The herbs add freshness to the salad, while the tart lemon juice counterbalances the sweet tomatoes. Serve this tabouleh with pita chips and hummus for a complete meal! read more

Leek Pie

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Leek Pie, French leek pie, leeks

Food brings back memories in powerful ways. This past week I recreated the first dinner Corey and I shared in France for our honeymoon. Our good friend Marshall was teaching English in Noyon, France and we were lucky enough to get to visit him for part of our journey. He graciously prepared this dinner for us and it was an epicurean delight.

We started the meal off with a bottle of Sauternes—a wine made by a rare fungus growth on grapes, which results in a higher sugar content, producing a very sweet but complex tasting wine. We paired the wine with goat cheese, foie gras, Camembert cheese, Moroccan olives, and several fresh baguettes. read more

Carbonara

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carbonara, Italian, panncetta, pasta

Everyone loves carbonara! It’s fast, requires fewer than ten ingredients, and is truly delicious. Pancetta adds richness, making each bite savory. If you haven’t tried pancetta yet, you really should! I used to substitute bacon for it, as I didn’t have a good local source.

I recently discovered that I can get cured meats—pancetta, prosciutto, and sopressata, for example—at my local deli for a fraction of the cost of prepackaged varieties. I immediately bought some pancetta, wondering whether it would taste noticeably different than bacon. It actually has quite a distinctive taste, less smoky than bacon, more peppery and porky. read more

Kale Pasta with Breadcrumbs

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Kale Pasta with Breadcrumbs, kale pasta, kale and pasta, kale, pasta, Italian, olive oil, sage-infused olive oil

I decided on a pasta dish for the final course of my Italian dinner—after all, what kind of an Italian meal would it be without pasta? I steered away from cream, since my cream of asparagus soup already highlighted this ingredient. Instead, I made a sauce from the sage-infused olive oil left over from the fried sage appetizer. Maintaining the theme of previous courses, I featured something green in the entrée as well. Another symbolic reference to spring—bring on the green!

I chose kale as the focal point, as kale and pasta pair well. Kale, unlike other greens, doesn’t lose its robust texture when cooked; it wilts, but it holds its shape and doesn’t get slimy. Kale is also very nutritious, making it a great addition to any meal. Breadcrumbs take this kale and pasta dish to the next level, providing a garlicky crunch with each and every bite. read more