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Young & HungryIf you can't take the heat, get outta the kitchen! |
| 18 February |
Now that the contest is over, I can finally post this delicious losing recipe for those of you that, like me, feel it’s really a winner. Every so often Katy and I like to try our hand at various contests. Thus far we’ve won a Maggiano’s gift card, martini glass set, and free ice cream from our endeavors. Woo hoo! Yes, it would have been nice to win a trip to Aspen for the Food & Wine Festival, but in the end we don’t do it for the prize. Motivation is a funny thing. Sometimes it seems like I have it in all the wrong places and for all the wrong reasons, but I suppose every so often it really pulls through. Take this pizza, for example. Why was I so insistent upon concocting the perfect combination of ingredients, scouring multiple grocery stores, and gathering friends to chow it down? The process, from concept to cookery, took over a month! I don’t have any strong ties to PAMA, odds are we wouldn’t win, and it’s not like any of my guests had their hearts set on a pomegranate pizza, a strange sounding duo from the start. Were I to direct all that motivation towards cleaning my apartment, work, or even working out – oh the places I’d go! Alas, I am motivated to fill bellies and tell the tales of breakfasts, brunches, and lunches past.
It was a especially cold fall Friday night. The day was short with the extra hour of morning light when us lucky ones are still fast asleep. After battling the Atlanta traffic and my less than stellar sense of direction in my car filled with fennel, flatbread, and cheese, I made it to Vinings Village for a glass of wine with a friend and her visiting Mother. After lingering a little too long I jumped back in my car planning and plotting my To Do list all the while…………..
| 3 February |
Just when I had come to terms with the fact that I was not getting a callback, there it came! A call from an unknown number in LA mid-wine tasting. On a side note, I would like to give kudos to the Tasting Room in Sandy Springs for hosting one of the best and most informative wine tastings I’ve ever attended. Back to the phone call. Not having yet realized the importance of the mysterious number in my call log, I thoughtlessly dialed voice mail while perusing the isles of the wine shop next door with my girl friends. Stop. Drop. Squeal! They called and are wondering if I’m still interested! Duh, of course I am. Roll camera!
It all started with leftover nuts. Hazelnuts, to be exact. I have quite an assortment of nuts lingering in my pantry from Christmas just begging to live up to their full potential. Who am I to deny a lonely hazelnut their proper fate? And so I thought, hazelnuts and…..orange….and….fish! Yes it sounds like a bizarre combination, but upon my required due diligence I found that many a chef has gone there before. And so I had my main course, orange scented hazelnut encrusted halibut or err…salmon. With sides still TBD, I kept thinking until I came up with a more complimentary rendition on a braised fennel I learned in a cooking class in Italy and, last but not least, the curious potato risotto from this month’s Bon Appétit!
| 11 January |
I made this recipe for the first time last Christmas Eve. Having enjoyed fennel salads for years, I was looking for a recipe composed of simple ingredients and clean flavors, and, of course, Craft fit the bill. Since then, I’ve made this salad time and again, particularly as a counterbalance for heavy meals. The light, refreshing flavors and crisp texture are the perfect way to end a meal, much as the Italians do. On occasion, I’ve also added orange segments and black olives, lovely compliments to the fennel’s licorice flavor, but this salad is simply divine as is, no frills necessary.
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