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! 

 
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