We had such a great dinner last night - so simple and yet so yummy and elegant. It reminded me of dinner at my Aunt Carol and Uncle Tony's house where the go-to meal is (of course) angel hair pasta with homemade sauce and a huge salad. Aunt Carol's salads, comprised of nothing but salad greens, spices, and oil and vinegar, are legendary because they are always
so good and unable to be repeated by any of us who try. But I think I got pretty close last night. I inhaled the salad like it was my last meal, so it must have been good.
Additionally I cracked a bottle of Cab Franc and made the most heavenly appetizer by Giada. It was SO simple and yet one of the best starters I've ever had. B and I just kept going "WOW!" "Oh!! Damn! It's SO GOOD!" All it was was
Crostini with Gorgonzola and Honey. Slice a baguette, coat with olive oil and toast. Then add slices of gorgonzola and drizzle with honey - that's it. The honey cuts through all of the intense flavor of the gorgonzola and it's such a smooth, buttery, and slightly sweet treat. I would even have it for a dessert in that eat-like-the-French-and-have-cheese-for-dessert kind of way.
Additionally I cracked a bottle of Cab Franc and made the most heavenly appetizer by Giada. It was SO simple and yet one of the best starters I've ever had. B and I just kept going "WOW!" "Oh!! Damn! It's SO GOOD!" All it was was Crostini with Gorgonzola and Honey. Slice a baguette, coat with olive oil and toast. Then add slices of gorgonzola and drizzle with honey - that's it. The honey cuts through all of the intense flavor of the gorgonzola and it's such a smooth, buttery, and slightly sweet treat. I would even have it for a dessert in that eat-like-the-French-and-have-cheese-for-dessert kind of way.
3 comments:
I do love me some Giada-- most of her meals are delicious and easy. Filets with goat cheese and balsamic syrup are a fave, as is the everyday bean salad. Yum!
Sounds DELICIOUS. I love simple and tasty the most.
When my parents came back from Italy, they served us salad that consisted of greens, extra virgin olive oil, and salt. That's it. It tasted so simple and delicious, I now do it all the time. Sometimes I add pepper and garbanzos for extra protein, but seriously, it's a winner.
You know how when no one actually teaches you to cook and you just have to wing it and you follow recipe after recipe after recipe until finally something sinks in and clicks? That happened to me with the realization that onion and garlic and ginger all go in the skillet for about two minutes first. Then you add your saucier ingredients or meat or whatever. So elemental, but when no one ever TELLS you that, and you just figure it out, it opens up so much room for improvization that you can't do until you have some basics down.
Anyway, all that rambling was prelude to telling you that it just clicked for me that "those" kind of cheeses: gorgonzola, blue cheese, maybe parm and romano? You know, STRONG cheeses. They need to be paired with sweet. I love recipes with those cheeses, and so we do them a lot, but I'm just now making that connection. And so excited now to realize that I can wing it, pairing willy-nilly based on what we have in the house.
Ah, I love that feeling of knowing I'm finally LEARNING to cook.
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