by Krista | Dec 30, 2009 | Winter
I usually spend every Monday night cooking delish things with my fabulous friends at CEC, but this week I missed it because I was spending one last evening with my brother Ryan who flew in from Amsterdam for the holidays.
I didn’t miss out on good eating though, for Ry poured us glasses of red wine and fixed a fantastic dinner of glazed ahi tuna steaks with a veritable fiesta of a baby greens salad tossed with roasted beets and bell peppers, pears, corn niblets, Gorgonzola cheese and candied walnuts. Oooeee!!!
Afterward we had a jolly time playing Chicken Foot Dominoes with Mums, and were thrilled to bits when Daddy-O stayed up late and joined us for a couple of rounds. He is neither a night person nor a game person so we were thoroughly impressed and marked the momentous occasion with photo-taking to prove to my other sibs that it really did happen! 🙂 So happy you joined us, Pa! 🙂
Since I can’t rely on this week’s chronicling of CEC’s culinary adventures, I will go back in time a little bit and share photos and recipes from our Simple Italian Night, with Crab Cakes.
Cameron brought gorgeous strawberries and juicy apples to nibble on while Kat turned freshly caught crab from her parent’s beach house into the most tender and flavorful little crab cakes.
Darren shelled shrimp and threaded veggies onto skewers for savory kebabs on the grill.
I fried up wedges of polenta and topped them with marinated roasted peppers and garlicky mascarpone cheese. I love the crispy, buttery edges, the creamy polenta a perfect base for vinegary peppers and tart mascarpone.
We ended our meal with the simplest of desserts: plump raspberries and vanilla ice cream drizzled with balsamic vinegar.
Raspberries with Vanilla Ice Cream and Balsamic Vinegar
1 pint raspberries, washed
1 carton good quality vanilla ice cream
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
Scoop ice cream into dishes, top with raspberries and sprinkle with 1-2 Tbsp of balsamic vinegar.
by Krista | Dec 1, 2009 | Gulliver Tuesday
Although I love Washington State with its rugged coastline, pristine forests and soaring mountains, this fall has been a doozy with incessant rain, fog, and mist. I suppose all this clean air and lush green is worth a few dark months but, oh, how I miss the sun-drenched mornings of Italy.
This past spring four dear friends – Trish, Nat, Becks and Viss – joined me for an amazing week at a wonderful old villa in Southern Italy–Villa Trotta.
I knew it was beautiful from the photos online, and at 240 Euro per person for an entire week it was an absolute steal! But nothing prepared us for the beauty that awaited us. The villa clung to the side of a mountain, grape vines clambered over the arbor, geraniums flowered cheerily in pots down stone steps to the orchard, and three tiled terraces overlooked a valley dotted with olive groves and vineyards.
The villa echoed with our squeals and gasps of delight as we dashed from room to room not quite believing that this was actually real. That this wondrous place was truly ours for a whole week.
I loved every single moment of our time there, but somehow breakfast holds a special place in my heart.
Nat and I usually woke first, soft breezes wafting in through the lace curtains, dogs barking, Italians talking in the groves below. Viss would brew strong coffee and one by one we’d make our way out to the terrace, soaking in the sunshine and gazing out over the hills to the sea beyond. Bliss.
Strawberries were a favorite, followed by Nutella on chewy bread and thick Greek yogurt. If I close my eyes I can almost feel the sun beating down on bare shoulders. Almost.
