For the next few months, my husband and I are lucky enough to have the chance to live in London. While there’s a great many restaurants and pubs to eat at, coming off of a 3 week vacation has me hankering for a bit of my own cooking. So one of the first nights here, I decided to whip up a simple pasta meal. Simple, because the place we are staying in had tea, sugar, and a bit of iodized salt, and I needn’t go broke procuring the staples I would need to make a meal. No longer did I have my 80+ spices at hand or condiments galore.

On my first pass through the grocery stores, I had noticed the brussels sprouts looked amazingly good, so I decided to make a simple saute of those with some pancetta and toss it with pasta. I was really craving a homemade pasta, and since the store didn’t have any, I decided just to pick up the flour and eggs and make it myself (plus, bonus, I could have scrambled eggs for breakfast).

All was well until I arrived back at our apartment and discovered there were absolutely no measuring utensils whatsoever. (more…)

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Dinner, Italian, Wine pairings by Courtney

Back when the weather started to turn cool, I made a list of the various cool-weather foods I couldn’t wait to make, my comfort foods for winter 2012-2013. I promised to post a few new recipes this season, and finally, I’ve gotten around to making a few of my favorites and documenting them. The first is this terribly simple chicken cacciatore served over a creamy, parmesan-cheese-laced polenta that screams comfort food.

Cacciatore is Italian for hunter, thus this is the hunter’s chicken. The preparation is simple, with just a few items that need chopping and sauteing before you let the chicken braise in a tomato-wine sauce. (more…)

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Comfort food, Dinner, Gluten free, Italian by Courtney

It’s one of those tips that it seems everyone knows, until you hear from that one person who doesn’t. And to them it’s mind-blowing, earth-shattering… okay, maybe not. But it’s super-neat and cool! Or, maybe just really handy.

So with that in mind, I share the flavor-enhancer-in-an-ice-cube-tray trick. When you have bits of liquid or semi-liquid things left over (or if you just want to perfectly portion a huge batch of something), pour into an ice cube tray and freeze. Each cube usually yields 1 to 2 tablespoons of whatever. You could do this with stocks for those recipes that call for 1 tablespoon here or there, leftover wine, citrus juices, or, as I’ve done here, my pesto. These are perfect for a serving of pasta or tossing into a baked egg. (more…)

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Prep for Later Use, Quick tip by Courtney

It always happens after the big holidays – you have a few leftovers in the refrigerator. At first you work your way through the the prepared foods, simply reheating or making sandwiches from hams and turkeys, but there’s always those extra bits of raw ingredients left over, such as excess vegetables that may not have made their way into the rich dishes you created for Christmas dinner.

Fear not! Instead of simply steaming or boiling these veggies, why don’t you add some spice to your life, making this modern take on vegetable pakora? (more…)

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Appetizers, Dairy free, Gluten free, Indian, Vegan, Vegetarian by Courtney

As the holidays approach, life is probably a bit hectic and you’re looking for something quick and easy to have for lunch or dinner. While you could run out to the local Subway, last time I did that I was so disappointed by the lackluster flavor of a sandwich I used to adore, the Italian BMT. A quick pass through the local grocery store, though, and I have all of the makings to put together one quickly at home. (more…)

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Quick and Easy, Sandwiches by Courtney