For years, I refused to eat eggs. I had eaten them as a kid and somewhere along the way, I decided I didn’t like them. Then came the college years, and one morning while peering into my fridge, looking for something to eat, I decided if I put enough cheese in a scrambled egg it might be edible. Surprise! It was!

So for a few more years, I only ate scrambled eggs, with a liberal amount of cheese. Then I branched out to scrambled egg with cheese and sausage, or basically an omelet. Then one day, sitting down to breakfast at Brennan’s, I decided, “What the hell! Let’s try an Eggs Benedict!”. A discovery was made. I don’t really like my eggs scrambled. I love runny egg yolk. Poached, over-easy, sunny-side-up, fried – eggs are friggin’ delicious this way. There’s really not much better than sliding your fork into the yolk area and watching it pour out everywhere.

Which leads me to this Sunday morning breakfast. Had I not had the epiphany while sitting at Brennan’s, sipping a Mr. Funk, I would have never tried this recipe. And I never would have discovered how perfect the combination of tomatoes, spinach, and egg yolk is. (more…)

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Breakfast, Dairy free, Gluten free, Vegetarian by Courtney

When my husband and I were in Venice on our honeymoon, we stopped into a small restaurant for lunch just off Piazza San Marco. We were the first people in the door for lunch, and we were the last to leave, with the waiters sweeping up around us after closing up until dinner. We enjoyed many great foods that day, but the wine was what really stuck out in our head. We enjoyed a bottle of La Fiorita Brunello di Montalcino that day, and when I was at a loss for what to buy my husband for his birthday this year, I decided to stock up on this memorable wine. (more…)

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Dinner, Gourmet, Italian, Sunday Suppers, Wine pairings by Courtney

Tonight for dinner, instead of ending with a sweet note, I decided to put together a cheese plate of local cheeses to round out our meal. At the cheese counter, I picked up a favorite, the Humboldt Fog from Cypress Grove. As I was perusing the other selections, I noticed a new offering from Cypress Grove – Truffle Tremor. I added that to my basket, and randomly selected a Cowgirl Creamery to round out my offerings (because I always like an odd number of cheeses). The Cowgirl was Red Hawk, and man, was it stinky! Very tasty, but so stinky you almost needed to hold your nose around this cheese. (more…)

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Appetizers, Dessert, Dinner by Courtney

Remember the days of Food Network actually having shows with cooking? Ahhh, barely. Thinking of that is almost as nostalgic as the show this recipe came from. Tyler Florence had decided to create an ultimate rainy day menu, which consisted of chicken soup, grilled cheese, and brownies. All with a gourmet twist of course.

With our rainy weekend and cooler days, I decided to make a grilled cheese panino, layering fresh mozzarella, pesto, and tomatoes on Acme’s Herb Slab, then weighting it down to grill until the cheese was nice and oozy. (more…)

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Comfort food, Italian, Lunch, Vegetarian by Courtney

This may be my hands-down favorite quick-an-easy meal. It’s so good, in fact, that I often order it if it’s an option on a restaurant menu! There’s just something about the thin pieces of angel hair coated with garlic, olive oil, and tomatoes that gets me every time.

Recreating it at home is pretty easy, and can be done in a myriad of ways depending on what you have on hand. A must is having olive oil, angel hair (though it might be argued that you could use a thicker noodle), and garlic. To start, get your water going so it will be boiling when you need it (add a tablespoon of kosher salt once it begins boiling). Add a tablespoon or so of olive oil to a skillet over medium-low heat. Saute chopped garlic in the oil until it has released its flavors (I usually do two cloves for myself, but I love garlic). (more…)

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Dairy free, Dinner, Italian, Quick and Easy, Vegan, Vegetarian by Courtney