Many moons ago my uncle made a mushroom extravaganza for Christmas dinner. There was mushroom soup, mushroom loaf, and a mushroom risotto. At the time, mushrooms were something I couldn’t stand to eat, yet I didn’t want to hurt his feelings since he had made such a wonderful meal. So I ate the soup. I ate some of the loaf. And I ate the risotto. I’m not certain if by the time I got to the risotto I was just so inundated by the mushrooms that I didn’t notice them as much, but I really liked the risotto. I remember somewhat picking at the mushrooms, looking at them in wonderment by this portion of the meal, thinking, “Well, this isn’t too bad!”

Shiitakes ended up being my gateway mushroom. Fast forward many years later, and I enjoy most types of mushrooms (still not a fan of the white button, however). This past week my CSA had quite a few varieties of mushrooms available, so I decided I would try my hand at recreating the risotto that was the first way I ever enjoyed mushrooms. (more…)

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Dinner, Gluten free, Italian, Lunch by Courtney

This focaccia is the perfect complement for yesterday’s veal meatballs. If you use happen to have a bread maker to do the heavy lifting on the mixing and kneading, you’ll spend no time at all (okay, well, mere minutes) getting this bread on the table. The bread will be soft, just the right amount of chewy, just the right amount of crispy, with a little bit of spice from the red pepper flakes. If you manage to have any leftover, it makes a great match with my eggs baked in prosciutto the next morning. (more…)

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Bread, Italian by Courtney

When I saw this recipe, it just screamed “Spring!!!” at me. Fresh artichokes, veal, carrots, citrus, and a bit of cream. Just heavy enough to break the chill of a spring evening, but light enough to not weigh you down as you’re moving into the warmer months. With Easter just around the corner, I thought it would be the perfect time to post this special meal that takes a little bit of time, but shines so beautifully on the dinner table and is the perfect meal to serve family style that it is worth it! (more…)

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

This is one of my go-to weeknight meals, and it is a great way to use up any random vegetables you may have left over. Growing up, my mom always dressed up marinara in a jar by sauteing some onions and beef (along with some other spices and peppers and such on occasion) before adding the marinara. I changed that up a bit, decided to forgo the beef and just use every veggie I had on hand. Everything is fair play – carrots, squash, zucchini, spinach, broccoli, fresh tomatoes, kale, peppers – you name it, I’ve tossed it in my drug-through-the-garden spaghetti. The key is to always keep a few things on hand (more…)

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

One of the grand things about summer is grazing on the fresh fruits and veggies that pop up in our gardens, farmers markets, and local groceries. Tomatoes, squash, beans, berries – they’re all at their peak in flavor, and that means you don’t have to do too much to them to make them scrum-diddly-uptious!

Last week I showed you a slightly more involved way to enjoy your summer squash. This week I’ll show you all the other super-simple antipasto I made to fill up my antipasti platter. Caprese, melon e prosciutto, and roasted shishito peppers made it to my platter this time, and their preparation couldn’t be simpler. (more…)

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Appetizers, Gluten free, In the Garden, Italian, Quick and Easy by Courtney