I’ve long wanted to make this recipe, which is in on of my favorite cookbooks, the Food of France. After my first dinner paired with La Fiorita’s Brunello di Montalcino, I decided this might be the perfect wine to accompany the dinner. After all, if I’m going to the trouble of locating venison here in the Bay area, I’m going to make this a special meal! Plus, the brunello has a somewhat fruity flavor, with more than a hint of berries that I wanted to see if I could coax out more by pairing with blackberries. (more…)

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Dinner, Gourmet, Sunday Suppers, Wine pairings by Courtney

When fresh figs start appearing in the market, I get excited. There’s something about a fruit so fleeting that you can only get it a couple of times a year. When I made my locavore-inspired dinner a while back, the first figs had hit the market, and luckily Whole Foods wasn’t just carrying the black mission figs I’m not a fan of, but also the greenish-brown calmyrna figs that are my favorite, fresh or dried.

I had picked up a basket of these guys with no idea what I planned on doing with them. The next day, I decided on the summer vegetable gnocchi for dinner, so I began my fig brainstorming with an appetizer in mind. Wine-poached figs? No, that seemed more suitable for a dry fig. Balsamic-glazed figs? Now we’re talking! (more…)

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Appetizers, Gluten free, Gourmet, Quick and Easy by Courtney

While I made this meal over a month ago, I’m thinking my final fling with summer might have to be a repeat of the entire thing, beginning to end. Either way, I know the final bits of squash my garden yields would be well-served in this amazing gnocchi recipe that lets each ingredient shine, feeling light but oh-so-decadent at the same time.

The ingredients are simple – gnocchi, butter, squash & zucchini, a bit of corn, garlic, and goat cheese. (more…)

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Dinner, Italian, Vegetarian, Wine pairings by Courtney

I’m not sure if it’s the “heat”, the lazy lull of summer, or years of actually living somewhere hot and humid that makes me want to kick back and nosh on something simple for dinner. This time of year I’m very apt to make a meal out of caprese salad or proscuitto and melon. No cooking, no oven, just a couple of ingredients sliced and plated, and best served with a glass of wine.

To that end, when someone suggested bruschetta to me late last week, it immediately grabbed hold of that place in my brain that stores my cravings and didn’t let go. What could be simpler? While I did have to fire up the grill (gas, this time, to keep things simple), there wasn’t much more effort needed. (more…)

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Cooking outdoors, Dairy free, Dinner, In the Garden, Italian, Quick and Easy, Vegetarian by Courtney

In honor of Bastille Day, I thought I would share one of my new favorite summer salads, Salad Niçoise. I had been pretty hung up on creating this salad as soon as my green beans started coming in. Of course, by the time they were ready to be picked, the summer heat had become somewhat unbearable, and the last thing I wanted to do was slave over a hot stove inside the house. So instead, I decided to grill most of my Niçoise components, including the salmon, which is not the traditional fish for Niçoise, but given its freshness, was probably much more delicious than tuna ever thought of being. (more…)

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Dairy free, Dinner, French, Gluten free, In the Garden, Lunch, Salad, Wine pairings by Courtney