Adventure Begins in the Kitchen
There’s something about cold weather that makes me crave the coziness of meaty red sauce. But it’s still January and I’m still in the constant process shedding the holiday fluff, so I got to thinking about a no-noodle alternative.
And since I’m always stuffing zucchini into meat dishes, why not change it up and stuff meat into a zucchini dish? And that’s how this recipe was born.
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Our first dinner at the Casale Di Valle was memorable in so many ways. All of the Storytellers were together around a single table for the first time. We were familiar faces, familiar voices, but we didn’t know each other at all {a frequent feeling in the blogging world}. And over the course of our first dinner, a home cooked meal by Chef Ana and an array of DaVinci Wines, we’d skip straight past acquaintance to friendship.
The meal consisted of a variety of grilled meat and veggies and a grain salad I would never forget: farro with fresh tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, olive oil, and a simple seasoning of salt and pepper. Such an ordinary list of ingredients may leave you wondering why this dish was so memorable. But its simplicity allowed the flavor of each ingredient to shine. And it was the first time I had ever noticeably appreciated the taste of olive oil. I’d be sure to bring a few bottles of Chef Ana’s olive oil of choice home with me.
Oh and the wine! The wine allowed us to enjoy each other’s company long past the point of jet lag exhaustion. We started with Pinot Grigio and, from there, moved to Chianti and Chianti Riserva. This meal would also be the the first of many meals where all three wines {and occasionally the Brunello} would be passed across the table, from friend to friend, to complement our meal.
My version of Chef Ana’s recipe below pairs wonderfully with DaVinci Chianti.
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What a Monday! It’s week three at the new job and I couldn’t be happier. I’ve been getting these bursts of adrenaline and excitement that I don’t remember feeling consistently since 2007 when I worked as a project engineer on this building. Let me just tell ya, it’s exciting to be excited about {real} work again!
And this excitement, rather than taking away from, is flowing directly into FoodFash. I drove home with atypical energy for 6-ish o’clock and a huge grin {one of those ear to ear kind}. I knew from the moment I walked in the front door that I was going to own the polenta pizza I had been dreaming about for days.
I made my own sauce, acknowledging that I prefer my marinara over most. And then I whipped out the new cast iron skillet that ordered through Gilt a few weeks back. I stacked and baked and topped and ate. I was satisfied, completely.
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