Monthly Archives: June 2011

Tomato Watermelon Gazpacho

June 15, 2011

My partner and I engage in the occasional pissing match from time to time. If the subject is anything Italian, he’s claims he’s an expert. So, I maintain I’m the expert on everything else. And then we tried to pick out a watermelon. I don’t know if you know this, but there are clues telling you when a watermelon is perfectly sweet and ready to eat. The trick? Look for a lighter spot – usually yellowish – where the melon rested on the ground. If the rings are solid all the way around without breaking, chances are it was...

Cilantro Crab Salad

June 11, 2011

As a kid in (mostly) land-locked Georgia, I knew I liked seafood, but never appreciated crab until I was older. The only crabs I knew were stone crabs my dad would try to catch on vacation, inevitably swearing when he was attacked by that giant pincher. But our local fish market carries crab from different east coast regions, so I’ve learned to look for more than claws. Since its crab season, I decided to buy some freshly picked crab meat and make a simple salad where you could really taste the meat. This salad is super simple, but all...

Happy (6th) Anniversary

June 8, 2011

Today, my partner and I will celebrate our 6th anniversary. No, we aren’t married, but we like to celebrate the day we met. I won’t tell you how we met, I like to keep some things to myself. But, we attended a wedding last year where a close friend was married to her man of 12 years. I was invited to her cake tasting where I met the Sylvia Weinstock. To this day, Marg still refers to Sylvia’s bakery as “the cake factory.” Meanwhile, Fabio complains I never use my KitchenAid mixer, so I used Marg’s wedding cake as...

Caprazy Caprese

June 7, 2011

Fabio just came back from a trip to Italy where he visited family for the first time in years. On the two-week trip, his cousin toured him through Nice, St. Tropez and Cannes, then he spent a week in Italy – tough trip, I know. When he made his was back to Torino, he spent most of his time playing catch up with family. Lucky for me, he came back to The States baring a few family treasures – one being his aunt’s homemade olive oil. Until recently, I’ve never been one to purchase expensive olive oils. Typically, I...

Spread the Love

June 1, 2011

After working in restaurants through college, I worked for a small advertising firm in Atlanta, but I was always short on cash. I was lucky to have a friend who was joining efforts with a small catering company, and he would hire me from time to time to work different events around Atlanta. His partner was a talented chef who started Sun in My Belly, and I learned a lot about entertaining just by watching the way she plated and set up catering stations. After a move to New York, I would pick up more gigs where I would...