Prosciutto and Melon

As an appetizer to our Cacio e Pepe, I served a light appetizer of Prosciutto and Honeydew Melon.

You really can't get much simpler than this, so I won't belittle your intelligence by writing out a recipe. The only tip I have is to choose quality, fresh ingredients. We used a Honeydew melon, thinly sliced Prosciutto and aged balsamic vinegar. We really love this vinegar. It is sweet and thick. We use it on berries or drizzled onto a caprese salad. We're almost finished with the bottle, and are interested to try new vinegars of the same type. Leave us a comment if you have any suggestions!

Some other recipes I looked up used fresh mint or Parmesan cheese. I don't think this is necessary if you have quality ingredients, but what the hay, go ahead and try whatever you think would work! You can also use Cantaloupe. Here's an interesting tip on choosing your Prosciutto.

Cacio e Pepe

I've recently stumbled upon several recipes for Cacio e Pepe. A dish that seems so simple it looks like you don't need a recipe for it. I often make butter/olive oil noodles and sprinkle with cheese and pepper. After delving into some of the recipes, I found that a few subtle tricks can make an otherwise plain dish pretty powerful.

I found these recipes helpful. 1 2 3 4

This is how we ended up making it:

1/4 cup olive oil
2 teaspoons fresh cracked pepper
2 cups freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese
Spaghetti - enough for 4 servings
Kosher Salt

Boil 3 quarts salted water for the pasta. Cook until al dente. I cooked ours for 8-9 mins. Drain, reserving 1.5 cups pasta water for the sauce.

We heated the olive oil in our trusty cast iron skillet on medium high heat. A few minutes should do the trick. Toss in the pepper, and stand back!

Pepper and Olive Oil

The addition causes the oil to pop a bit. Let the pepper infuse the oil for a minute or two. Next, add 1 cup of the reserved pasta water and really stand back!

Steamy!

You might want to turn on the hood fan. Ours was crackling and steamy for a few minutes. Let boil for a few minutes longer. I was afraid it was going to be too watery, so I let it boil longer than it needed to and ended up pouring more pasta water in at the end.

Next, add your pasta and toss it around to coat it with the sauce. Gently fold in or toss the cheese. Some commenters on the recipes listed above had a problem with clumpy cheese. I think the trick is freshly grated and finely grated cheese. I added the cheese slowly in three additions and it did not clump at all.

I turned the heat off while I was mixing the cheese in. I let it sit in the warm pan while tossing for a few minutes to make sure the cheese melted and the pasta was coated evenly. This is when i added about 1/4 cup of the reserved pasta water to make it easier to toss. I also sprinkled with a little salt. Not much is necessary, but obviously, use as much or as little as you'd like.

Plate, sprinkle with some extra cheese if you wish, and eat! It was flavorful without being overpowering. I think cooking the pepper in the oil first really brings out the flavor and allows the pepper flavor to evenly coat the pasta.

A Cup of Jo added some lemon to her dish, which I think would complement the flavors nicely. Next time I will add some lemon juice and zest to see how it fits. I will also try this dish with butter, or a butter/oil mixture, rather than  just using olive oil.

Overall, it is a simple dish and an easy way to spice up a meal with ingredients you already have in your arsenal!

Marinated Greek Lamb Chops and Roasted Brussel Sprouts

The last time we were at the grocery store we saw some beautiful lamb chops. We decided that we'd get them and figure out how to cook them later. When the day came to cook them, our decision came down to either a Greek-style marinade, or a recipe involving a crust. Because we felt like a lighter dish, we decided that we'd do the Greek-style marinade. Greek Lamb Chop recipes may have variations, but we didn't find many in our research. Every recipe has four major ingredients: oil, lemon juice, oregano and garlic (and salt/pepper). Most recipes call for using 8 chops, but we made due with 6 big ones. The recipe is very simple:

1/3 cup of oil
1/2 cup of fresh oregano (or a tablespoon of dried oregano)
6 chopped garlic cloves
The juice from 2 lemons
Salt and Pepper

Mix them all up, and pour over the chops:

We put them in a baking dish to marinade, but you can use a bag too. We marinated about four hours, turning the chops occasionally.

The chops cook pretty quickly once you get them in the broiler, so before we got to cooking the chops, our next step was preparing the brussel sprouts. I have no idea how to tell you how many brussel sprouts we had (two handfuls?), but it doesn't matter--the recipe is the same regardless of the amount. We halve them, put them in a baking pan, cover them in oil, salt and pepper:

Cook for 30-35 minutes in an oven pre-heated to 400 degrees, stirring occasionally. When we took them out we drizzled some balsamic vinegar over the sprouts:

Time to cook the chops! Transfer the chops to the broiler pan, and drizzle a little of the marinade over them. The recipes we saw called for 3 minutes in the broiler for medium rare chops. We wanted them cooked a little more, and had them in for about 5-6 minutes on each side (also, we had big chops, so they don't cook as quickly). Take out the chops, plate and serve!

(and put on music, pour some wine, and light candles):

Glorious Grapefruit!

I'm sitting at my desk, feeling the first hunger pang of the early afternoon when I realize I have a beautiful pink grapefruit within my reach. My first inclination is to get a good whiff of the unpeeled fruit. The smell reminds me of my grandmother who lived in Arizona. She had all kinds of citrus fruits dangling just outside her doorstep. What a dream! This took me on a little tangential daydream about visiting her when I was young...

Aside from the reminiscing, the scent also seemed to alert my senses and have a calming effect. This fruit has so many beneficial qualities. This website was very informative, so have a look around for yourself.

My grapefruit. From here via here.

Aside from the nutritional aspects, the essential oil in the peel has it's own powerful properties. I find that the scent uplifts my mood and makes me more alert. It also has sanitizing properties. I mix a few drops of the oil with water into a spritzer bottle to use as an air freshener. It can also be combined with tea tree oil or peppermint oil to be used as a counter cleaner, or yoga mat spray.

Indeed, I must confess, I scratched the surface of the peel to find fresh grapefruit oil, and I may have dabbed a bit on my wrists as a perfume. The oil can be irritating to the skin, so use caution.

I use the Aura Cacia essential oil. It can be purchased at Whole Foods, or online practically anywhere. I've also been using a rose hip oil on my face at night, and I've been mixing in a drop or two of the Grapefruit oil and the Bergamot oil in the palm of my hand before applying to the face.

Also, don't forget to zest your citrus fruits before eating them. I often use lemon zest on roasted veggies and in cupcakes and icings. I'm thinking there will be a grapefruit zest recipe in our near future!

nom nom nom!

Lime-Marinated Flank Steak

Tonight we made lime-marinated flank steak. It's a quick and simple recipe. For a 1 pound flank steak, you need the following ingredients for your marinade:

The juice from one lime

1/4 cup of olive oil

1 tsp salt

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground corriander

1 tsp garlic powder or a few garlic cloves

2 tbsp soy sauce

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

Whisk all the ingredients together and put them in a plastic bag with the steak to marinate. We've been told that the acid in the lime juice breaks down the muscle fibers (or something) in the steak, making it extra tender and juicy.

We marinated for about 2 hours because (a) we are hungry like horses and (b) we just got home from work and wanted to eat before midnight. Ideally, we think the marinade works best at 3 or more hours.

Flank steak is easy to cook in a cast iron skillet. We did about five minutes on each side, and voila! Easy-peasy lime-marinated flank steak.

How Much Does a Horse Eat?

If you are hungry as a horse, or know someone who gets hungry as a horse, you need measuring tools to figure out what to feed them: 

We recommend the I could eat a horse spaghetti measuring tool!