Apologies for going dark here recently, but I promise it has been for a good reason. I’m currently writing from Valledolmo, a small village in central Sicily, about an hour and a half away from Palermo, where I arrived a little over three weeks ago to attend Cook the Farm, a 9-week culinary and horticulture program at the Anna Tasca Lanza cooking school. These past few weeks I’ve been busy settling in, cooking, gardening, eating, and learning all about this wonderfully-crazy island and its culture. Though I took a bit of an (unintentional) break from blogging, I have lots of good things coming your way. In the weeks before I left, I was in my kitchen near-round-the-clock testing, tasting, and photographing recipes to share while I’m gone, and will also be updating my Instagram with my adventures.
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salads
Squash, Pinto Bean, Corn, and Kale Mason Jar Salad
Thanksgiving leftovers are pretty epic on day one, but by day two, I tend to get a little bored by the mild flavors and starchiness of it all. That’s where this rainbow of a salad comes into play. A celebration of fall produce — ok, corn is not really in season, but thawed previously-frozen kernels work great here — it is a fiber-packed antidote to holiday overindulgence, and a great make-ahead option.
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Arugula, Endive, and Radicchio Salad With Parmesan
Nearly a year after our cross-country move, I’m still loving living in New York. It certainly has it’s trying moments, but at least for the foreseeable future, it’s where I most want to be. That said, there are certain things I miss dearly about San Francisco: primarily my friends and family, but also the incredible farm-fresh produce, and the superb restaurants. One of the spots that I yearn for most might surprise those who aren’t from the Bay Area. While I’m hardly wanting for killer pizza in New York, I often find myself dreaming about San Francisco’s Pizzeria Delfina. Yes, the pizza is on point (I’m particularly fond of the salsciccia and broccoli raab pies), but what I really crave is the insalata tricolore, a lemony chicory salad that (at least for me) is a non-negotiable order.
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Italian Chopped Salad With Salami, Prosciutto, and Fontina
One of Andrew’s all-time-favorite foods is an Italian sub, so when I was flipping through Williams-Sonoma’s newly-rereleased cookbook Salad of the Day: 365 Recipes for Every Day of the Year and saw a recipe for an Italian chopped salad loaded with prosciutto, salami, and fontina, I knew I had to try it out, and the sooner the better. On the first bite, I wasn’t quite sure what to think — there’s a lot going on here — but I soon found myself with an empty bowl and a satisfied smile on my face. (Andrew, predictably, was also a fan.)
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Radicchio Salad With Manchego
There’s much to like about Food52, Amanda Hesser and Merrill Stubbs’ blog, culinary community, and shop, but if I had to choose just one area to highlight, it would be the blog’s aptly-titled Genius Recipes column, written by Kristen Miglore. Every week, Miglore highlights a recipe from a cookbook, restaurant, or other source that earns this title from both being ridiculously-tasty and clever in its preparation.
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Thai Cucumber and Sausage Salad
If you’ve yet to try Chinese sausage (also known as lap cheong, lap chong, or lap xuong), you’re in for a real treat. Sort of similar in flavor to the king of bao fillings — char sui — but saltier, these dried pork sausages add a punch of flavor to fried rice, taro cake, lo mai gai (lotus leaf rice), and other delightful Chinese dishes.
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Kale Salad With Walnuts, Golden Raisins, and Toasted Breadcrumbs
One of the biggest hurdles I ran into while launching this blog was choosing a name that represents myself and the type of content I’ll be sharing here. Ideas ranged from the completely-ridiculous (e.g. Yuppies Live Here, after a somewhat-accurate spray-painted tag left on our apartment) to the at-least-semi-viable (I Am a Cupcake, because, as my friend Ally says, I look like one). Finally, after weeks of anguish, I narrowed it down to two contenders, and polled my friends for advice. Now, it’s pretty obvious A Modest Feast won out, but as a tribute to the runner-up — Not Only Kale — it seemed fitting to have the first recipe I share here feature that leafy green.
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