antipasti.

Since I can't resist watching The Emmy's in its entirety (including pre-show red carpet!), I needed some serious award show snacks tonight.

In my opinion, nothing is better than an antipasti plate of cheese & meat, pickles & olives with a fresh crusty baguette. Antipasti plates always feel special and fancy, even though they're super easy to put together.

Behold:

(from left to right)
1. Creminelli Cacciatore salame
2. french baguette by Good Earth
3. Creminelli prosciutto
4. roasted red pepper
5. Castelvetrano olives
6. membrillo paste
7. Bocconcino di Capra cheese
8. Barber's Cheddar cheese
9. Carmody cheese

summer sunday sandwich.

Since I've decided that I'm no longer "having" Mondays, I will continue today as if it were Sunday. I love having two Sundays.

What's better on a first or second Sunday afternoon than a delicious sandwich labored over and cherished? This is definitely how I think about food all the time: 'How can I get the most best, delicious thing possible?' I did pretty good.

Back in my Italian deli days, I used to create a sort of "Coppa Caprese" sandwich that was essentially the Tricolore with coppa, on a baguette with a tasty basil vinaigrette. Yesterday I decided to go with Good Earth's crazy delicious in-house sourdough sandwich bread, and due to lack of basil for a proper vinaigrette, I decided to make a basil-mustard green-lemon pesto. I used my most favorite coppa, Molinari mild coppa, and real Italian mozzarella di bufala to make it over the top.

Observe:

That's plenty of s+p and purple opal basil from our little herb garden. Yum!

I will say, however, that although I dug the flavors, I will try my next version with just good olive oil and cow's milk mozzarella. I hate to say that, but this reaffirms that buffalo mozzarella doesn't belong on anything! It deserves to be the star on a plate with ripe tomatoes, basil, s+p and olive oil. That's it. The milky flavor is too delicate to be wasted anywhere else. Perhaps with coppa or prosciutto, but on a plate and that's where I draw the line.

As a sweet afternoon treat, I went for super juicy organic Oroville peaches (not a varietal, but amazingly the location where they're from!), with basket cow's milk ricotta by Bellwhether Farms, and honey. I DIE. This dish was also spread on toast for my second Sunday morning snack.

Easily the best thing I've made all summer.

























Aren't peaches gorgeous? Look at that color! Can I achieve this in print?

Thank you Marin/San Rafael's farmers market for some gorgeous produce, including a flat of peaches from my hometown all for $23. I was pretty stoked.

spring has sprung.

I can't begin to tell you how excited I am about the awakening of Spring... it's all happening!

First of all, next Sunday will be epic:

Watch out for this broad: she speaks Dothraki and keeps baby dragons.

Ironic since winter is coming. OMG, winter is coming!!  I usually try to fight back the exclamation points, but this is just too big. There's so much to anticipate.

Next is the official start of the new toll system for the Golden Gate! A big deal, since I cross this bridge twice a day, 5 days a week.

Image: goldengate.org

I must say, Golden Gate has done a pretty great job with communicating the message and the drastic change in the system. It is a little weird that only one bridge in the entire Bay Area is going to go to this "Pay by Plate" system without any toll booths, but perhaps it's just a test.

 This little video they put together it adorable and informative. Well done.
All Electronic Tolling Animation from Golden Gate on Vimeo.

I'm pretty excited, actually so excited that I've already started just driving on through. That's ok right? Sure hope so.

As if Spring couldn't get any better, the cherry on top is some good solid Don Draper quality time:

Image: AMC

Image: AMC

Can't wait. There's literally so much that could have happened to between then and now. Peggy! Sally! Betty! Roger! Did Don cheat on Megan? Mad Men is excellent television. It's the only show that floors me, that twists and turns and stays true to itself. As much as I love Homeland, I think it jumped the shark a bit. I heart Mad Men.

There are other plans brewing, progress abound! I'll remain vague for now, but updates to come as they happen. The Captain's Log will always get the exclusive.

The Spring theme shall continue, stay tuned for topics beyond my repertoire of television and traffic.

Get excited.

greetings from Marin.

Much has changed over here at Nibby Press in the last 6-months, and we're setting up shop in lovely Marin County. I still commute to the city for my day job, but I'm learning that pretty much everything is better in Marin. Stay tuned.