A Lesson in Subtlety

First food email of the year! Yep, first day back home, I cooked from TWO of the new cook books I was given for Christmas (Tom Valenti's One Pot Meals and Ina Garten's How Easy is That?). I handed them to Kara and told her to pretend they were menus and she picked a great combo that tasted amazing. (The pic is sub-par because I usually use the sun to light my food all pretty and the sun is set by dinner time at this time of year... and I wanted to EAT.)

Anyway, these are two recipes that utilize simple but specific techniques to create very complex flavors. I learned a lot. I'd call this "buttery shrimp with shitake mushrooms and tomato" served over "garlicky Parmesan spaghetti" This was a new way of cooking pasta for me (relying heavily on the cooking water for the sauce), and the shrimp recipe was simple but ended in a rare perfect balance of flavors. If it sounds at all interesting, hit me up for the recipes.

I hope this is the last time I type this, but... last time... Happy new year.