Favorite Things: Pecorino with Truffle Honey

I had this once (and again) at Lampreia, and have finally been able to reproduce it. I still need to perfect the melting of the cheese, but damn, this is on my last supper list.

Favorite Things: Sottocenere al Tartufo

OMG. I don't know where this has been my whole life - but I found it after getting into truffle popcorn, which we got in Dallas the last time we visited Jessica (that will be another post). Something struck when I went to Whole Foods recently - and I grabbed a block of Sottocenere al Tartufo, a cow's milk cheese spotted with black truffles. You can smell it in the fridge even when it's all wrapped up. Todd couldn't eat much of it, but I could cut chunks off and just chow down.

Here's a link for more information...

Favorite Things: Texas Pecans

I sat at the dinner table one afternoon and cracked pecans from Jessica's yard - we had brought them back with us after our visit in October, and they'd been sitting quietly in the cabinet just aging. They taste different than pecans from California, and cracking them out of the shell and trying to keep the meat intact proved to be a very meditative activity.

A Few of My Favorite Things: Seckel Pears

Mmmm. I love this time of year because I get my favorite fruit of the year: Seckel Pears. They're small and juicy, reminiscent of D'Anjou Pears, but they're beautiful and tiny, smaller than a mandarin orange. I like them almost overripe, when they're ruby in color and they drip from your chin when you bite in. I can eat a bag in a sitting, they're like candy. Here, I've pictured them with another favorite thing: Vella Bear Dry Jack Cheese.