Italy: Food & Drink

It kind of goes without saying that we ate some incredible food and drank some incredible wine and limoncello while in Italy. Here are some of the shots of the delsih food and drinks we enjoyed!

Italy: Landscape

I am back!! Sorry for the lack of posts but with the engagement, trip to Europe, and some other things going on, September came and went pretty quickly!

For my next few posts I thought I would share some of my pictures from my trip to Italy. The trip was incredible and there are far too many pictures to share but I thought I would break them up into three separate posts; Italy: landscape, Italy: food, and Italy:fashion. So here is the first of three posts sharing some of (what I think are amazing shots) of the places we visited and saw, enjoy!!

Ciao!

Ciao! I am off to Italy!! While I won't be posting  from over seas, I did want to share with you some of the details of our trip!

We will be flying non-stop LAX to Rome, from Rome we will be taking a train to Naples and then a boat ride to the island of Capri! Talk about planes, trains, and automobiles!! I have never been to Capri, and have heard that September is a great time to be there, the tourists are gone, but the weather is still great! We will be staying at the Grand Hotel Quisisana Capri. After Capri we will be heading to a near by Island, the Island of Ischia, there we will be staying at Mezzatorre Resort & Spa.

Below are some images from both resorts. I am very excited to relax, swim, and most importantly enjoy some incredible Italian food, wine, and fashion!! Ciao!!

Corn Salad

Although we are post labor day and football season is finally back! It is still hot in LA so I am holding off cooking up my favorite fall recipes and sticking to summer favorites and grilling. We recently grilled up some burgers, I had some ears of corn in the fridge so I decided to make a corn salad, inspired by this recipe. It is the perfect side dish for any summer BBQ.

Corn Salad

• 2 ears of corn, husked and washed
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• Salt and Pepper
• 1 cup halved cherry tomatoes
• 1 small red pepper chopped
• 2 cups packed arugala
• 2-3 scallions chopped
• 1/2 red onion chopped
• 1 avocado, pitted, skins removed, and cubed

Dressing: lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper

Preheat grill pan or BBQ

Rub the corn with the canola oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill the corn until lightly browned. Allow the corn to cool then remove the kernels of corn from the cob by running your knife down the cob of corn.

Prepare and chop all of the veggies and add them to a large mixing bowl, along with the arugala.

Add the corn to the bowl and prepare the dressing. Toss together and your side dish is ready to serve! Easy, delicious, and perfect for these lingering hot summer nights!

Big News!!

I mentioned here that we would be spending our labor day weekend on a sailboat in a private cove on Catalina Island. The weekend was wonderful and memorable for several reasons, the most important of  which was that my boyfriend popped the question!!!! I had absolutely no idea and it was total surprise! A fantastic one at that :)

Without going into too much detail he got down on one knee when no one else was around, surrounded by beautiful crystal blue water. It was the perfect moment and I feel like the luckiest girl in the world!!

Later in the evening after the proposal! Look at my pretty new accessory!!! 

We have been and continue to enjoy lots of bubbly during this exciting time!! CHEERS!! 

Scenes from Summer Part III

As we sail into the 'unofficial' last weekend of summer, labor day weekend. I will be sailing away to Catalina Island for the long holiday weekend, three days on a sailboat moored in Moonstone Cove, what is not to love!

Here are some final images I have been capturing this Summer, have a wonderful and safe holiday weekend!

A trip to Terranea Resort to visit friends in town from Chicago.

Afternoon snack; avocado halves with lemon, salt, and pepper. Adorable Jonathan Adler salt & pepper shakers, a house warming gift from a good friend. 

Gorgeous roses, a gift from mom.

A fresh afternoon cocktail; lemon juice, vodka, sugar, soda water, and mint

Our new door matt, the sailor in me could not resist! 

Wine tasting on the water a special event aboard a boat. Sun setting over Newport Harbor.

Grilled Watermelon Salad

I mentioned here that I am trying to enjoy these last few weeks of summer by cooking all of my summer favorites. Last week we kicked off our meal with a grilled watermelon salad inspired by this recipe. It is a great dish during the hot summer months, full of flavor and easy to make.

Arugala has a great pepper taste to it, when biting into the salad you get the peppery crunch of the arugala and sweet concentrated flavor of watermelon making for a fantastic combination of flavors.

Grilled Watermelon Salad

• Seedless watermelon
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• Extra-virgin olive oil
• kosher salt
• 2 cups fresh baby arugala
• 1 cup crumbled goat cheese *I used feta since that is what I had on hand
• pepper

Cut the watermelon, whichever way is easier for you, I cut it in half, and then again into large pieces, removing the rind and then again into square shapes that are manageable to handle and a good size for an appetizer.

Meanwhile in a small saucepan bring the vinegar to a simmer, and cook until reduced to a thick syrup consistency.

Heat a nonstick gril pan or BBQ, I used a grill pan that night, but a BBQ works just as well. Drizzle olive oil over the watermelon slices, and sprinkle with salt. Grill each side of the watermelon until grill marks appear, then set aside to cool while you assemble the rest of the salad.

To assemble the salad put about a 1/4 cup of arugula on each salad plate, top it with the grilled watermelon slice, then top with crumbled goat cheese or feta, your choice! then drizzle with a touch of olive oil, then a larger drizzle of the reduced vinegar, along with a dash of salt and pepper, serve and enjoy!