The Italian Lunch

Friday in Dubai is a weekend day or as I would like to call it, “Lazy Day”. I usually spend it at home on the couch watching TV or I hit the pool and lay down under the sun reading gossip magazines. Last Friday, I decided to change my habit and invite my friend, Jana, over for lunch to cook pasta or something nice and quick. After checking my fridge -that turned out to be empty-  I asked Jana to shop while I made the cooking preparations. We decided that our menu would have a salad with cheese and a pasta with tomato sauce.

Getting Back on Track: Stuffed Baked Portobello Mushrooms and Cannelloni with Broccoli and Breadcrumbs

It has been a long while since I felt the urge to cook something more intricate than a season salad: I have to admit though that I have been entangled in personal business.

My TB Clint and I got engaged and we were busy with preparations that an engagement entails. We also were preparing for his recent visit in June and my move with him to USA. But some events prevented my move and it had to be postponed.

So now life is back to its normal routine and I think I am back to my Sunday lunch preparation.

Chicken Tikka Masala with Naan

I got a chance to make the chicken tikka masala recipe the other day for my family and so jumped on the opportunity. I made the dish with no changes from the challenge recipe as this was my first time making it. The flavor was very similar to the one served in the local Indian restaurant here I love so much and surprisingly it was not that difficult to make!

Non Holiday Feasting: Baby Octopi with Red Wine and Rosemary and Potato Gnocchi with Tomato Sauce

Among my co-authors I am the only one who did not have a holiday to celebrate, but that does not mean it is an excuse not to feast. Well I did not exactly feast since the two recipes I am including have been made on different days. The common thing between them is that they are both first timers for me.

The first is baby octopi, the second is gnocchi. I have tried both before in restaurants or at friends, but I never made them myself.

The experience with gnocchi varied from the Italian perfection at Piazza Navona in Rome, with two streets dancers performing a tango on a dolent melody, to the extreme flop in a supposedly good local restaurant, where it seemed reprehensive to laugh.

The octopi experience has always been pleasant to me so I had no bad memories to compensate, so I was able to experiment.