sweet and hot peppers are still available at the market and are a great way to end the summer and roll into fall. i am a spice wuss, so when i ate a big slice of these hot peppers, thinking they were sweet, i was in for a not so nice surprise. but once they are hit with a bit of vinegar and sugar, the heat mellows a bit and they take on a whole new flavor. great on a rich steak to cut through the fat, but also taste great on other proteins and fish as well as in salads.
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seems steve jobs and apple computers might get more attention these days, but lets not forget about the edible kind. apples have been widely grown and consumed for thousands of years. they even have appeared in many religions, often as the forbidden fruit symbolizing temptation and sin, among other things. these days apples seem to have lost that stigma and eating this fruit is widely accepted....and thankfully so, since i love this fruit and have enough to worry about other than gluttonous sins!
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i am psyched to be back in the loop of watching this season. i actually found myself looking forward to wednesday night to see what would happen. weird. also excited to see one of my favorite chefs, michelle bernstein, as the guest judge this week. she works closely with the charity common threads as do i so i have been lucky to run into her at a number of events. just a very sweet, and of course, talented, woman.
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well, i finally got a chance to catch up with season 6 and see what i have been missing! with all my traveling, it seems way too many hotels are missing bravo, so i was a bit behind, but thanks to on demand i am all over it. plus when you watch it on demand you get to see tom's diet coke commercial at least five times per episode. bonus.
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eggplant is one of my favorite vegetables, even though i am a bit allergic and it makes my mouth itch.... worth the discomfort. there are many varieties that come in various shapes and sizes. feel free to mix and match when making this caponata or other eggplant dishes. caponata is a classic italian dish that is usually just served room temperature as a antipasti. i like to serve it alone or with a nice piece of grilled fish, poultry or beef.
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