Taste With The Eyes

Gourmet Peruvian Cookies.

These are Alfajores Finos. The little delectable morsels look somewhat like a macaron but have a completely different flavor.
Flour, butter, milk, sugar, salt. Ha! Five ingredients, unbelievably fantastic! The incredible soft, light texture melts in your mouth. These little cookies are filled with dulce de leche.
I get them from Mama Ocllo Bakery in San Pedro, California. You can too, they ship!

P.S. I’ve been away, in Chicago, spending time and cooking with my 3 and 5 year-old nephews. We made funny-face pizzas one afternoon. This is Jett’s creation.

I thought of Carol and her love of macarons at Paris Breakfasts blog when I created this post.

At 9 AM in Los Angeles, this was the color of the sky – much different than the previous days. As some parts of Southern California are still engulfed in fire, many areas are thankfully under control.

My heart goes out to all those people who have been affected by the fires. It was reassuring to see the outpouring of goodness, care, and concern from far and wide.

Although this rose is absolutely beautiful, luminous and bright, it was given a most unfortuate name.
This is Wildfire Hybrid Tea Rose.

Today’s photograph and post were insipred by a red rose blooming in Vienna, Austria posted by Merisi.

Minestrone!

Ingredient Still Life:
Including pancetta and the rind from the Parmigiano-Reggiano.
The finest Italian ingredients from the A-1 Deli in San Pedro, CA

Garnish with shaved parmesan and basil.

I made this soup for Steve. Get well soon.

On the deck, looking east through the smoke from the Port of Los Angeles toward San Diego.

Heartfelt wishes for the best to all of my neighbors throughout Southern California.

I love these little pasta nests. After cooking the capelli d’angelo in salted water for about 4 minutes, I use a big slotted spoon to gently place them in a pan with melted butter/olive oil garlic and parsley. Here they are topped with my “everything” pasta sauce. It is ground beef and Italian sausage with fennel seeds, red and green bell peppers, garlic, onions, and puttanesca ingredients; capers, black olives, anchovies in a tomato sauce with herbs.

An elegant little nest with big flavor. I serve them with freshly grated parmesan cheese and red pepper flakes on the side.

Thanks once again to Simona of Briciole blog for introducing me to capelli d’angelo.