I went a little overboard at the farmer's market on Saturday morning, but isn't it all beautiful?
It was terribly, terribly cold, and I suppose I ran about haphazardly, teeth chattering, just grabbing whatever looked good. Word to the wise: GLOVES. I never seem to remember.

I had never used escarole before, though I'd seen it on Italian menus. It's a slightly bitter leafy green in the chicory family, which includes the more common radicchio. The charming older British man standing next to me at the booth said that he likes to cook it in butter with ham (sounds good minus the ham) and the farmer herself uses it in salads. I made it two ways. But first, salad!

On Saturday night, after Le Garage sale, I made a light dinner for a couple of friends before we headed to the Beauty Bar clothing swap (it was a long, arduous day of shopping.) First, I served an arugula salad with arugula from the market and candied walnuts. The arugula had small, delicate leaves that taste sweet at first but have quite the peppery kick! I made a simple walnut vinaigrette to accompany it, and it was heavenly:
2 tbsp walnut oil
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar or sherry vinegar
1 tsp minced shallot

I used the escarole to top bruschetta with onion jam and tallegio. Bruschetta is pretty easy to do: just brush slices of baguette (or halved French rolls, for bigger pieces) with olive oil and bake facedown at 450 for 10 minutes or so. I had never made onion jam before, but this recipe taught me how. I had to simmer it much longer than the recipe called for, but it turned out great. Tallegio is a soft Italian cheese that smells stronger than it tastes. Its flavor is very mild and almost fruity.
I had plenty of leftover escarole, so I steamed the rest for about 6 minutes, then sauteed it with olive oil, pine nuts, garlic, and red pepper and ate it over pasta for Monday's lunch at work. I have the reputation, apparently, as the healthiest eater in the office. Ha. I finished my meal with one of Jesse's yummy mocha/bourbon mousses.So there's been some talk of including a bit of fashion on this blog in addition to food, since one of my favorites, Cupcakes and Cashmere, does both. So, in that vein, here are the super-cute blue leather shoes I found at Le Garage Sale. I've been wanting to get in on the ankle boots trend, but they tend to make my legs look shorter - kind of the opposite of what I'm going for. These are angled down somewhat in the front, which makes them more flattering. I also love that they match almost anything, and would work for both summer and winter.
Here's what I wore with them to the Beauty Bar swap:Next time, I'm making gnocchi with local sweet potatoes, browned butter, and local pecans. Stay tuned!