I really thought this was going to be an easy one.
It was the first workday of the year and my bosses were still on vacation, so I ducked out of the office early to partake in the yearly event we all know and look forward to with bated breath. Say it with me: ENDIVE SEASON. The kids all clamor for endives! “Mommy, have the endives come into season yet?” “Not yet, my sweet, but the winter’s bitter greens will be on shelves shortly if you wish your very hardest!” An all-too familiar scene played out in homes across the country this time of year. (The internet tells me endives are actually available year-round due to the magic of capitalism, but true endive-heads know endive season can only be found within your heart.)
Years ago, I made Gwyneth’s Chicken Milanese, but only made one of the four “special” recipes she includes as toppings (back then, we ran out of paper towels and I ended up patting my chicken breasts dry with toilet paper, which I now see was FORESHADOWING). Since one of the recipes features endives, and the other three incorporate relatively easy-to-find ingredients year round (a Gwyneth rarity!), I figured I’d hop on the endive season madness sweeping the nation and would finally knock out all five(!) recipes that make up Chicken Milanese: Four Very Special Ways. And, for good measure, I’d tackle her Endive Salad as well. AND, because I’m psychotic, I’d throw in a simple pasta recipe from Melissa Clark’s “Dinner,” quickly becoming my favorite cookbook of all time. (We’ll talk more about this later, but you should know that Melissa Clark is perfect.) Continue reading
Since tonight is my night to cook, I will be subjecting my roommates to Gwyneth’s Grilled Tuna Rolls, whether they like it or not. We’ll see how it goes! I’m cautiously optimistic. But seeing as I won’t have anything to report until tomorrow, this means today you are forced to endure my random, completely tangential musings. My friends are surely going to shout, “Off-topic, off-topic!” at me, but I make the Blog Rules around here. And today, I’m thinking we should talk wine.
And then we come to the end. The final part of our Italian trip, and the last of my excuses to prolong my return to the Danny/Gwyneth Project. (Actually, I have already returned: Last night was fish tacos, and holy shit was it an interesting meal. We had some special guests, but you’ll have to wait to hear about it.) It was fun while it lasted, though, right? But we flew too close to the sun, and now we must fall back to Earth. Or something. This portion of the trip, I assumed, would surely be less insane than the previous three — surely falling in a Venetian canal would have to signal the end of the insanity, right? Of course, that’s never the case in Italy, as Florence had a few surprises up its sleeves. 
So, we’re back after the weekend. Did everyone have a great Fourth of July? (Sorry, non-American readers. And by that, I mean I’m sorry you don’t love FREEDOM as much as us.) My weekend was fantastic! Just a really, really solid weekend. And, fear not, I am finally settled into my new place — and more importantly, my new kitchen — so Gwyneth recipes will continue shortly. Good news for you, terrible news for me. (On a related note, here is a sampling of the types of things I had to pack up and move from my old kitchen to my new: Vegenaise, three different kinds of flour, a big bottle of fish sauce, frozen duck fat. What has my life become?) Anyway, let’s talk about Italy some more! 
The Danny/Gwyneth Project 