The Right Stuff

Thursday, I purchased a last-minute plane ticket to Ohio for a family reunion. Friday, my flight was cancelled. Saturday, my rebooked flight departed for Cleveland. Sunday, I spent the day at the reunion. Monday, I returned to New York.

There was a bit of uncertainty during this short-but-sweet weekend due to the crazy weather pattern, but one thing was for sure: I ate my weight in food. When I arrived in Ohio on Saturday, I inhaled a pile of battered perch and french fries (my grandpa's favorite combo). Of course, I ate nonstop at the family reunion the following day.

Who can say no to my mom's ribs, walking tacos (non-Midwesterners, please Google this), and loads of sides? I sure can't. I ate two heirloom tomato slices for good measure.

After the reunion, we grilled Slovenian sausages from the local butcher. I savored the moment, and then realized it was time to lighten up my diet.

I headed to my local organic market after work today on a mission to find the best-looking vegetables. I settled on summer squash and zucchini, stuffing them with onion, red pepper, basil and—yes—a little Gruyere. Delicious and nutritious.

Stuffed Summer Squash

Yield: 2 servings

2 medium squash (I used one summer squash and one zucchini)

1/2 sweet onion, diced

1/2 red pepper, diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/4 cup chopped basil

1 egg

3/4 cup shredded Gruyere cheese

Salt and pepper to taste

1 1/2 cups tomato sauce

Olive oil, for drizzling

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees.

2. Trim the ends of the squash and cut lengthwise. With a spoon or melon baller, scoop out the flesh, leaving 1/4-inch-thick shells. Save 3/4 of the flesh. Pour sauce on the bottom of a 9 x 13-inch pan and place four squash halves on top like bowls.

3. In a separate bowl, combine squash flesh with onion, red pepper, garlic, basil, egg, and 1/4 cup cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Distribute evenly among squash. Sprinkle remaining cheese on top of each and drizzle with olive oil.

4. Bake for 45 minutes, uncovered, until squash is tender and cheese is melted.

Here's to hoping this dish will squash my gorging—at least for this week.

Basking in Basque Country

My nearly monthlong blog sabbatical has come to an end. It wasn't supposed to be this long, but between vacation and packing both the office and test kitchen for a move, the days slipped away from me.

I suppose time flies when you're eating well.

Ryan and I traveled to Basque Country in Spain and France, plus a side trip to Bordeaux, for my 30th birthday. We decided on the area for its rich culinary heritage because, for us, a vacation is all about the food. The small town of San Sebastian, Spain, where we stayed for 4 days, has three restaurants with three Michelin stars (apparently there's more multi-starred restaurants per capita there than anywhere else in the world). The food certainly lived up to its reputation.

We hit up two of the three-starred joints in less than 24 hours (a birthday dinner at Arzak, followed by lunch the next day at Akelarre). Our stomachs (and wallets) were feeling it. Both were totally worth it, though—like nothing I'd ever eaten. While the pintxos (Basque for tapas) joints didn't have the molecular gastronomy show-stopping elements, they were amazing as well.

In French Basque Country, the food was (no surprises here) also phenomenal. If you're Basque, good cooking must be in your blood. It's interesting to me, though, how just crossing a country's border changes things. Case in point: While seafood remained a constant, sauces seemed to appear out of nowhere in France.

There's no doubt we'll return to Basque Country—of course for the food but also for the people. Until then, I'll be on the search for equally good chorizo, Iberico ham, foie gras, anchovies, pigeon and so on...