Lemon and Goat Cheese Ravioli with Pink Peppercorn and Tarragon

While we're talking about obsessions, let's talk for a second about pink peppercorn. I'll admit that until recently I hadn't really been exposed to it very much, either as a seasoning or as an ingredient. I was over at my friend Hallie's house about to make what would develop into our delectable Pink Peppercorn Macarons when she pulled down her jar, opened the top and grinned. "Take a whiff of that!" I did--what an incredible sensation! Peppery and fruity and sweet all at once. I'd never smelled anything like it and boy, was I hooked. The flavor is unlike anything else and the visual appeal of that bright pink bumps up any dish.

Fricassée of Chanterelles

Have I mentioned recently how much I love mushrooms? I really love mushrooms. Maybe it was finally switching grocery stores (to one that actually carries varieties other than white button, grumble grumble), maybe it was finally buying the mushroom-loving cookbook Canal House Cooks Every Day, but there's just something about mushrooms that clicks with me. I love their weird, alien shapes, I love their infinite variety, I love the skill that it takes to correctly harvest them. But most of all, I love their taste.

Pasta in Cream Sauce with Morels, Pancetta and Oven-Roasted Tomatoes

You know how sometimes life hands you lemons and then sometimes life pelts the lemons at you and then switches to grapefruit and then finally smashes a large melon over your head before cackling with glee? That's basically what's been going on right now. It's just been one thing after another and I feel like I'm just now beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Without getting too share-y, our apartment was basically out of commission for a while. Everything was packed up and inaccessible and Piper and I were living out of the trunk of our car--this atop health problems and school starting and internships and jobs. The only thing that kept me feeling remotely normal or sane was the ability to cook things in the kitchen. So when the tide finally turned I decided to celebrate by making this dish: a compilation of my very favorite things.

Prosciutto and Arugula Pappardelle

The reaction to this dish was pretty much as good as I could have hoped for. Peter cleaned his plate, looked at me and said, "This might be the best thing you've ever cooked for me." Part of me could have been a little miffed (as this dish is far easier than some of the others I've made for him over the years) but when your goal is to satisfy and please the ones you love with food, well...that's a job well done right there.

Arugula Ravioli With Balsamic Tomato Sauce

Right now I think we all should just take a moment and tip our hats to the brilliant individual who decided that stuffing delicious pasta with delicious things and topping it off with a delicious sauce would be a good idea. Making your own ravioli is a time-consuming, delicate affair but the rewards you reap cannot be overestimated; I am of the personal opinion that homemade pasta simply tastes better, which may have something to do with the sweet personal satisfaction of having created everything from scratch.

Garlic Noodle Bowl

You know the song about Little Bunny Foo Foo? Hoppin' through the forest, abusing field mice, etc.? That's sort of how my relationship with tofu has gone. Not so much eating it, but cooking with it. I like the idea of it but after a disastrous attempt at Black Pepper Tofu (hopefully to be vindicated later this week) and now this, I feel like it gets one more chance and then I'm-a float down like that good fairy and turn it into a goon. Little Bunny Tofu.

Side note for those who are interested in the Black Pepper Tofu incident: I couldn't get the top of the tofu box open so I resorted in stabbing it repeatedly like that one scene from Psycho and then the too-soft tofu started oozing out and all over me and the kitchen and I gamely persisted in trying to coat the goo with cornstarch before I got some on my foot and then called my sister to pick up some shrimp.