The First Dinner

Last night I attempted to cook dinner in the hotel room kitchen....

It was no easy feat.

Although after overcoming the obstacles of not enough counter space, annoyingly dull knives, and a very difficult to control electric stove, I was able to concoct a very decent meal from the treasures I acquired from the farmer's market that morning. Et voila, here are the results.

Fresh Linguine in Tomato Pancetta Sauce

accompanied by a Green Salad Dressed with Balsamic Vinegar

A pan full of freshly made al dente pasta mingling with a tomato sauce of browned pancetta, shallots, garlic, white wine, fresh Roma tomatoes, and tomato puree. FRESH pasta is ALWAYS better than dried pasta.

Paired with a nice little salad of local greens, a variety of baby tomatoes, a balsamic vinaigrette, AND the crowning touch---homemade herbs de provence croutons I made from a day old baguette! I think taste testing that first crunchy crouton was my proudest moment yet.

All this paired with a little glass of white wine and a Pellegrino and you've got a wonderful meal made from a few fresh ingredients in an absolutely TINY kitchen. :) Please be proud.

Hopefully this kitchen and I will continue to get along...