Visions of Prosciutto Dancing in My Head

Dreaming about food again! This time it was part food shopping, part eating and part cooking.

In the dream, I went to visit some friends (real) who own a gourmet Italian market (not real). After the tour, where I learned those amazing Gigante beans (used in Antipasta) actually came in a can (I learned this years ago, not sure why this came back to the surface now), it was time for lunch.  The phrase "kid in a candy store" could not have been more accurate.

Burrata Cheese

Deciding a sandwich was in order, we began with fresh Ciabatta rolls and added some imported Prosciutto and Burrata cheese. If you've never had Burrata, it's like an incredibly creamy Mozzarella. It has two layers to it - the outer layer being more like a traditional fresh Mozzarella and the center being a combination of Mozzarella curds and cream. It's an odd choice for a sandwich - almost like making meatballs out of Kobe beef. Why would you take a meat that's so tender and grind it up to make it tougher?? And yet somehow it works. The same happened with the Burrata in my dream.

The next question was what sort of 'dressing' should I put on it? The obvious choice would have been a pesto but I wasn't looking for obvious. The dream shifted to me being in the kitchen, food processor in front of me.

The creation became a spread made from Italian anchovy fillets, garlic, capers, a little Parmesan cheese, olive oil and lemon juice. My mouth waters now just thinking about this! In the light of day I'm afraid this spread may be a touch salty with the already salty Prosciutto but I think if I add something like Arugula or other peppery green to the sandwich, it will help the balance.

Sadly, I don't remember getting to eat the creation in the dream but this is one I will most definitely be making while awake. 

Enjoy!

Cooking Dream! Decadent French Toast

It's been awhile since I've cooked in my sleep but last night was a special treat.

French Toast using pound cake with vanilla and cinnamon in the batter. As if that weren't decadent enough, it had a brown sugar caramelized pineapple topping.

Not exactly diet friendly but it was absolutely scrumptious, at least in my dream :)

Only possible drawback: I'm not sure how the pound cake would absorb the egg batter. It may be too dense. Certainly worth a try though!

Cooking Dreams

In the last week, I've had 3 cooking dreams - all interrupted before I could finish.

1. Roasted Chicken: Easy enough. Roasted a chicken with a lavender thyme lemon butter rubbed under the skin of the breast and the cavity stuffed with shallot, lemon and orange.

2. Black beans: I never got to finish this dream since my alarm went off. But there were a combination of whole and smashed black beans and cilantro. I'm not sure what I was doing with it but I think it was some sort of dip or the beginnings of a burrito.

3. Just now on the train, I had a 10 minute cat-nap, in which I grilled a tuna steak and there was a salsa (that's the word that I called it in the dream) of white beans, tomatoes and something green - scallions? basil? I must think this one through! I'm hungry now.

Sweet Dreams and Bon Appetite!

Dream Recipe - Shrimp Pesto Pasta

I was cooking in my sleep again.

This time it was a cold or room temperature pasta dish with Orchiette (the little ear-shaped pasta), shrimp, pesto, cherry tomatoes cut in half, toasted pine nuts and some sort of cheese shaved on top.

I don't remember what the cheese was, but since it was shaved (there were wide, thick ribbons as if made by a cheese slicer or vegetable peeler, not grated or shredded) I'm guessing it was a Parmesan or Asiago.

I think I'll have to make this soon.

Let me know if you make it first!