Thank God For Gorgonzola

Gorgonzola is my stand by cheese. Whenever I am hungry and itching for something that will cure my desire, I go for the crumbly veined cheese with the potent fragrance that can be added to just about anything to make a rich, satisfactory meal.

Sammy's Woodfired Pizza makes the best gorgonzola salad in the world and I often find myself waking up like a pregnant woman with weird cravings to drive to Palm Desert and ride the Gardens escalator in search of the meal.

Usually at the end of a long day that has been particularly busy, I will find myself suddenly in the Trader Joe parking lot looking for a chunk of that heavenly food.

When my daughter is home at night (which doesn't happen often in her world of cater waiter work, college and a social calendar that rivals my own) she will come sit on my lap sweetly, bat her eyes, and beg me to make my gorgonzola, pear, walnut and champagne dressing salad to eat while she does her mass amounts of math homework.

When my daughter and I went to Italy, we spent most of our meals with a chunk of bread and the cheese, carrying it around in paper bags throughout the day, and crumbly melting it into our plain, olive oil and salt cooked pasta at night. Sometimes we would get really funky and throw it into linguine with peas and pepper, enjoying the long sinewy strings that the melted cheese produces.

But my all time favorite, quick and easy gorgonzola meal is a salad that can be cooked up at home in less than ten minutes. I go to this whenever I am too tired for gourmet status and want the satisfaction of a gourmet meal.

Quick and Easy Gorgonzola Salad

Pre-cooked roasted chicken patty from Trader Joe's refridgerated case, heated up and seared in a pan with olive oil and cut into strips

Gorgonzola crumbles

Pine nuts

Dressing made of: 3 parts olive oil, 1 part balsamic, one shallot finely chopped, pepper, salt

Throw it all together, let sit at room temperature for five minutes, and serve while the chicken is still warm.

Salad Nicoise With A Legendary Photographer

My friend Michael Childers spent an entire life photographing the legends of Hollywood. First as photographer for Interview Magazine and then as a fine art photographer. Not satisfied with retiring, he now spends his days in the desert helping valuable non profit organizations raise much needed funds for their vital programs. For the last two years, he's produced ONE NIGHT ONLY for Jewish Family Services. The evening which takes place at the McCallum Theater features 18 performers from Hollywood and Broadway who donate time to do be a part of the good cause. As PR person for the event, I love our business meetings which are always around a lunch or dinner table in Michael's home with the best food. Yesterday, Michael's adorable dimpled assistant Rocky (who used to own a restaurant) made us an exquisite salad nicoise, slightly translated from the normal big and chunky version. A legendary salad from the annals of foodie class and elegance eaten while surrounded by photos of the great stars of cinematic glory like Natalie Wood and paintings by David Hockney! A very old school way to spend a desert afternoon in Fall.

Chef Rocky

Rocky's Nicoise

Ingredients:

Medium Sized Heirloom tomatoes, cut into small wedges

Albacore tuna packed in olive oil, shredded

Hard boiled eggs, cut into quarter wedges

Tiny black pitted olives

Your choice of Leafy Greens

Cucumbers sliced wafer thin

Baby new potatoes with yelllow colored flesh, boiled to preferred softness

Mix equal parts of all together and toss.

Dressing:

3 parts olive oil to one part dijon mustard and one egg yolk

(adjust per amount of servings)

Whisk together feverishly, and toss with salad.