A tired cheesemonger eats dinner.

I know, it doesn't seem that exciting to hear. But I get asked every day that I'm at work how on earth I work behind the cheese counter and not be flipping huge!? It generally boggles my mind that these people think so little of their own self control that they think I just gorge myself everyday. Truth be told, I eat very little cheese outside of work. When it comes to eating, it's almost work overload to have cheese at home, because I do eat a fair bit as a part of my job (how else would I know what fab suggestions to make when you people come in, pick out a cheese to taste and then hate what you picked?). But I do find ways to sneak it in here and there.



Pasta with Tuna and Veggies

1# small pasta (I used a Sardinian pasta that looks like little grubs, avoid spaghetti unless it is the only pasta you can find at the store. Rigatoni work well)
1 can San Marzano tomatoes diced
1/2# fire-roasted artichokes, chopped (regular will work, but the fire-roasted give a nice depth of flavor)
6 oz jar Spanish Tuna in olive oil
1/4 cup capers
1/4# feta cheese, crumbled
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup agradolche or muscatel vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
fresh cracked black pepper to taste

Start the pasta in a large pot with plenty of salted boiling water. In a bowl large enough to contain the finished pasta mix the garlic, capers, artichokes, tomatoes, and the vinegar in the bottom of the bowl, mixing so the vinegar coats all of the veggies. When the pasta is done cooking, add to the vegetables and mix well. Add in the tuna, feta, and olive oil, tossing to coat. Crack fresh pepper over the top and enjoy!

Firery Shrimp Pasta

As I was cleaning my freezer out last week I found one of those shrimp rings that you buy to set out at a party that I'm sure I bought with that very intention but for whatever reason never did. So I put it in my fridge to thaw and figured if I didn't figure out something better to do with it, I would just eat shrimp cocktail for dinner at some point this weekend. Then when I was at work earlier I thought about what I was going to do for dinner and the feta looked really good. From there I thought that those two things would go really well with some pasta and this dish was born out of it.


What You'll Need:
# frozen shrimp, thawed
1/4# feta cheese
handful of cherry tomatoes cut in half or 2 regular tomatoes, diced
2 jalapenos, chopped
1/2 red onion, minced
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes (I used marash pepper and regular red pepper mixed together)
chopped fresh herbs (I used basil and cilantro)
olive oil
pasta (I just used regular spaghetti)

In a big pot on one burner start your pasta. In a skillet on another burner use a couple of tablespoons of oil and lightly saute the shrimp, the onion, and the jalapenos. After everything is warmed through add the tomatoes, pepper flakes, and herbs. Keep all of that warm in the skillet. Drain the pasta when it is al dente and add to the shrimp mix in the skillet. Top off with the feta cheese (crumbled) and a generous drizzle of good olive oil. Serve with warm bread and enjoy!