cheese | Elena the Epicurean

Quinoa with Shrimp, Tomato, Cucumber, Feta, and Herbs

The truth is, I don’t always write my own recipes, but another truth is that I never follow a recipe to the tee. I almost always modify them, either adding and omitting ingredients or making substitutions. And I did just that recently with a recipe from one of my favorite cooks, Ina Garten aka The [...]

The Red Grape Salad

I was fortunate enough to grow up in Sonoma County, California, where some of the world’s best food and wine can be enjoyed. I’m not kidding – any good foodie has heard of it or been there, and tourists flock to the region just to wine and dine. I would say growing up there is [...]

Egg White Frittata with Baby Kale, Tomato, and Feta Cheese

For part two of my review of organicgirl good clean greens, I made a recipe using their i heart baby kale. I first took a taste of it raw, and wow! I find kale too bitter to consume raw, but baby kale has a much milder, delicate flavor. I could definitely see myself using it [...]

Food Flashback: The Italian Salad Trifecta

As much as I love variety when it comes to food, I’m also a creature of habit like most human beings. I tend to get hooked on a certain dish and it’s so good that I just want to eat it every.single.day – and I do, for maybe a week or two. When I lived [...]

The American Grilled Cheese Kitchen

I took a drive to San Francisco last week with a friend to eat at The American Grilled Cheese Kitchen, a restaurant recently recommended to me. It’s owned by Nate Pollak, brother of Breitbart.com editor-in-chief Joel Pollak (was that enough hyperlinks for you?) and a fellow UCLA alum. It’s in one of my favorite [...]

Pasta with Spring Veggies, Feta Cheese, and White Wine-Balsamic Sauce

Spring is by far my favorite season for vegetables. Artichokes, asparagus, beets, fava beans, green onions, chard…the list goes on and on. To take advantage of all of this wonderful seasonal produce, I threw them together with whole wheat rotini pasta and tossed it all in a light, simple sauce. I actually made this dish [...]

Product Recommendation: Piacci Parmesan Nuggets

I was lucky enough to recently receive a free sample of Piacci cheese in the mail. Piacci is a great company that makes fine Italian artisan cheeses founded by a man named Filippo Candela of Montelepre, Sicily. They are now based in Wisconsin, and you know what that means when it comes to cheese. What [...]

Greek Quesadilla with Lime Tzatziki Sauce

Oxymoron, much? Of course, quesadillas aren’t Greek, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be made Greek-style. How to do this? Pita bread instead of tortillas, feta cheese, Kalamata olives, spinach, oregano, and a tzatziki sauce for dipping in lieu of sour cream. Tzatziki sauce is traditionally made with plain Greek yogurt, cucumber, garlic, lemon juice, [...]

Food Flashback: Cacio e Pepe in Rome, Italy

Welcome to the first of hopefully many Food Flashback posts on this blog. I will be using these types of posts to blog about meals I’ve cooked and/or eaten in the past, before I had a food blog. You know, all of the foods I reminisce about and think, “I wish I had my blog [...]

Pita Pizza with Butternut Squash, Kale, Feta, and Walnuts

Contrary to popular belief, pizza can be healthy. A whole wheat crust, olive oil, a little cheese, tons of veggies, and maybe some lean meat, and you’re set. It also doesn’t have to be difficult to make it yourself at home. In fact, you don’t even have to make the dough yourself. You can use [...]

Hey there! I’m Elena, a 22-year-old UCLA alum living in Los Angeles. I am totally obsessed with cooking, baking, and anything food and wine related. I grew up in beautiful Sonoma County in Northern California, where some of the best food and wine on this planet can be enjoyed. I love cooking to this day because I find it extremely therapeutic, relaxing, distracting, and rewarding. Eating is something that we do three times a day, every day, so the possibilities and opportunities are endless. Read more...