Walk in the Glow of Each Other's Majestic Presence

( #58 Soft Boiled Duck Eggs with Warm Anchovy Vinaigrette )

I'm still planning to bake with the rest of the eggs--there's a cheesecake happening this weekend.

( #50 Chicken Roulade with Olives and Preserved Lemons )

( #51 Orzo with Lemon, Galic, Parmigiano and Herbs )

And with that, I am halfway done with the challenge, three weeks ahead of schedule. Given that I didn't make anything new between April 22nd and May 18th, I'm feeling pretty pleased with myself. June looks pretty good for cooking, so I'm hoping to get further ahead while the weather is good and not have to push myself during the height of summer and rehearsals.

Inspired by our most recent trip to Il Buco, I decided the time had come for me to figure out how to make beef carpaccio at home. I looked at several different recipes online and here's what I ended up doing:

( #46 Beef Carpaccio )

( #47 Arugula Pesto )

Thanks to bookly for all the assistance in shopping and prep and for being a willing test-subject!

One of the motivations for doing this challenge was to actually use some of my many cookbooks that are too often ignored in favor of searching the net for what I want to make.

I started with The New Basics Cookbook:

( #26 - Pork Chops and Scalloped Potato Casserole )

Then I decided to try something from The California Cook. Well, three somethings:

( #27 - Lemon Chicken with Roasted Garlic Sauce )

( #28 - Sautéed Green Beans with Garlic and Basil )

( #29 - Roasted Onions and Baby Potatoes )

Thanks to Drea and heliopsis for being game to try new things with me!