But First, A Word from Our Sponsors . . .

Cantaloupe, pancetta, and mint above. Sea Bream, mussels, and couscous below. But before we get into that, a brief diversion.

I got an e-mail at the CFT address. A rare occurrence in and of itself. In this e-mail I was offered the opportunity to review (read: get for free) something from CSN Stores. But there's a catch. First, I have to post the following link: dutch oven. Then I get credit to get something to review. I plan on getting this pan. I've had good luck with a different line of cookware from the same company, and have been looking to upgrade an old, pitted restaurant supply store aluminum pan for some time.

I figure I'm not too bad with the advertising and what-not over here, and aim for complete transparency, so I hope my now and again whorishness is tolerated. Any and all reviews have been and will continue to be completely honest. I have a day job. I like my day job. I don't need to lie. Also I won't spread the word about a junk place. A quick review of CSN shows their prices more or less right in line with Amazon. And I love dutch ovens, whether they be in the kitchen or elsewhere.

On to the food. Above is some uber ripe cantaloupe picked up at NUFM. They're plentiful, incredible, and pretty inexpensive right now. It's topped with mint that I can't seem to eliminate from kitchen herb garden, and crisped up rough diced pancetta. Could have been more generous with the mint, but otherwise this is a nice break from the standard prosciutto and melon deal. Sweet, salty, and almost floral.

The wine is not worth discussing.

And this is a piece of pristine Sea Bream from Kate's (we'll miss you this week). It's simply salt and peppered, with some rough ground coriander on the flesh side. It got pan fried in an olive oil/butter combination. It's a fish even a non-fish eater can enjoy. Mussels cooked pretty standard in a butter/wine/shallot liquid, and couscous plumped up with dried cranberries and olive oil. The mussel cooking liquid was poured over the whole thing.

Both these dishes reek of the Mediterranean. I guess that's okay.