Frank Picchione

Pizza with Shaved Brussels Sprouts & Cheddar

Using a razer sharp Japanese slicer I shaved raw Brussels sprouts, vidalia onions, garlic and my finger. The result could easily have been turned into a salad with the right dressing.

Potato Patties

After boiling these red potatoes until barely done I flattened them between a small pot and my cutting board. Then I brushed them with olive oil and sprinkled them with chopped rosemary, salt and pepper, and roasted them in a hot oven until crispy. This is how I served them to keep them vegan, light and healthy. However, the first time I had them was when my friends Cam and Chris made them for New Years Eve. They served them topped with crème fraîche and I chives, which was delicious. Though I would like them best with sour cream and a huge dollop of caviar.

Pink & Green

Sesame Ginger Rock Shrimp

This was a very quick and easy dish to prepare. Rock shrimp come already cleaned so it takes just a quick once-over and a rinse to get them ready. After sauteing ginger, garlic, green onions and black sesame seeds briefly in olive oil I tossed in the shrimp, which cooked in mere seconds. Then off the heat I added Sesame oil, lime juice and cilantro, and served the shrimp with light coconut rice.

The Langata Giraffe Centre

The Langata Giraffe Centre, run by the African Fund for Endangered Wildlife, is a sanctuary for the very rare and endangered Rothschild's giraffe, which is threatened with extinction in the wild. The sanctuary is in Langata, a posh suburb of Nairobi, and the former home of its founder, Jock Leslie-Melville, the Kenyan grandson of a Scottish Earl, and his wife Betty.

We stopped here on our first morning in Kenya on our way to the Sheldrick elephant orphanage. Giraffes are gentle, slobbery animals. The keepers kept telling us, "Don't worry, giraffes' saliva is atiseptic." To which I responded, "Blech, I'm not worried." I was relieved to see two baby giraffes headed our way. They had much smaller and dryer mouths, and nibbled the pellets delicately from my fingers.

Our lodge was in Karen, a neighboring suberb on the land where Karen Blixen's farm stood. Blixen, the auther of Out of Africa, is revered in those parts. That afternoon we enjoyed one of our best meals at the Karen Blixen Coffee Garden.Above is a photo of the neighboring Giraffe Manor.

Below is a photo of kenyan school children visiting the sactuary, who made our visit even more fun.

Boiled Potatoes with Lemon Herb Sauce

I'm really into boiled potatoes lately. I think they're old fashioned and elegant - especially when served in a big silver bowl with lots of butter. But in an effort to keep things light, healthy and vegan I started this sauce with a roux of olive oil, shallots and flour, to which I added vegetable stock, the zest of two lemons, chives, salt and pepper. It was so lemony and fresh tasting I couldn't resist pouring it over the roasted asparagus as well.