On a recent flight from Minneapolis to Las Vegas I had the opportunity to taste some of the food served in Delta’s first class cabin. When dining in the air, I always think back to when my fiend and chef, Chris Cosentino, was on one of those cooking competition shows. The challenge was that the chefs needed to come up with a gourmet meal that could be prepared in a small plane-sized kitchen and were bold enough, but not too bold, to excite weakened taste buds at 30,000 (taste buds get weaker as altitude increases). So I am always curious what my meal would taste like if I was eating it on the ground compared to in the air.

Today I was served a cold pasta salad with breadsticks. Traditionally, I am a Bloody Mary drinker while on board, but a Bloody didn’t seem to go with this dinner, so I opted for a glass of red wine.

The meal was orzo, red peppers, feta, black olives, parsley with a light vinaigrette with a side of grilled rosemary chicken. This meal, for an airline meal, was very tasty and satisfying. The orzo was cooked well and the feta added a sharpness to the dish that was complemented by the rosemary chicken.

I have been a fan of Dancing Deer cookies for years. A co-worker of mine used to get them delivered to her office once a month from her now husband. Being a weight conscious girl, she would share with people from the office (me). I am happy to see this Boston company growing and being served in places I would have never expected. Tonight, their molasses clove cookie was soft, chewy and the perfect complement to my 30,000 foot meal.

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