merstar

Here's the one I use - I serve it at room temperature, but I think it would be equally good served cold. You can omit the spinach chiffonade when doing it chilled. I always increase the amounts of ground ginger and fresh ginger, plus I add some ground cardamom and curry powder. CARROT SOUP WITH SPINACH CHIFFONADE http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/248

Carrot-ginger soup, topped with plain yogurt, is another good one.

I was also going to mention vichyssoise. Here's a recipe to check out from Tony Bourdain: http://www.food.com/recipe/anthony-bourdains-les-halles-vichyssoise-136057

My microplane zester, without a doubt. Also, my jar opener and jar/twist-top opener, pizza wheel, tongs, whisks, can opener, wine pump, quick read thermometer, freezer and oven thermometers, timers...

You need to take several steps, ie, reheating half the ganache to a specific temperature, then mixing it into the cooled half, etc. For full instructions, scroll down to REPAIRING A BROKEN OR GRAINY GANACHE by Sherry Yard: http://www.globalgourmet.com/food/ild/2004/0204/ganache.html#axzz0v0M6Mr4A

Here are some of my favorites: VEGETABLE COUSCOUS PAELLA http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/4688 BLACK BEAN PATTIES WITH CILANTRO AND LIME (I serve these with a yogurt/cumin/cilantro dip/sauce: http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=665259 FAUX FRIED EGGPLANT (I use less Parmigiano Reggiano and more bread crumbs, since I find it too salty otherwise, and serve this as a main dish with thin spaghetti on the side): http://www.recipezaar.com/59115 VEGETABLE TEMPURA WITH HONEY-MUSTARD SAUCE (I make an Asian dipping sauce): http://www.recipezaar.com/Vegetable-Tempura-With-Honey-Mustard-Sauce-141291 VEGETABLE CHILI http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/4420 CURRIED COUSCOUS SALAD WITH DRIED CRANBERRIES http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=226616 THAI-STYLE PASTA SALAD (I make more dressing than indicated): http://www.vegetariantimes.com/recipes/7270?section= PASTA WITH ROASTED VEGETABLES AND GARLIC BROTH http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/101816 VEGETARIAN TORTILLA SOUP (I increase all the spices significantly, plus I use low sodium chicken broth instead of vegetable broth, and add a can of corn, unsalted): http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/4421

Baked Zucchini Sticks? http://closetcooking.blogspot.com/2009/02/parmesan-crusted-baked-zucchini-sticks.html Other ideas: Mini Chicken Quesadillas or Mini Burritos.

Love this one: THAI CUCUMBER SALAD http://www.recipezaar.com/93536 I also love Pierre Franey's SALADE DE CONCOMBRES ET CHEVRE (Cucumber and Goat Cheese Salad).

Infuse some fresh ginger and make this - it's delicious: MELONS WITH GINGER SYRUP http://www.finecooking.com/recipes/melons_ginger_syrup.aspx

ICED BANANA LATTE (I use strong brewed espresso, chilled, omit the ice cubes, and add somewhat less than 1/2 cup of lowfat milk for a very deep coffee taste. I also add about a tsp of sugar). http://www.recipezaar.com/67433

Three of my favorite soups: CURRIED CAULIFLOWER SOUP WITH CORIANDER CHUTNEY (I puree half the soup and leave the other half chunky.) http://livinginthekitchenwithpuppies.blogspot.com/2008/09/curried-cauliflower-soup-with-coriander.html CARROT SOUP WITH SPINACH CHIFFONADE (I increase the amounts of ground ginger and fresh ginger, plus I add some ground cardamom and curry powder). http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/248 YELLOW PEPPER SOUP http://www.recipezaar.com/22104

I always have to make all sorts of adjustments when I bake, because the flour I use is different from American AP flour, and my eggs are a lot smaller. I usually start with a smaller proportion of flour than called for in most recipes, and then slowly add in more until I think the texture looks right. In this case, I started with only two cups flour; mixed, then felt it was safe to go up to the 2 1/3 cups called for. It must be a pretty forgiving recipe. The texture of my cookies came out exactly how I like it: a little cakey with a soft-ish centre; not greasy at all. And they mixed together so easily. If only I could get my hands on Valrhona chocolate. I love these cookies. Mine came out on the flat side, crispy on the edges and chewy on the inside. Exactly how I like them.

Kim, I've made this cake many times - it's fantastic. I can PM the recipe to you with all my tweaks if you'd like. Let me know. Meryl aka merstar

DEVIL'S FOOD CAKE WITH FLUFFY WHITE FROSTING with lots of tweaks: http://www.godiva.com/recipes/recipe.aspx?id=518

Happy Birthday !!!!!! The cake looks yum. Thanks, Steve!!!

For my birthday today, one of my favorites: Mexican Chocolate Icebox Cake: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/101955

Three-Cheese Green Chile Spread http://www.recipezaar.com/19079

I also found it much too sweet, even though I used brewed espresso, and a very strong Cuban instant espresso. So, I ended up adding a few extra tsp of the instant espresso, and it was a lot better.

A chocolate or almond croissant, cinnamon roll, blueberry or corn muffin, strawberry tart, a slice of cheesecake...

Apple Bread Pudding, Apple Pancakes, Apple Quick Bread or Muffins, Apple Fritters... Check this out: Apple Fritters - Thomas Keller http://leitesculinaria.com/33236/recipes-keller-apple-fritters.html Another idea: Apple Pie Smoothie http://notecook.com/desserts/pies/healthy-apple-pie-smoothie/

I love Beanilla - great customer service and top quality beans. I ordered their Madagascar - excellent.

Another vote for LU Petit Ecolier cookies! Also, Dove milk chocolate bars and Nabisco Social Teas and Graham Crackers.

Savory Thins (sesame rice crackers), Trader Joe's Spicy Soy and Flaxseed Tortilla Chips, and TJ's Veggie and Flax Seed Corn Tortilla Chips.

I agree - the cookies are excellent. However, I didn't like the 70% cacao in there, which surprised me, since I prefer chocolate at 70% - 75%. But somehow, I didn't like that high a percentage in contrast to the sweet cookie. When I made them a second time, I used a lower cacao percentage, and loved them.

I wanted to resurrect this thread. I made these cookies several times, and they were fantastic. I did some tweaks, ie, used instant espresso (half the amount), instead of instant coffee, plus added some salt, omitted the nuts, etc., and baked at 350 F (didn't like the results with the listed 325 F): CHOCOLATE CHUNK COFFEE COOKIES http://sweetmary.typepad.com/my_weblog/2008/12/chocolate-chunk-coffee-cookies.html