merstar

I do this too, with orange zest and crispy sliced shallots. It's great!

Greece - olives France - goat cheese Italy - Parmigiano Reggiano New York - bagels Florida - oranges India - peppercorns Madagascar - vanilla Alaska - salmon

I'm not so sure that it's a West Coast vs. East Coast thing. I would think it would have more to do with whether or not the fish is farm raised or wild. Although, even the wild varies. I've tried wild salmon from the West Coast, ie, the Columbia River, and it couldn't compare to the wild Alaskan. The Alaskan wild is by far the best salmon I've ever had. Too bad it's not easy to find.

Last night was an exceptionally well balanced dinner: Half a baguette with butter and some Boucheron, 3 or 4 forkfuls of scrambled eggs, and 3 homemade bittersweet brownie cookies with coffee ice cream for dessert. Edited to add: I forgot about the green salad I had earlier, so it wasn't totally unhealthy!

Have you ever tried wild Alaskan salmon? It's far superior in taste and healthier than the farm raised, ie, less fatty, with a much lower level of pesticides and other nasty things.

Fettuccine tossed with a sauce of goat cheese, parmigiano reggiano, mushrooms, and fresh basil with lots of freshly ground black pepper, served with a mixed salad.

Here's the existing eG thread. Thanks again, Jason, I found some good info in that thread, not only about Balthazar for bread, but other food sources. I'm planning to move back to the NY/NJ/PA area by the end of this year, so I'll need to find myself some good resources for my favorite things, bread, chocolate, cheese, coffee, EVOO, pasta, San Marzano tomatoes, etc. etc.

Jason, thanks for the recommendation. Will Balthazar sell to the public in small quantities or is it strictly for the restaurant industry?

Lots at the Splenda website under "Desserts." Here's one of the recipes plus a link to the site: http://www.splenda.com/page.jhtml;jsession...pes/library.inc Flourless" Chocolate Hazelnut Torte with Frangelico Makes 12 servings Active Preparation Time: 20 min. Bake Time: 15-20 min. Cake 3/4 cup Finely Chopped Hazelnuts 2 1/2 oz. Unsweetened Baker's Chocolate 3/4 cup SPLENDA® Granular 1/2 cup Plain Bread Crumbs 2 Tbsp. Corn Starch 1 tsp. Baking Powder 1/4 cup Egg Substitute 3/4 cup Brewed Coffee 2 Tbsp. Vegetable Oil 2 Tbsp. Unsweetened Applesauce 2 Tbsp. Frangelico Glaze 3 oz.Sugar-Free Chocolate 2 Tbsp. Frangelico Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly Spray an 8 inch cake pan with cooking spray. Set aside. Bake hazelnuts in preheated oven until golden brown, approx 5-7 min. Set aside. Melt chocolate in a small pan over low heat. Set aside. Place hazelnuts and remaining cake ingredients in a medium-size mixing bowl. Stir until well blended. Add chocolate and mix well. Pour into prepared cake pan. Bake 15-20 minutes. Cake will seem slightly under baked. Remove cake from pan. Cool on a wire rack. Place cake on a serving plate. Place chocolate and Frangelico in a small saucepan. Heat over low heat while stirring constantly. Pour melted chocolate glaze over torte. Refrigerate torte until ready to serve. Nutritional Information per serving Total Calories 170 Calories from Fat 110 Total Fat 12 g Saturated Fat 4 g Cholesterol 0mg Sodium 80 mg Total Carbohydrate 15 g Dietary Fiber 2 g Sugars 4 g Protein 3 g

Here are two possibilities: Apple-Stuffed Mushrooms Yield: 32 servings 32 large Mushrooms, fresh Vegetable cooking spray 3 tb Celery; finely chopped 1/2 c Apple; minced 2 tb Fine, dry breadcrumbs 1 tb Parsley, fresh; chopped 2 tb Walnuts; finely chopped, toasted 1 tb Blue cheese; crumbled 2 ts Lemon juice Clean mushrooms with damp paper towels. Remove stems; finely chop 1/3 cup of stems, reserving remaining stems for another use. Set mushroom caps aside. Coat a small skillet with cooking spray; place over medium-high heat until hot. Add 1/3 cup reserved chopped mushroom stems and celery; saute 2 minutes or until tender. Combine celery mix, apple and next 5 ingredients in a small bowl; stir well. Spoon 1-1/2 ts apple mix into each reserved mushroom cap. Place mushrooms in a 15x10" jelly roll pan; bake at 350~ for 15 minutes. ROQUEFORT DIP WITH APPLE, ENDIVE, AND CELERY HEART 4 ounces fromage blanc or softened cream cheese (about 1/2 cup) 3 tablespoons milk 2 teaspoons medium-dry Sherry 4 ounces Roquefort (about 1 cup crumbled) 2 Belgian endives 12 inner celery ribs with leaves 1 medium head white radicchio* (optional) 1 crisp red apple such as Gala or Fuji *available at some specialty produce shops This dip is especially attractive served in a hollowed-out head of Castelfranco radicchio, a white radicchio with loose, pink-streaked leaves that readily open to form a bowl. If using fromage blanc, in a bowl stir together with milk and Sherry until smooth. If using cream cheese, with an electric mixer beat together with milk and Sherry until smooth. Crumble Roquefort and gently stir into mixture (being careful not to break up lumps). Dip may be made 1 day ahead and chilled, covered. Have ready a large bowl of ice and cold water. Trim root ends of endives and separate leaves. Trim celery to 4- to 6-inch lengths. Remove any discolored outer leaves from radicchio and trim root end slightly so radicchio stands upright. Put vegetables in bowl of ice water to crisp (and to help radicchio leaves open). Let vegetables stand at least 15 minutes and up to 2 hours. In a colander drain radicchio and shake to remove water. Twist and pull out center leaves to form a "bowl" for dip. Spoon dip into radicchio or a small bowl. In colander drain endive and celery and pat dry. Quarter apple and remove core. Cut quarters into thin wedges. Put several ice cubes in each of 2 wine glasses and stand endive, celery, and apple over ice. Serve dip with apple, endive, and celery. Serves 8 as an hors d'oeuvre. Gourmet December 1998

Fresh garlic, fresh basil, fresh cilantro, dark sesame oil, fresh ginger, EVOO, Cajun hot sauce, cayenne pepper, cinnamon, Dijon mustard, orange zest...

Last night was "Pasta With Roasted Vegetables And Garlic Broth" from Bon Appétit - penne with roasted red and yellow peppers, fennel, red onion, and carrot. Tossed with a reduced chicken broth infused with roasted garlic gloves, fresh basil, and lots of Parmigiano Reggiano. This is the third time I've made this, and it never fails to amaze.

Definitely one of the best dishes I ever had. I used to order it at Victor's, (it was called Roast Pig on their menu), when they were on Columbus Ave, very sad day when they closed down. They also had the greatest paella, shredded beef, red snapper, black beans and rice, fried bananas, corn tamales, cafe con leche, and for dessert, natilla. I miss that place!

Last night I had wild Alaskan salmon for the first time, and it was unbelievably great. I had tried wild salmon before from the Columbia River, and it wasn't half as good. The Alaskan is the best salmon ever. I broiled it with a garlic/butter/Dijon mustard/wine sauce with fines herbes.

Make a Moroccan couscous with turnips, carrots, zucchini, chickpeas, raisins, onion, garlic, tomatoes, etc., and of course harissa. Delicious!

Bagels, cream cheese, lox, and red onion.

Thanks very much for your info. I'll be able to check out "Perfect Cake" when it comes in from B&N. Sounds like that's the better choice, and I'll stick to Alice Medrich for the lowfat recipes. Unfortunately, "Chocolate And the Art Of Lowfat Desserts" is unavailable at present, (except for used copies) so I'm limited to those that are included in "Bittersweet."

Hey Rhea, How's it going?! Thanks for the info. Alice Medrich is my favorite, especially being the chocoholic that I am. I've tried some of her recipes from "Chocolate and the Art of Low-Fat Desserts," (although I don't have the actual cookbook), and they were fantastic. I do have her book "Bittersweet," which I've been reading a lot lately - it's great. Anyway, from your description, I'm not so sure Susan Purdy is what I'm looking for. I ordered "Perfect Cake" aka "Piece Of Cake" from my local Barnes and Noble, so I'll be able to check it out to see if I want to buy it or not. They don't have the other two, however, so maybe I should follow your example and preview them in the library. I've also posted this query at the FC forum, so I'll be curious to see the responses. Will see you later!

Do any of you have the following Susan Purdy books: "Have Your Cake And Eat it Too," "Let Them Eat Cake," and "Perfect Cake" (used to be "Piece Of Cake.")? I'm thinking of ordering them, but would like your feedback. Thanks.

It seems Häagen-Dazs is big on discontinuing good flavors. In addition to the two you have listed, others have mentioned Elberta Peach, plus my favorite chocolate gelato which I posted previously (they say they still make the chocolate gelato, but I haven't seen it anywhere in quite awhile). I also find it annoying that I can only find their Belgian chocolate in a few of their ice cream shops, I have never seen it in the stores.

Yup! Oreo Ice Cream Sandwiches are made by Klondike. Hope you find them! Thanks, Lorea, I hope so too!!!

Wheatena's still around. It's sold in all the supermarkets where I live.

Molasses Crisps were my favorites. Brownie Nut's gone too? i'm surprised. the original Breakfast Bars and Breakfast Squares. Yeah, the Brownie Nut's been gone for many years now. They were my favorite!

Yum....those giant Oreo ice cream sandwiches are my favorite! They still carry them around here, so they're definitely still in production.....you might want to try requesting them from your grocer - they might start stocking them! I thought they were gone forever! Do you know who the manufacturer is?

Haagendazs Chocolate Gelato (apparently the company still makes it, but I can't find it anywhere). Pepperidge Farm Chocolate Brownie Nut Cookies Altadena full fat yogurt made with cream (boysenberry, strawberry, raspberry, etc) Oreo ice cream sandwiches (giant ice cream sandwiches with oreo cookies and vanilla-oreo ice cream inside). Lucky Cakes (my favorite as a kid).