natasha1270

Today I had a slice of banana bread and some OJ. N.

Pontormo, I am not familiar with the store you mentioned but Balducci's carries Despana brand chorizo. I just bought a some the other day at the McLean location so perhaps the other stores have it in stock as well. Good luck! N.

Fig and Pear Jam green figs, bartlett pears, sugar, lemon juice & zest and vanilla. These are my first attempts at making jam and I am a convert. Also, I currently have blackberry jam cooling on the counter and some tart cherry jam/not quite jam in the fridge. N.

enjoy! N.

Made this a while back and forgot to post... Buckwheat Crepe with Ham, Egg and Gruyere enjoy! N.

Thank you Jason for such a fun link! My friend and I once had a joke where we would include a de-motivator in our correspondence... I think this site will come in very handy. The only thing missing is the candle: enjoy! N.

The tic tac of my youth... for good or bad, just as I remembered... N.

Good thing no-one took me up on that bet! As of this afternoon, my candy bowl was still more than half full...definitely a new record. Not sure what to do with that other bag sitting in my desk drawer... Spotted last night: white chocolate twix. Unfortunately, I had to pass these up but I am going try to pick one up soon. Has anyone already tried these yet? Toliver - Sorry your recent novelty finds have been so disappointing! Thanks for the warning, I'll have to watch out for (and avoid) those coffee/mocha treats. N.

Hershey's has a new ltd ed kiss filled with coconut creme (sorry, no pic). Thinking they might be similar to mounds or almond joy, I picked up a bag for my candy bowl at work. Unfortunately at some point the bag must have melted a bit and smooshed, leaving me with a bowlful of oddly shaped weirdly gritty chocolate/coconut candies. But this is work and people will eat anything you leave out... They ate the cough syrup tasting cherry cordial kisses and I'll bet these will be gone by Monday, too... http://www.hersheys.com/kisses/home.asp N. ps. the drugstore (cvs) also had the dark chocolate almond kisses. I think I should've picked those up instead.

Try DeBaggio Herbs in Chantilly. Their catalog lists Borage as being available for 2006. The website seems to be under construction but you can still download the current catalog. enjoy! N.

LaurieB - You're welcome. Good Luck on your cookbook! Currently in my freezer: Bertagni Spinach and Ricotta Ravioloni Trader Joe's Thai Shrimp Gyoza (this may get me some jeers but this is the absolute only Trader Joe's product I like. Which is a real shame because I live right across the street from it!) Pepperidge Farm Garlic Texas Toast Texas Toast-style bread (One should never be too far away from possible french toast!) Capogiro Gelato (Pistacchio Siciliano, Stracciatella & Zenzero con Sesamo) Limoncello Vodka Pancetta rounds Bacon Butter Pecans Yeast LOL! re: CMA's pizza comment above. We made pizza on Sunday and that little spot on the roof of my mouth behind the front two teeth is still recovering from the molten cheese! enjoy! N.

Some very nice meals, everyone! Sorry I haven't been able to join in that much. For good or bad, I did make the gubeletti recipe I mentioned earlier: I Gubeletti della Signora Baj, pg 57, Rustico by Micol Negrin Unfortunately, I didn't think to google for a pic until after I made them. They seem to be meant for a shallower cupcake pan or a flat, round ravioli shape or maybe I just misread the directions. Also, I had a hard time with this dough (3 1/4 c flour, 1/2 c sugar, 1/4 tsp salt, 20 tbsp chilled butter, 1/4 c sweet marsala & 1 x-lg egg) and ended up rolling it too thick which didn't help matters. In this state, they were way too rich and sweet...even for my gigantic sweet tooth! I thought about trying to make another batch but so far that doesn't seem likely. enjoy! N.

Klary - What a great start to the ligurian cooking thread! The tart especially interests me because I have something very similar planned for tomorrow from the Rustico cookbook by Micol Negrin. In the section on Liguria, she has a recipe for I Gubeletti della Signora Baj/Signora Baj's Apricot Jam Cookies. They appear to be individual apricot jam pies made in a cupcake tin. Your tart looks very tempting! N.

Merstar - Thank you! I don't recall the exact amounts but I used equal proportions chocolate and cream. It was either 71% or 61% Valrhona. And also a little corn syrup, vanilla & salt. In the MSL recipe I based it on, the amounts are 4 cups cream, 2 lbs chocolate, 1/4 c corn syrup, 1/4 tsp salt. Alanamoana - that tuile knot is such a wonderful touch. beautiful dessert! Patrick - your desserts always look delicious. funny thing is that after I posted my cake, I saw your bombe picture and the contrast of your bombe which is so professional vs. my extremely home-y looking cake really made me smile! I love them all... bring on the chocolate!! Ling, Klary - after seeing your pics, I really want dessert now but I haven't even had dinner yet! not that that is a problem but still... N.

Cake! vanilla layer cake & whipped chocolate ganache enjoy! N.

New white chocolate m&m's Not bad. enjoy! N.

I just wanted to add another book recommendation to this thread. I checked out several cookbooks from the library last week, specifically Cucina Romana by Sara Manuelli (ISBN 1566566258). As per the title, the book is devoted to Roman cuisine and she has specific chapters dedicated to areas within Rome and the vicinity. I haven't read many of the previous cookbook recs so I can't say how it compares but many of the recipes have caught my eye: Pappardelle al pesto frascatano, pasta alla checca, cappuccino di ricotta, etc. I may have to get a copy of my own. enjoy! N.

Tonight, we had an early dinner and I made baby artichoke, asparagus and shrimp risotto. Just your basic risotto recipe. I saved some of the water from cooking the artichokes and asparagus and used it to replace some of the stock. enjoy! N.

Picked up something new from Pom last week: Pomegranate Lychee Green Tea I know, I know... I am a marketing sucker but I really liked it. Light, refreshing and the flavors had a pretty good balance. I also have a Pomegranate Blackberry Black Tea in the fridge waiting for me. They were a bit pricey (I may have blocked it out but it may have been $3+) but the tumbler is pretty nice. enjoy! N.

pat a cake, pat a cake... baba cake, hotcake, johnny cake, pancake, king cake, doughnut, doughnut cake, gingerbread cake, fruit cake, wedding cake, christening cake, teacake, coffee cake, pound cake, cupcake, bundt cake, shortcake, biscuit, scone... N., who wonders where would we be without cake?

Kevin, thanks for the validation! I just wasn't sure... Most definitely. I have been meaning to join everyone several times last but the boy at home wants tacos or some other dinner. Hopefully, sometime this week. All the pics look delicious! Saturday, I had Pasta all'Amatriciana for lunch. My tomatoes were not the best but it was still pretty good. I picked up some baby artichokes the other day but I am undecided what to do with them. Right now I am leaning to a shrimp, baby artichoke and asparagus risotto. N. edited to add picture

Cake. Birthday cake. Anyday cake. Angel Food. Devil's Food. Red Velvet. Carrot Cake. Tremendous possibilities in cake. I like pie, too. Maybe even love it at times but cake is where its at. N.

Drats! I had to go rummage for it and check it out. I think I misspoke. Don't think this one is powered by the bulb... I can't see any place to open it. Your sandwich sounds pretty tasty! Whoa, you both had Barbies?! Where is the jealous smiley? I only had a Jamie Sommers doll and she needed the carbs for her bionic arm! Thanks everyone for the comments. Playing with your food can be loads of fun! N.

I was sorting through some old photos and found a few I had meant to post but forgotten... A few years back I purchased The Easy Bake Oven Gourmet cookbook and made a few dishes. The lightbulb truly is remarkable. Here is one I documented: Easy Bake Pomme Anna 1. Preheat your oven for 15 minutes or so. Pour a few tablespoons of evoo in pan and place in oven to heat. (I think you could use butter but I didn't try it) 2. Peel a few baby yukon gold potatoes and slice paper thin. 3. Remove pan with evoo from oven. **Warning** Be careful, the pan and oil will be hot! 4. Arrange potato slices and sprinkle with a bit of thyme, sea salt and pepper. 5. Place pan back in oven for approx 30 minutes until potatoes are tender. 6. Remove pan and drain excess oil. Flip pommes and put back in oven until top is browned. Remove & enjoy! I have a few cake recipes I have scaled for use, too. If I can find them in my stack of recipes clippings, I'll post them too. Anyone else played around with the Easy bake? Enjoy! N. ...playing with her food since 1970

Thank you all for the welcome! Tonight I started off making fave fresche al guanciale (based loosely on Julia Della Croce's recipe in her Roma cookbook) but somehow it transformed into something else entirely... possibly after I added some dungeness crab and tossed it all with pasta. Well, I'm not sure if it still qualifies as cuisine of lazio/rome anymore... but there you have it. Pasta con fave e pancetta Please feel free to remove my post if I've moved beyond the scope of this thread! enjoy! N.