SondraG

You have my deep sympathy. Oaxaca is spectacular, and DH and I are in the same boat, scheduled to spend first 2 weeks of our Mexican winter sojourn there, last 2 weeks of Jan, 07. The zocalo has been cleared, but is in disastrous shape. At this point, it's really not a question of safety. The locals simply are unlikely to be able to put everything back together in such short order as to turn it back into my beloved Oaxaca. Last year, we went to Queretaro, Guanajuato, Michoacan, as well as Mexico City. We really fell in love with Queretaro and Guanajuato. Queretaro is 30 miles from San Miguel. Some lovely side trips, ruins, etc. in all areas. Guanajuato (big university town) is fascinating, and wonderful fun on Sat night in the square. Great food can be found in all these areas. Great markets in all. Some cooking schools in San Miguel. (We'll be there in Feb this year.) All in all, if you want less expensive, central locaiton, I'd say Queretaro should be considered. You can fly into Leon, Queretaro or Mex City. Buses run from Queretaro to San Miguel, Guanajuato, etc. We took the bus from MX City to Queretaro, super easy, about 4 hours or so. Cost about $28 per. By the way, Queretaro is safe and is the cleanest city we've seen in MX.

I tried the dough for Flaky Apple Turnovers, being inspired by Patrick's perfect specimens. I'll have to try the dough again, couldn't make it come together at all. I also tried Dori's Good for Everything PieCrust. It is the best pie crust recipe ever. I'm an experienced baker at lots of things, but pies (doughs specifically) have also eluded me. At any rate, this one is a winner, and when I get blind baking down pat, I'll be a happy camper. This weekend, I must do Rum soaked Vanilla Cakes.

The new Fine Cooking Issue 82 has a great mini quiche recipe with puff pastry. And a really lovely hors d'oeuvres recipe using phyllo - sort of a take on spanikopita. I'm going to try the mini quiche recipe today. I know you might think the mini quiche thing has been done to death, but I really think this recipe looks exceptional. Will post pics when I can.

I'm Italian as well, and understand your confusion. What they're talking about it something similar to Cantuccini di Prato. Here's the recipe I use: Combine in a bowl: 1 3/4 cup flour 1 cup sugar 1 teaspoon baking powder ¼ teaspoon salt 1 cup toasted almonds In a separate bowl, whisk 2 eggs and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. Add to the flour and knead until firm. Shape into 3 1-1/2" thick logs and bake on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper for 30 minutes. Slice diagonally into 1" slices, spread out on the baking sheet, and bake 5 minutes, turning once. ← I have your recipe in the oven even as we speak. DH is Italian and he likes the crisp, crunchy biscotti style, so I think he'll like these. Didn't see baking temp in your post, so I am baking at 300. I baked Lenox Almond Biscotti yesterday from Dorie Greenspan's new book. Love them, they have cornmeal and butter. I like the butter variety, but DH will not.

I baked the Lenox Almond Biscotti today. The dough is a bit soft. When I dumped it on the baking tray, I had trouble getting a decent shape to it. In fact, I think I may have been short a little flour, measuring by dip and sweep. I will use a 4.5 oz cup the next time, and will work on trying to firm up the dough enough to shape properly. At any rate, the taste is wonderful. The butter makes them rich, the cornmeal adds crunch and snap, the almond extract and almonds give them a deep flavor. They are really lovely.

Memo, thank you posting this site and for the previous post with the letter from your friend. We will be in Oaxaca for the first part of our extended stay (most of the Winter) in Mexico. We plan to be there in Jan, and are renting a house in the hills above the city. We are watching the news daily, and are anxious, but not backing away. I know the businesses must be suffering, and most tourists will stay away if there's trouble. We're a bit more adventurous, and will cancel our plans only if it's unsafe. If you get additional local news from Oaxaca, I'd be grateful if you passed it along.

I just starting baking from Tish Boyle's The Cake Book, and like it. I'm a fan of her cookbooks, and this one has some good stuff. Also like Carole Walter's Perfect Cakes. Don't forget to look at Dorie Greenspan's New Baking at Home. Not exclusively cakes, but many cake recipes. I think this book will become one of my favs.

I was thrilled to find this book at Costco, snapped it up, and have made the Peanut Butter cookies so far. No pics, sorry, but they are the quintessential peanut butter cookie. Beautiful instructions. The double apple cake is next on my list. Hope to do this weekend. I SO love this thread.

I, too, have heard it is great. Not run by Havava 59 owner, but his brother Chris. Let us know if you like, haven't been there yet. DH not into the French food experience, so I'm not sure we'll ever go there.

KAS, I also moved to Farmville a couple of years ago, moved from Richmond (retired), lived in the Fan. I, too, have difficulty finding things in Farmville, and am constantly looking for sources for food and kitchen items. I order a lot of stuff. King Arthur, Penzey's, Amazon, lol, keeps me sane. I still go to UKROPS for some items, Joe's Market (Ukrops owned, near Libbe & Grove), Thom Leonard's (West End, good producec), Ellwood Thompson's (organic market), and sometimes to the Kroger downtown near VCU. There's also a European Market and a new wine shop - both in the Fan, on Main St. near VCU. I know there's a Whole Foods Market coming to the West End area, not sure when. Wouldn't we love to have a Trader Joe's?? For kitchen items, I rely on the Internet mostly. And travel to either Raleigh or Northern VA occasionally. There is Williams & Sonoma, Crate and Barrel, & Pottery Barn in Short Pump, and Sur la Table in Stoney Point. But, ho hum, right? Actually, if you ever decide to travel to Roanoke, I found a great kitchen store there. In fact, it's a FANTASTIC kitchen store. Let me know if you decide to travel there. (Also a fun new cooking school there as well - nice road trip. Web site - http://www.cookingmadefun.com) Mamma Zu's was a favorite haunt when we lived in Richmond (once a week generally for about 10 years). BTW, they do accept Amex, but no reservations for less than party of six. Also, highly recommend River City Wine Cellar for wine, beer and cheese. There are other places to buy wine in town, but the assitance there is without parallel. Try Midnight Mountain cheese the next time you're there. There is a kitchen store in Carytown, and they do cooking classes occasionally there. At any rate, welcome to Farmville. Nice to have an EG'er around. Hope we can share information, cooking interests, and local flavor.