jende

I want to incorporate Nutella -- God's gifts to mouths -- into dessert for a dinner party. I've made Nutella brownies, tarts, etc. but my favorite way to eat it is slathered on a hunk of plain white bread. I love the blast of flavor and gooey texture you get by eating Nutella in its pure form. That said, I'd like to do something just a little more elegant than the "slather on the hunk" for my friends. Any ideas?

I made these over the weekend: http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/zucchin...cheese-frosting They're called zucchini cupcakes, but the line between cupcakes and muffins is fairly fine IMO, especially when you're using a savory ingredient like zucchini. Anyway, they were delicious. I left out the raisins, and I think a grating of chocolate might be nice with them. The cream cheese frosting would probably push them out of the muffin realm, but it was a really good recipe. Not overly sweet.

I'm assuming that reservations are necessary, considering its size. My Italian is shaky at best, so what's the best way to make a reservation? I've had Il Rossellino on my "list" for years and I'm really looking forward to dinner there!

As a service to those of you who've been using this book a little too much (like me) I thought I'd let you know that I made the chocolate peanut butter ice cream using whole milk instead of heavy cream and it turned out great. The texture is maybe a little looser, but still very good and the flavor is wonderful. I also used chunky peanut butter (Koeze) and that was fine, too.

I once ate a can of chocolate frosting for dinner. Guess I was desperate for something sweet.

I've looked at this site before, but couldn't figure out the booking process. Where do you see the dates that dinners are offered?

I don' think I've ever had a banana cream pie sitting around for more than a couple days, but I've always had good luck in layering the banana slices in the filling. In other words, none on top.

I finally made the World Peace cookies over the weekend. I usually stick to drop cookies because they're easier, but these actually came together easily and sliced with no trouble. The flavor was wonderfully chocolately -- make sure you use good quality chocolate chunks here. I prefer the texture of a chewy cookie to this sandy and crumbly type, but in this genre the World Peace is very good.

I have an aversion to any "dessert" containing fruit (dessert isn't dessert unless there's chocolate, in my narrowly defined food world), so although I lean heavily toward cake I'd have to vote for whichever one is chocolate. So chocolate cream pie trumps pineapple-upside-down cake, but chocolate cake with buttercream frosting and a big scoop of vanilla ice cream TRUMPS ALL!!

Thanks to everyone who replied. I ended up adding a little more milk and taking my immersion blender to it. That seemed to help a lot. The texture still isn't perfect, but I do like the thickness and flavor added by the pureed corn (have we stumbled upon a way to add richness to a low fat mac and cheese?!). I did add some extra whole corn for texture. No extra chiles, but they're quite spicy so pureeing them into the sauce may end up being a good idea so you don't get a whole strip in your mouth.

Yeah, I might have to give that a try, but it's kind of a last resort since I've got sliced chiles and corn in the sauce and I don't want to puree them. It's my own stupid fault -- I knew the milk was too hot but I was in such a hurry. Now I've got stringy sauce!!

I just made a batch of green chile macaroni and cheese, and my sauce broke (I think the milk was too hot when I added the cheese). I have a lot of money in ingredients in that pot, so does anyone know how I might salvage it? I've been whisking like mad and that seems to help a little, but not enough.

Today I made the second epicurious pie posted by merstar and it was delicious. It was definitely rich and intensely chocolately. It also came together easily and firmed up nicely -- other recipes I've tried didn't produce a thick enough filling and it ran when sliced. Definitely a keeper.

I believe the festival is for two weeks, beginning October 12. We're there Oct. 14-15.

THIS is the kind of info I'm looking for! A chocolate dinner?? I'm in! Divina, do you know where I could get more info on these things, including how to reserve if necessary?

jende, please let me know how it turns out - I'm forever looking for a good chocolate cream pie, and like you, I don't want one that's either too heavy or too lowfat - this sounds like it could be it! ← I'll be happy to post back. I'll make the pie over the holiday weekend.

Thanks everyone. I found the Cook's Illustrated recipe and it does sound delicious, but maybe a little heavy for what I'm looking for. I'm going to try the epicurious one.

I've never been to a Legal in the city proper, but I second the recommendation for the one at Logan Airport. I sat at the bar before my (delayed) flight and had a delicious crab cake sandwich. It was huge, packed with fresh crab meat and smeared with a tangy mustard sauce, all on a brioche-y kind of bun. Along with a Harpoon Summer Ale and a pleasant chat with the friendly bartender, it made my delay bearable.

I'm looking for a great chocolate cream pie recipe -- one that is somewhere between the too-rich versions with tons of heavy cream and the low-fat versions that are all skim milk and cornstarch. Anyone have one to share?

I made a berry sorbet (blackberries, raspberries and blueberries) following David's blackberry sorbet recipe. It was so easy to make and came out tasting delicious, and with a great texture and mouth feel. I'm so glad I discovered this book. My previous attempts at ice cream were always disappointing, but everything I've tried from this book has been delicious. I think I'm doing the chocolate sorbet next.

I've been to Ronin just for drinks, but it seems pretty nice. It's got a cool atmosphere and, from what I hear, decent sushi. Nippon Grille in Berkley is my favorite for sushi, but when I want a swankier atmosphere and drinks, I could see myself going to Ronin. We'll see if it can survive the curse of that location, though! I'm not a huge fan of Small Plates downtown (I think it's got a good vibe and a good concept, but the food quality is lacking), but I'm excited to see it come to Royal Oak. Anything new and non-chain is welcome in my book. I don't see it being a direct competitor of Sangria, which has an emphasis on Spanish tapas. Small Plates is a more Americanized version. Plus, Small Plates snagged a primo location on Main Street with a lot of foot traffic. I think they made the right choice with Royal Oak and will do very well. I'm intrigued by your statement that these places may be "a lift in the cuisine of Royal Oak." Did you think the city was lacking before? IMO Royal Oak is one of metro Detroit's most vibrant areas with a high density of quality restaurants.

Can't eat chocolate? I'm so sorry! I can't imagine life without chocolate. Thanks for the information.

We've already booked a hotel, but we're not sure whether we want to stay for one day or two, so it would be good to know what goes on at the festival and how much we might want to take in.

Does anyone have info on Perugia's Eurochocolate? The web site doesn't convert to English (even though there is an English button). I'm going to be in Perugia during the festival in October and I really want to know what to expect, especially if there's anything I have to book in advance. Thanks.

Are your tours based out of Florence?