Alinka

I don't think so. Sorry to say, I was not impressed with Dagoba (even though I thought the wrapper looked promising ). The flavor seems somehow uninteresting, just sweet... I think it was Vosges, as Tess says. They have other interesting flavors, like green tea. But I actually prefer plain dark chocolate, provided it is very good. Once in the chocolate museum in Koln I bought 99% dark chocolate. I realized 85% is as high as I am willing to go - that stuff was strong! So bitter, I had to chase each bite of the 99% one with a bite of milk chocolate . So many good ideas, everyone! I really want to try Hachez as purplewiz suggests, and SuzySushi's Monoprix 70%... (Can I confess I've never tried Valrhona ... By the way, is there a good mail-order place I can get that from?)

LindyCat, thank you for sharing your opinion. I really liked Scharffen Berger chocolate for eating as is: it had a surprisingly complex flavor for something I considered expensive (overpriced?) baking chocolate. The tart I baked was very delicious, but I am still not sure whether it's the recipe or the chocolate . I will definitely buy the chocolate for eating.

Thanks, Patrick! I think I am ready to buy the book: the tart was a great success, and there are so many things I want to try from the book. Besides, I already have Greenspan's Baking with Julia, and love it, love it, love it! I'm still not clear as to why the cake layer all but disappeared into the ganache ... It was kind of soft inside and brittle outside after it cooled down. I was surprised that the baking time was so short and the temperature was so high for something without flour. The idea is similar to the meringue, but isn't meringue sort of dried in the oven at low temperature rather than being baked, like genoise, for example?

I've done that. TWICE!

Lindt, because it's the best I can buy here . When I'm willing to drive an hour to Whole Foods, I get this spicy dark chocolate with chili peppers (can't remember the brand). Something like $8 for a bar.

Chufi, are you sure you did not write that about me? I have to be careful about what I eat, to stay thin . So, of course, I never make a big breakfast just for myself. To be fair, I have to show my today's breakfast, which is much more typical: A cup of coffee with some "suhari" - they are somewhat like biscotti, only not as sweet and without fat. Boy, am I glad I do not live in Amsterdam! (Klary, ). Otherwise, how could I resist eating the most delicious fries, topped with MAYO! No... scratch that. The thing I really could not stop eating in Amsterdam was herring - Sorry, the food doesn't look right for the breakfast thread .

Oh, and here's the "internal life" of the tart:

Hi everyone! After finding this thread and reading a couple of pages, and especially seeing your wonderful pictures, I got very excited and ordered this book from the library. Yesterday I made the Grand Chocolate Tart. I am not much into chocolate desserts, but I made it for my chocoholic friend (a very picky one, too: she believes my desserts are too all-American and not sophisticated enough ). So, FINALLY, she loved it! I have a question, though: the cake layer which I expected to be tenderly crunchy, a little like meringue, basically dissolved into the ganache. Did anybody else have this problem? It was probably discussed in this thread before, but I didn't get a chance to read the entire discussion (I will, though, after I take a couple of days off from work ). I followed the recipe to the letter, complete with the nougatines (although I was not sure how exactly I was supposed to use them for decoration, so here's what my tart ended up looking like):

Thanks Pan .

What, nobody eats breakfast any more? Nothing new for 5 days! Ok, then I'll go : Bliny - we make them thin and large in Russia, like crepes. Usually they are eaten with jam, honey, sour cream, condensed milk, or simply dunked into melted butter. And, they are eaten with hands, no forks .

So yesterday I finally broke down and bought Scharffen Berger chocolate for the Grand Chocolate Tart from Pierre Herme's book. The tart is sitting in the fridge waiting to be eaten. At $9.99 per the 9.7-oz package vs. $2.79 for 12 oz of Ghirardelli's, it better be four times as delicious! Seriously, though: this is my first time to use expesive, "upscale" chocolate for baking, do you think it's worth it?

Good chocolate slowly melting in my mouth, alternating small pieces of milk and 85% dark; slowly savoring small pieces of several kinds of good cheese; plain home-made yogurt; baby carrots, sugar peas, radishes, cherry tomatoes, yellow bell pepper - if I'm in the mood for something crrrrunchy.

Garlic Tofu with Baby Spinach 1 12-oz block of firm or extra-firm tofu 2 garlic cloves, crushed salt, freshly ground pepper, favorite spices to taste 1 package raw baby spinach red wine vinegar (optional) vegetable oil Rinse the tofu, place between several layers of paper towels, weight with a pan or baking sheet, and let it drain for 30 minutes. Cut tofu horizontally into two slices. Rub each slice with garlic, salt, pepper, and spices. Weight with something heavy again and let sit for 30 minutes. In a non-stick skillet heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil and brown the tofu slices on both sides. Transfer to paper towels to drain. Add oil to the skillet if necessary; sauté the red onions. Remove the skillet from heat and add spinach. Stir the spinach until wilted (it will reduce in size significantly). Add salt, pepper, spices, and red wine vinegar if desired. The tofu may be cut into strips before serving. Keywords: Main Dish, Vegetarian, Easy ( RG1363 )

Garlic Tofu with Baby Spinach 1 12-oz block of firm or extra-firm tofu 2 garlic cloves, crushed salt, freshly ground pepper, favorite spices to taste 1 package raw baby spinach red wine vinegar (optional) vegetable oil Rinse the tofu, place between several layers of paper towels, weight with a pan or baking sheet, and let it drain for 30 minutes. Cut tofu horizontally into two slices. Rub each slice with garlic, salt, pepper, and spices. Weight with something heavy again and let sit for 30 minutes. In a non-stick skillet heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil and brown the tofu slices on both sides. Transfer to paper towels to drain. Add oil to the skillet if necessary; sauté the red onions. Remove the skillet from heat and add spinach. Stir the spinach until wilted (it will reduce in size significantly). Add salt, pepper, spices, and red wine vinegar if desired. The tofu may be cut into strips before serving. Keywords: Main Dish, Vegetarian, Easy ( RG1363 )

"Sole" - as in, fish? Cacciatore usually means a pretty assertive sauce with tomatoes, so I don't imagine you could actually taste frogs frogs in it?..

Now, did I mention I was going to make pork chops for dinner? Here they are. And this is more like something I grew up eating in Russia (vs. tofu ): pork with mushrooms, sour cream and dill, with a side of stewed (red) cabbage.

Ann_T, Patrick S - I actually like tofu when it's prepared well. I like its tender texture... Staximo, were they good? I wonder what frog legs taste like (don't tell me they taste like chicken ).

To all you burger-steak-kabob eating carnivores I say: garlicky tofu with wilted baby spinach! (Don't get me wrong: pork chops are planned for dinner tonight .)

Ann_T, you steak and potatoes also look gorgeous! Steak is something I still don't have the courage to cook. Pizza with a home-made sauce, on the other hand, is much less intimidating

Percyn The egg looks just perfect. Perfectly underdone silky yolk hidden under that thin layer of the white, and when you cut into it with a fork... Mmm, and I have had breakfast already!

Good morning! Looks like everyone's been enjoying nice weekend breakfasts. Ann_T, beautiful, beautiful scones! Suzan in FL - not only teasing us with the view of her lovely porch (again!), but this time also making us salivate over these lovely pancakes! I can see that the butter on top of that right one is already melting; it needs to be eaten (looking around for a fork) . Me? I had brioche . After Macarons&Mozart mentioned brioche and Nutella last week, I've been waaanting it. Problem is, there IS no brioche to be found in my town; so I had to learn how to bake one. Fortunately, Larousse Gastronomique was there to teach . Isn't this little knob on top so cute?

With a backyard like yours, life IS good . I had focaccia with blueberries and cinnamon streusel for breakfast (it had a speical name in the book, I forget what it was called). I baked it yesterday (photographed yesterday, too: it was too dark when I left this morning), but I must say, I liked the focaccia dough better hot from the oven; it got too chewy by morning.

Daddy-A Wow! Look at that chicken! Ann_T I've never heard of hot chicken sandwiches. Looks very comfort-food-y In the spirit of the recent shrimp trend here, I cooked it tonight, too. I got the recipe from a friend. She calls it Shrimp Gaspacho: shrimp is sauteed in olive oil with garlic, then mixed with slightly sauteed fresh tomatoes, red and green bell pepper, onion, and cucumber. Add a little champaigne vinegar, saffron, red pepper flakes, and fresh cilantro, and you have yourself delicious and easy summer dinner! I thought saffron was just perfect there. (I'm having so much fun with this dinner discussion that you guys make me cook every night! )

That sounds so good! Looove Nutella! And brioche! Nutella PLUS brioche is perfect... Especially when chased down with nice creamy coffee Hmmm, for some reason I only eat that when in Europe, and we do have Nutella here in the States.

Ahhh... diner food! One of the things I happily discovered in this country! (I especially liked that lovely "cheese product" on your scrambled eggs)