ColleenD

Growing up we always had Carvel ice cream cakes for birthdays--two layers of ice cream separated by crunchy chocolate bits. I saw a recipe on line from someone who said they used to work there. They said to chop up chocolate wafer cookies in small bits and them coat them with "magic shell". That's a chocolate flavored ice cream topping in the US that pours on your ice cream but set up in a crunchy shell on the ice cream. Here is a recipe for homemade magic shell http://www.recipezaar.com/recipe/Homemade-Magic-Shell-Ice-Cream-topping-37377

Hello...I'll be in London for a few days for work, staying near the Tower Bridge. I was wondering if anyone could recommend a nice place for dinner that serves interesting healthy and seasonal food on the order of Rouge Tomate in Brussels. Thanks.

I had some yesterday, too. Just the mini to taste it. I agree that it is pricey for the size. The mini is really pretty mini. It looks pretty big until you realize that the cup is flat, rather than a true cup. Toppings looked fun. I got a delicious hazelnut sauce--just hazelnut, not a chocolate hazelnut. They also had mini meringues, dulce de leche, almond sauce, chocolate nut sauce, mini M&M type candies, fruit toppings, granola and more. The small cups make putting the toppings on a bit precarious, though.

I had my first double yolk today. It was from regular Shop-Rite eggs. If I hadn't seen this thread recently, I would have been really surprised.

warm rosemary focaccia

************************************ I used the juice and zest from 3 large oranges and probably 6-8 apples. I've made a bunch of batches but haven't really been measuring. It is nice to play around with something forgiving like applesauce!

I recently tried applesauce at a fair and it was delicious, but was $12/jar (and not a big jar...). The ingredients included orange marmalade. I recreated something similar by cooking my apples down in freshly squeezed orange juice and orange zest. I added cinnamon, a tiny bit of brown sugar, and a pinch of salt. I liked it as much if not more than what I had tried.

It's been a little while since I was there, but had an amazing pappardelle with wild boar ragu. The pasta was fresh. This thread reminds me that I need to go back before it gets too warm for such a hearty dish.

I made the "Layers of Love" brownies from the Nestle Very Best Baking web site for a work party today. They were a big hit. If you like VERY fudgy brownies with a bit of embellishment, these are for you. They are a very fudgy, cocoa-based brownie with caramel, white chocolate chips, pecans, and semisweet chips layered in! I don't have a photo, but mine looked pretty much like the one at the recipe link. My only substitution was to use chopped bittersweet chocolate instead of the semisweet chips. The recipe calls for caramel ice cream topping for the caramel layer. Next time, I'll try to be more ambitious and make my own caramel. http://www.verybestbaking.com/recipes/detail.aspx?ID=32212

I think you are right to be upset that you didn't get what the menu said and no one told you they were substituting some items. It really makes me crazy when I order something and what comes out is different...I have ordered chicken stuffed with spinach and it came stuffed with olives instead, an arugula salad that was spring mix and probably the worst was when I ordered mushroom gnocchi and they gave me red pepper gnocchi instead and didn't say anything. When the server came to ask how everything was, I said--the gnocchi is good but it doesn't taste like mushrooms--she replied--oh yeah, we're out of the mushroom gnocchi so we made that instead! They might have mentioned that....luckily, I don't have any food allergies.

This is one of my favorite desserts. I have made it a few times and have never had the layers separate. I've only made it with Jif, though, never natural pb. The recipe I have is the same except it calls for cigarette cookies instead of cornflakes. I have used those and also rice crispies when I haven't been able to get the cigarette cookies. This dessert never fails to please so definitely give it another shot. Good luck!

Thanks, Redsugar! I wasn't able to get any baking in over the weekend as hoped, but will try to get to these soon. They were so good and I managed to convince myself that they were sort of "healthy" cookies since they have a lot of protein from the nuts and egg whites!

Thanks so much, apronstrings! I think that is what I had. There are tons of recipes for brutti ma buoni each with a little twist, but this one looks closest to what I had: http://www.foodtv.ca/recipes/recipedetails.aspx?dishid=6609 No recipe, but this is what the chocolate ones looked like: http://www.savorgourmet.com/products.php?c...188e6dbc3a42716 I'll have to try to make a batch this weekend. Thanks again!

I made the rugulach today. They are great! The dough is really easy to put together in the food processor. I made a double batch and tried 4 different fillings--fig jam, chopped pecans and cinnamon sugar; chocolate, pecans and cinnamon sugar; nutella, chopped hazelnuts and chopped chocolate; peanut butter and chopped chocolate. They are all great, but I think my very favorite is the fig jam version, which I guess is the closest to a traditional version. I don't have a camera to take pictures, but they look great--the dough really held its shape and puffed up to a nice golden brown.

I just got home from a cycling trip to Tuscany. While I was there, I ate two kinds of "rustici" cookies. I had never heard of these cookies before. They were delicious. I bought one bag at a grocery store and they were commercially made by Corsini. The ingredients listed are just hazelnuts, sugar, egg whites and salt. The other kind was from a specialty store and also was flavored with chocolate and a hint of cinnamon, I think. The cookies are small drop type cookies that are basically finely chopped hazelnuts held together by a cross between biscotti and meringue. I am assuming that some of the hazelnuts listed in the ingredients are actually ground hazelnuts. I could not find a recipe on the internet. Does anyone have a recipe or an idea of the rough proportions I should start experimenting with? Thanks.

For desserts, I made this almond torte over the weekend. It was delicious: http://www.pbs.org/everydayfood/recipes/almond_torte.html While I was searching for that recipe, I came across this, which looked good: http://www.care2.com/greenliving/almond-an...rless-cake.html

I just had a fantastic "gelato" at Mora's Ice Creamery on Bainbridge Island--they call it ice cream, but it is made with milk and has the creamy, dense texture of gelato with a great concentrated flavor. It was so creamy and delicious and the flavor list was amazing. I had Mexican Chocolate and dulce de leche with a dulce de leche swirl. I was surprised that this place hasn't gotten any play on the forum. It's a little pricey (~$6 for 8oz). I thought it was at least as good as Capogiro in Philadelphia (where I am from), which has been my gold standard for US gelato. I'm pretty sure that I still would have thought it was amazing even if it hadn't been the most gorgeous day and I hadn't been feeling so buoyant from being out of an all day meeting in a windowless room! The trip to Bainbridge and the Mora's, followed by a delicious dinner at Dahlia Lounge (don't you always have dessert before AND after dinner?...had to have the donuts at Dahlia..yum!) was a great end to my 4 days in Seattle. Along the way I also had a few cupcakes--I liked the devil's food with vanilla icing at Trophy the best--more so than the choc/vanilla version at Cupcake Royale, which was still good. And I should probably add that the salted caramels at Fran's were pretty darn good, too!

how about cocktails at washington square? they have a great courtyard. not sure about their desserts...

I will have to try Dorie's recipe. I made the Chocolate Hazelnut biscotti from Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook over the weekend and was a bit disappointed. They were too sweet (and I never say that!) and the chocolate flavor wasn't that rich. I prefer David Leibovitz's recipe that is on the Scharffen Berger web site. That has more cocoa and less sugar. I've been shaping the logs on individual pieces of waxed paper or parchment and then flipping them on to the baking sheet. Makes it easier to deal with the sticky dough.

I just got a Bella Cucina panini grill as a gift. It is really good looking, but not so good at actually grilling paninis. When I try to close it, it practically shoots the sandwich out. It has a hinge, but it really does not hinge much. I brought it back and they also had a Haier panini grill. I had not heard of this brand, but the grill looked like it would work well--an adjustable thermostat and a good hinge with a little arm with 3 different grooves to hold the hinge in place at various heights. I am also considering the Cuisinart panini grill and also their Griddler, which is quite a bit more, but opens all the way up and has removable plates. There are so many choices and many mixed reviews of things that I am getting confused! Any more advice would be great. Thanks.

Thanks for the hours info. Will check it out soon.

Do you know what the hours are? That is right in my neighborhood--hopefully, I can check it out before or after work.

Does anyone have any more recent experience with Jules Verne? I understand Alain Ducasse took over early this year? A friend of mine wanted to do something special for her parents who will be in Paris in late April for their 40th anniversary. She thought a great meal with a spectacular view would be very memorable. She wants to make the reservation and give them a pre-paid Visa or Amex to pay for their dinner. How much should she plan for, including a nice but not over the top bottle of wine? Is lunch a more realistic option for a reservation since it is only about a month out? What would be the approximate cost for lunch? Finally--I assume it's service compris, but what would be an appropriate "extra" cash tip? I saw 5% mentioned in another thread as a good tip...would that be appropriate here? Thanks for any advice!

I am happy to report that the $2 IKEA frother works great! I love it! I've frothed milk hot and it still gives good foam. Definitely a bargain! I'll have to test it out for some other things.

Thanks so much for the tips! I don't have the McGee book, but found this interesting http://www.coffeegeek.com/guides/frothingguide/milk Interestingly, the IKEA $2.00 frother looks like some of the Bonjour frothers and the Aerolatte, which are not expensive either, but several times more than the IKEA one. Since I have an IKEA 2 miles from my house, I may have to give the $2 frother a shot...not much to lose! The Froth N Sauce looks cool, too. I am trying not to get too many new appliances/gadgets, though, since I have a small kitchen and already have a Champion juicer (love it!) and am getting my first stand mixer shortly. If the wire frother disappoints, my resolve may weaken...