Ling

Yeah I drive by it all the time...it's been there for awhile. I can't remember if I've eaten there--I'll ask my parents tomorrow. The restaurant upstairs has some super crazy expensive items!!

Is this the restaurant on the second floor?

This is from last week, but it was the first time I made dinner for this guy I'm dating. I chose something simple and idiot-proof. Braised lamb shank, red wine and porcini risotto (I used the same wine for the braise and the risotto--a Cotes du Rhone)

I ate almost a whole batch of shortbread tonight for dinner. And all the leftover ganache used for drizzling. Oh god. Must lie down. For my "appetizer", I had rice krispie treats that I was making for some of my students...warm and gooey out of the pan. I always use extra butter and marshmallows!

I personally don't like the taste of chocolate butter cookies if they are a few days old. What are the advantages to "ripening" Scottish shortbread? (I've never done this.)

I just made my fourth batch of shortbread for the season...two of those batches are going to my friends' parents. One batch for family. One batch...err...was my dinner.

Same here...I also don't really like any sort of berry with chocolate--I think the acidity cuts through the richness too much.

Yesterday: I finished off my batch of shortbread, and finished the rest of the chocolate hazelnut cigarette cookies. Today: So far it's just been a big milk chocolate almond bar from one of my students. (Came with the Swarovski crystal necklace her parents gave me for Christmas.)

Awww! I had a white rabbit fur muff when I was a kid too! I loved it more than anything! I've never heard of this famous recipe, but it looks good! I'll try it for the holiday season.

peanut butter and condensed milk on toast, and way too much shortbread!

OMG Danielle...that looks so nasty!

Just finished eating these...shortbread!

I mentioned it already. Thanks for the praise, everyone.

That looks great! What's Hatchez chocolate? The hot chocolate looks dark and thick, just the way I like it! I had most of a tin of cigarette cookies filled with tasty chocolate hazelnut filling. (mmm...hydrogenated oil....) and a handful of Valrhona chips. At this rate, I won't have any left for baking.

^The Chocolate Sparkle cookies are wonderful, and the recipe is in Recipe Gullet. The Korova cookies mentioned upthread are one of my favourite chocolate cookies, too! The recipe can be found here: Korova cookies

Oh, good! Haha....I was a bit confused when I read your post.

^haha...I can think of some more but I'll post again tonight or in a few days--I'm hogging the thread!

-dark chocolate + beet -dark chocolate + banana + dark rum -dark chocolate + apricot -dark chocolate + candied ginger -dark chocolate + ancho chili + cinnamon -dark chocolate + cashew + fleur de sel -dark chocolate + lemon (not a personal favourite, but I've seen it done) -dark chocolate + raspberry -dark chocolate + pumpkin + pumpkin seed brittle -dark chocolate + coffee -dark chocolate + burnt caramel -dark chocolate + allspice + fivespice -dark chocolate + lavender -dark chocolate + crunchy, salted peanut butter -dark chocolate + tangerine -dark chocolate + cherry + kirsch + almond -milk chocolate + honey -milk chocolate + rice krispies (not a flavour, really...) -milk chocolate + almond -white chocolate + any berry -white chocolate + pumpkin -white chocolate + chai -white chocolate + persimmon -white chocolate + kumquat + cranberry -ginger + cardamon + cinnamon -pistachio + cranberry -pear/quince + port + blue cheese -eggnog + gingerbread + pear -blue cheese + fig + balsamic -balsamic + strawberry -coconut + macadamia + pineapple -mango + lychee -pink peppercorn + rhubarb + blue cheese -manchego + sherry -bourbon + pecan + maple syrup -lemon + thyme or rosemary -almond (or marzipan) + pear -ricotta (or any mild, soft cheese) + strawberry + balsamic -raisin + cinnamon -rosewater + saffron -chestnut + caramel -butternut squash + marscapone -coconut + cashew or macadamia -kaffir lime + coconut -matcha + sesame -browned butter + any nut + chocolate caramel -buttermilk + blueberry

There are so many flavours going on in that dessert. Do they sell individual servings? That's one of the prettiest buche de Noel's I've seen!

^I thought it was those deep-fried dried marinaded tofu strips. God I love those...so greasy and good. Not the best looking snack, though.

Oops, missed this the first time around. As far as I know, pecan sables are just another name for Mexican wedding cookies (but any type of nuts can be used for these, correct?) I love pecans, but I imagine my favourite nut--cashew--would be really good as well!

Wow, what a dinner! I've never heard of the eggplant and peanut dish, but it sounds good. I had abalone mushrooms stir-fried with onions (they have an interesting texture--smooth and quite firm for a mushroom), steamed "meat cake" (yook bang in Cantonese...it's basically a Chinese version of a meatloaf), choy sum, and braised short ribs. My mom made a Chinese broth with pork, carrots, lotus seeds, bitter almonds, and this other vegetable called "chang lo bak" (I forget the English name at the moment). Finished the last of the choux pastry and some chocolate hazelnut cookies after dinner.

I had a bunch of these... ...and a bunch of these chocolate hazelnut cigarette cookies.

I'm sure there are ways of dressing up your cookies and bars...hmm for the Pecan Passion, perhaps you could cut the brownies into triangles, glaze them with a chocolate mirror glaze, and then put the caramel pecans on top? (I'm not familiar with the recipe, so I don't know if it will work.) I think cigarette cookies piped with a filling look elegant. You can dip one end into melted chocolate, and roll them in chopped pistachio. You could also do mini tarts...Claudia Fleming has a recipe for chocolate caramel tarts on Martha Stewart's website. I remember seeing her make them on Martha's show and they were quite elegant. Claudia said she served them at her wedding.

This was just a "test" batch (I made the whole recipe, but there are only, like, 5 left on the plate--my mom and I were eating them hot out of the oven) so I didn't fill them with anything. I am still trying to get the hang of using a piping bag...so these were just for practice. Plus, I wanted to see if I could use them with a savoury filling. Actually, I made these today b/c I watched Harry Potter 4 on Friday and there's this scene where they have amazing croquembouche on the dining tables, and I was thinking of this recipe when I saw that! For Christmas, I'm planning to do a batch of these filled with smoked salmon cream cheese and dill, and also do another batch for part of my dessert buffet. I will probably do something simple, like a flavoured whipped cream, and them top them with chocolate glaze. Or perhaps chocolate mousse.