Basilgirl

Ground turkey and ground pork make a nice light meatball. I bake them and then bake them again in the sauce. I got that from Mario. A lot of white wine in the sauce is good too. Check out foodnetwork.com for Mario's turkey meatball (Polpettine di Tacchino) - awesome - and almost too flavorful, if that's possible.

My boyfriend threw in some blue cheese along with the parmesan once. It was incredible.

Marcella Hazan's "Simplest Chickpea and Leek Soup" - from Marcella Cucina. Very few ingredients so that the leek flavor really comes through.

Mario's dad's meatloaf from the new Bon Appetit - I used turkey instead of beef and didn't have two cups (!) of chopped fresh basil, only about 3/4 cup, and didn't put in the 1-1/2 TABLESPOONS (!) of dried oregano called for, but it was still awesome. It has sun dried tomatoes and red wine in it too. Roasted garlic mashed potatoes Ratatouille

What I thought was funny is that all the weekly specials are in Chinese. I am going to have to get one of those Chinese-English menu translations books.

China Star has a web site! http://www.chinastarfood.com/ (sorry I haven't yet learned how to post a link ) There are pictures in the "Dishes Recommended" section (dishes recommended by Tom Sietsema in The Post) under "Dish Gallery" - even beef triple with pig blood! Man, I am so jonesing for China Star right now... (Edited to add that I don't know how that link got there )

At $3 /pound, this isn't a crime against grocery, it's a grocery crime against you! That's $3.00/lb on sale. At Giant they're usually about $4.99. Sheesh. I guess shipping them in from Holland really jacks up the price. If they're on the salad bar, already sliced and WITHOUT THE STEM, I scoop them up.

A little bit of balsamic vinegar, or sherry vinegar

I admit that I've been tempted to break off the big fat stems on red/yellow/orange peppers. At $3.00 a pound it seems like such a ripoff when the stem weighs more than the pepper itself. I haven't done it though.

Tomatoes tomatoes tomatoes...The Boyfriend says they are dropping off the vines at the tenants' garden. So, chopped some up and put in a huge bowl with salt, garlic, a little sweet onion, capers, smoked fontina, Pecorino, hot pepper flakes, black pepper, red wine vinegar, olive oil. Let sit for about an hour. Served over perciatelli which kept slapping me in the face.

No, thank God. Edited to add his motto: "Heat plus food = good food"

This is off the Food Network's website; I just noticed it this morning. They have a section on Cabo San Lucas with restaurant recommendations; I'd post a link but I'm too stupid to figure it out "Top 10 Foodie Things to Do in Cabo San Lucas: 1.Visit the salsa bar at Felix’s 2. Try a traditional Mexican breakfast 3. Dine at tables in the sand 4. Feast on fish tacos 5. Enjoy a fresh margarita 6. Eat lobster 7. Drink tequila at Sammy Hagar's bar" 8. Go marlin fishing 9. Sample wahoo, bonito, amber jack, and other types of fish 10. Have a picnic on the beach

If you like that, try a Fluffernutter (also known as peanut butter and goosh)

Tomato pie using a purchased crust because I just suck at pie crust. Layers of salted homegrown tomatoes, monterey jack, extra sharp cheddar, sweet onion, basil, oregano, a little blue cheese, cayenne, S&P, baked until the cheese was bubbly. Nueske's Canadian bacon on the side.

I use them in Mario's Pork Perugina, from his 1st cookbook - pork chops with a sauce of prosciutto, capers, white wine, garlic, mushed up anchovies. Delicious. Also mush them up in lemon juice and put over roasted green beans. Mario's Tuscan green beans from the Babbo cookbook uses anchovy paste, which I always thought was considered an inferior product - but if it's good enough for Mario it's good enough for me.

Tuna melts (tuna made with minced red onion, celery, capers, pickles, S&P, lots of Old Bay, mayo) on english muffins, extra sharp cheddar Crab-seasoning flavored potato chips Sierra Nevadas

Get yourself a big round bread. Cut in half and scoop out some of the innards. Drizzle with good olive oil and a sprinkle of red wine vinegar, a little oregano. Layer provolone, genoa, soppressata, good ham, more provolone. Hot peppers and red onions optional. More oil and vinegar. Smash top on, wrap in foil, stick in 350-375 oven with a weight on it. Bake until cheese gets gooey. I also like extra sharp cheddar and bacon grilled with lots of butter on cinnamon raisin bread. Sounds odd but it works.

Is "white sauce" like tzatziki (sp)???? My God. We don't have ANYTHING like these Fat Cats in D.C.

Paula Deen's Pot Roast. In the Crockpot. I thought it was really good; The Boyfriend deemed it "salty." What do you expect with a can of mushroom soup (with roasted garlic, not what Paula called for) and 4 beef bouillion cubes? Heavily buttered, salted & peppered egg noodles. Mario's Green Beans Toscano. Leftover pot roast for sandwiches YAY!!!!

Marcella's tomato sauce w/ butter & onion is so good I just eat it right out of the pot

Friday night: Thin crust Boboli pizzas with fresh red and yellow tomatoes on both, sauteed shiitakes and chovies on half of one for The Boyfriend; capers and tapenade on half for me; lots of garlic oil on both; provolone, mozz, haloumi, pecorino, fresh basil. Saturday night: Chicken on the grill pan, marinated in Stubbs mopping sauce (good stuff, that Stubbs); Ina Garten's corn pudding w/ basil & cheddar (outstanding); tee-tiny zucchini from the farmers market sauteed with shallots, onion, tomato. Last night: Pork loin stuffed with garlic/herb salt, in the Set It and Forget It; homemade foccacia with rosemary & gray salt, a little tomato juice and red wine vinegar sprinkled on before baking; light purple eggplants also from the farmers market sliced the long way, brushed with olive oil, baked a little, then layered with tomatoes, basil, smoked Fontina and blue cheese, baked again.

Corn fritters. They're not too heavy if you make them right.

I put them in the shredded "Mexican" beef I make in the Crockpot, along with green salsa. Really "kicks it up a notch" and makes it "yummo!" Have you tried the chipotle Tabasco sauce? I haven't seen it in stores, only on their Web site. It's awesome. Especially with eggs.

Please to be explaining your last sentence? Um, use the ones not eaten with smoked oysters for pork chop breading as discussed earlier? Oh. Duh. I think I've spent too much time on e-gullet today

Rachael Ray made haricots verts "fries" the other day.