couscous with lots of fresh herbs, almonds or pinenuts, golden raisins and olives fruit salad nigella’s clementine cake has become a go-to for me cookies, brownies and cupcakes always go well for buffets too

pick up some nice chocolate and dried fruits and dip the latter into the former, but maybe someone else has a suggestion for something a bit more unusual?

Mojito’s, Sangritas, Martini’s go great with these. I also love the fruited sorbets. You can hull out lemons, freeze, then fill w/rasberry sorbet and refreeze. yum!

I am needing some inspiration for a meal plan for our company (we are 4 people) coming over next weekend. They have always cooked really yummy food for us. criteria: Not too fussy, fancy or expensive, but also not average, ie. I...

I would pack up some cheese, baguettes, wine, fresh fruits and a few decadent desserts and head up towards Yosemite. The suggestion about going over Tioga Pass to 395 is an excellent idea. You mentioned mid October – the...

If you want to grill, do something like this... Plan on doing burgers (I know...not that inspiring), but then go to the store and look for what you think are the wackiest toppings you can imagine. Make lots of little burger...

, they served it by itself in a dish, but I think a tart shell, or a puff pastry shell, would be a good foil. Fresh fruit on the side (or partially thawed cherries) would be a nice compliment.

Inspired by the strawberry-balasamic “gelato” posted by Carb Lover a while back, I made a mango “gelato” with nonfat yogurt tonight. It was absolutely SUPERB. Both the SO and I were impressed with the...

the tenderloin and cook it in a pan sauce of shallots, grapes, some mustard, vermouth, maybe some rosemary? Does anyone have any more-inspired ideas or experience using grapes in a savory way?

(the one on Wentworth) for noodle soups and war mein. Very un-fancy, but good soups. Joy Yee’s, tel. (312)328-0001, on Archer in the Chinatown Square mall. the best noodles and fruit drinks you’ve had in your life! None...

I thought Boy Meets Grill, of all shows, at some really inspiring veg options the other day. Here’s the link to the episode: http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/show_gl/episode/0,1976,FOOD_10231_40478,00.html The portabello...

For a Moroccan rubbed pork tenderloin (not too far from dark chicken), I found that a fruit-driven Zinfandel paired best. I tried several, but the Biale Black Chicken was #1. In my case, the spices also had a touch of...

I guess "inspired" is the key here, because Chinese are loath to use any vegetable that isn’t either peeled, cooked, or pickled. However, if you take Katerina’s advice and just use sliced cucumber (peel it, too) and...

, as it comes out perfectly simmered like a stew. I add a little sweetener like honey or agave syrup, and some dried fruits/raisins too. A little dash of sherry or brandy wouldn’t hurt either!

this to someone else’s home, so a frozen confection or something requiring lots of last minute preparation would not be optimal. I can expect some, but not a lot, of prep, oven, fridge, or freezer space. —I’m not...