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I love ricotta salata for those times I'm craving something a little off the beaten path...

@Julian: agreed!

I'm really enjoying both the level of talent in this season and the interesting challenges--the latter seem like riffs off of old challenges, but also taking advantage of the current location.

We did a spread of veggie tapas, along with some poached eggs--gazpacho, braised leeks, and my favorite vinaigrette: http://themanhattanfoodproject.wordpress.com/2009/09/14/9-13-09-all-veggie-dinner-gazpacho-poached-eggs-and-the-best-vinaigrette-ever/

::sobs:: I wish I was back in that yard, continuing to fail at photographing spiders latching onto the lavender.

On topic, though--this is probably the most inspiring bread I've seen in ages--making a kit with the necessary spices and honey, I think, would be such a nice gift to give.

We're in the process of unpacking after a big move, and we came across some gorgeous whole sardines at Whole Foods that we're going to grill up with some orzo pasta salad (I think)...I will definitely post our results!

A while ago we did this Piemontese-style baked onion dish (from the excellent Autumn in Piemonte which was really awesome and strange because it was literally simply preparing an onion to eat on its own, with minimal ingredients (we just used some butter, herbs, garlic, and olive oil and baked them for a while).

It was a pretty cool experiment, and something I'd like to try again once the weather is something other than oppressively hot: http://takebackyourkitchen.com/2009/08/05/02-07-09-dinner-piemonte-style-subtitle-baked-onions-and-veal-cutlets/

I didn't include the recipe in the original post, but I certainly can include our interpretation if anyone is interested...

If we do anything this weekend, I will be sure to post it here!

I also have the 7 1/4 qt LeCruset, and it's a great size--not too big, but not too small. When I was researching sizes I asked an associate at my local restaurant supply store and she suggested getting the largest you could afford/fit into your cooking space, and then adding on as appropriate.

We're trying this tomorrow!! Will report back on results, but I am sooo excited!

@daniela: that looks fab--and I'm so pleased that I can actually understand most of your post (I am slowly learning Italian)!

A few weeks ago I made dinner as the husband was in the city for a meeting, and I made a sort-of-sauce with vermouth, olive oil, anchovies, garlic, salt, pepper and some crushed red pepper: http://takebackyourkitchen.com/2009/07/03/07-02-09-dinner-improv-roman-style-with-pasta-garlic-anchovies-and-vermouth/

@Adam Kuban I cannot stop laughing, and now I am trying to think of every time Peggy Hill speaks "Spanish"

One of my friends showed us a surprisingly delicious drink with lemonade and bourbon he called "the bourbon-lemonade float" which has you fill a highball/Tom Collins glass with ice, fill mostly with lemonade, and then add a shot of bourbon and drink. It's a shot with a built-in chaser, and it's very refreshing.

As a huge fan of the New Haven location, it's pretty difficult for me to decide on one night--there was the night I dragged a bunch of guy friends there after going to a cigar bar down the street and we feasted on tapas and bottles of wine, and then there was our bachelorette party that my friend and I hosted that featured a menu that all of my picky-eater-friends enjoyed (along with some pepper grinder jokes to boot), or another random night when said friend and my husband got dressed up and hung out there all night, eating tapas and watching the bartenders ply one particularly inebriated patron with bread loaves to somehow help them not be so inebriated...

Wow! They are actually doing a challenge that ::gasps:: is related to food and is highly appropriate to the Food Network! Someone fetch my my smelling salts, please!