Get the latest recipes from Dond http://www.grouprecipes.com/people/dond This is one of the great Nick Malgieri's tastiest and easiest baked goodies. I have lost track of how many times I've made this -- because it's quick to fix, not overly sweet, and delicious. I use a lot of whole wheat flour, so mixing all-purpose flour and whole wheat flour is never a problem for me. I always use King Arthur White Whole Wheat Flour and would strongly recommend using nothing else. http://www.grouprecipes.com/103330/apple-walnut-raisin-bread.html I love chocolate in all of its varieties. I love chocolate chip cookies, particularly the ones my mother made when I was a kid and which she continued to send me at college until I eventually learned to make them myself. I love chocolate brownies. This recipe incorporates everything I love about chocolate. I think the combination of unsweetened and bittersweet chocolate with semi-sweet chocolate chips is ideal. Since you’re using sugar and a lot of chocolate already, I would stay away from milk chocolate, which already contains a lot of sugar. Make certain your eggs and butter are at room temperature. http://www.grouprecipes.com/101205/chocolate-walnut-brownie-cookies.html This recipe originally came from Chef Hans Röckenwagner of Santa Monica, Marina del Rey, and points east. I've done this same dish with both a seared tuna fillet and a tilapia fillet, and it works perfectly with either one. This is a good recipe to have in reserve, since you can prepare the sauce and couscous to go with just about anything -- the tangy onion sauce and the citrusy couscous add a piquancy to any seared fish fillet. http://www.grouprecipes.com/100220/grilled-sea-bass-with-orange-and-red-onion-sauce-and-citrus-couscous.html I found this recipe online, posted by someone calling herself Stargirl. I have no idea where she got it (apologies to Luvsthecity, who needs to know the provenance of every recipe posted here). The combination of flavors is wonderfully complex, and the taste is rich and tangy. http://www.grouprecipes.com/99568/toasted-quinoa-and-avocado-salad.html This recipe comes from a recent issue of Bon Appetit (with apologies to Luvsthecity, who, apparently, thinks we all create our dishes entirely from scratch -- my own view is that recipes are to real cooking as paint-by-numbers canvases are to landscape painting.) In any event, this recipe takes two days to prepare, although most of the actual work is concentrated into about an hour on Day 2. The result is incredibly rich and flavorful, a perfect main course after, say, a terrific salad. Obviously, you can scale this back to more manageable proportions if, as I did, you're only making it to yield four good-sized portions instead of 12. http://www.grouprecipes.com/99562/milk-braised-pork-shoulder-with-semolina-gnocchi.html There are probably dozens of variations of this dish in cookbooks and on websites, but it's a can't-miss substitute for pasta and works well with a variety of fillings. I've been making it for a long time, using all kinds of cheeses and, sometimes, ground sausage, veal, or beef. I think I might have gotten it originally from a Williams-Sonoma cookbook, but I can't be certain, so no nasty messages. And there's no compelling reason why you can't adapt this recipe to make a non-pasta lasagna. http://www.grouprecipes.com/99207/eggplant-rolls.html This recipe comes from master Spanish Chef Jose Andres, with one or two very slight modifications from me. It's incredibly rich and filling, with a piquant flavor that cries out for a full-bodied Spanish wine to go along with it. The last bit of uncovered cooking thickens the sauce and intensifies the flavor. http://www.grouprecipes.com/98708/basque-chicken-with-sauteed-chorizo-and-artichokes.html A very tasty, fairly low-calorie dish that makes a great accompaniment for just about any meat or poultry dish. http://www.grouprecipes.com/98272/spicy-sweet-potato-and-chestnut-gratin.html This is an elegant, yet fairly simple way to serve a delicious, healthy main course. Although it's a fish dish, a variety of vegetables makes it distinctive. Although I always make this dish with sea bass, it would obviously also work with a meaty fish like halibut. I don't think I'd try it with anything more delicate, like tilapia or cod, but you never know. Slow cooking the ratatouille vegetables and running them through the blender not only gives the dish a terrific look on the plate, but also adds a richness to the flavor. Don't overcook the asparagus; you want it to have some snap, particularly since your other vegetables are puréed. http://www.grouprecipes.com/97673/sea-bass-with-ratatouille-jus-and-roasted-lemon-asparagus.html This is a recipe from Tom Colicchio and uses a rich brown chicken stock to enhance the texture and flavor of the mushroom ragú. I would recommend using a homemade chicken stock -- made from actual chicken meat and bones -- rather than a packaged chicken "broth." If you can't make your own stock, use a good packaged stock. http://www.grouprecipes.com/97105/polenta-gratin-with-mushroom-bolognese.html