Cook Every Dish From One Cookbook

The Cookbook: A16 Food + Wine Total Recipes: 91 Recipes Completed: 2   Recipe #2: Bitter Caramel Gelato The two major differences between gelato and ice cream is that gelato is denser and has lower fat, Yeah! Having a lower fat content increases the intensity of flavor. Typically, making gelato involves a double boiler and eggs, [...]

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Read 100 books on the NY Best Sellers list

Books Read: 2 Books Needed to Read: 98 #1 Three Cups of Tea, Greg Mortenson PLOT SUMMARY: A true story of a man who braves the wildest parts of Pakistan and Afghanistan to build schools for children. An inspirational tale of how it only takes one man to make a difference in the world. OPINION: [...]

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A Taste of Italy with Tuscan Tomato & Chickpea Soup

Every time I make this delicious Tuscan Tomato & Chickpea Soup at our restaurant, Sugo Trattoria, the kitchen fills with the aroma of rosemary and sage. Adding bacon is the great secret to making this perfect warm treat on a chilly fall day.       TUSCAN TOMATO & CHICKPEA SOUP 6 Slices of Bacon, chopped 1/2 [...]

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Attending My 20 Year High School Reunion

I was hesitant to attend my 20 year high school reunion, after all the last high school reunion I went to featured the well-known cliques in every corner; popular, farmers, stoners & book worms. Unfortunately, I was always just the shy girl who everyone thought was "quiet, but nice" so my clique was absent. Feeling [...]

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Trying a New Food – Trout

NEW FOOD #12:  Trout I am definitely not a fish girl, unless it happens to be a delectable almond-crusted Halibut. But, anything that tastes "fishy" or has the head on when it is served is wasted on me. My father-in-law went to the lake and caught several fish including trout. He thought it would be a great idea for [...]

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A Memorable French Cassoulet in Napa

Some loyal customers of ours, Trish & Dave, invited us to a Sunday night dinner. They selected Angele which is a gorgeous French restaurant that uses traditional recipes with contemporary influences, including cassoulet. We sat out on their patio since the weather was unexpectedly warm for November. I was taken by the table centerpieces which were [...]

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Watch all the Oscar Winning Movies

Movie #10 Completed! Oscar winning movies: 82 Movies to go: 72 1995 Braveheart – Plot Summary Is it over yet? That's the question I had to keep asking myself. I was so confused by this movie winning an Oscar, I had to double check to see what movies it was up against; Apollo 13, Babe, [...]

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Completing a 1000 Piece Jigsaw Puzzle

    Unfortunately, this puzzle ended up being 999 pieces instead of 1000, but I'm still crossing the'Completing a 1000 Piece Jigsaw Puzzle' goal off my bucket list! Luckily, someone at one of our vacation rental properties left this puzzle when they were visiting. I was half way through completing the 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle when I [...]

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