Joan,

When we arrived back home from your delicious dinner my wife was obsessed with the feeling that she had met you before. She pulled out Ina Pinkney's "Taste Memories" and found this. It seems that your paths had indeed crossed. I'll send you her email in a PM if you'd like.

Forewarned is forearmed: She's so busy with Dinkel's that she doesn't often get a chance to keep up with her home email. Sorry to spoil your anonymity--I couldn't figure out another way to get an image into a message to you.

Hopefully you had a peaceful night and will have a quiet Monday.

Best wishes,

bean

thanks so much SueF for the pictures. someday i'll learn how to upload pics to LTH... and it was wonderful having katherine, bean and the other joan joining the group. i had a great time. i look forward to seeing everyone at the next exchange. (and maybe katherine will liven things up by bringing her baby girl). i'm glad everyone liked the salad. give me a day or two and i'll post it- i woke up with a migraine....

Have a quiet day Joan. I trust we're not to blame for the migraine. Wifey & I send good wishes for a swift recovery.

Belated thanks to not only Joan, for her hospitable hosting and amazing food, but also to everyone else for being so welcoming! The desserts were fantastic and it was a treat to try such an array. I hope the apple cake was enjoyable. I'll probably wait 'til the new year to bring our little lady out to visit, but hopefully I will see you all again at another dessert exchange soon

i just wanted to share the news that katherine had a healthy baby girl on saturday. i don't know her name; i got the news from her employee at the katherine-anne confections booth at the logan square farmers market on sunday. in honor of the baby's arrival, i felt compelled to buy myself 2 truffles and eat them immediately. congratulations katherine; the dessert exchange looks forward to meeting the baby whenever you're up for joining us again.

i promised a recipe for the fall panzanella salad i served for dinner at the october 5th dessert exchange; here it is:

FALL PANZANELLA SALAD (serves 4- 6 as an entree)- this is my version of the classic italian peasant meal- a way to use up stale bread by turning it into a substantial meal with the addition of vegetables and dressing
(quantities are very approximate and completely at the whim of the cook. when making this kind of entree salad, if it's hard to know how much of each ingredient to use- i just think to myself: ok, each serving should have half a dozen pieces each of beet and orange, a large handful of lettuce, 5-6 capers, etc. and i plan accordingly. the croutons are not a garnish here; but rather a main ingredient, so don't skimp on them.)

4 c. 1/2inch bread cubes, no crust (use a hearty country/italian/french loaf- i used laBriola's Tuscan loaf as it's sliced and doesn't have too much crust)
2-3 beets, golden if you don't want the beets to run purple, peeled/cubed
2-3 large navel oranges (no seeds!)
1-2 fennel bulbs, remove tops and stem. slice very thinly, then cross-cut into small crescents
pickled onions (see recipe below, or use your own)
sheep's milk feta (i like bulgarian)- use about 1 oz. /serving, crumbled by hand
a large red pepper, roasted, peeled and sliced thinly, then cut into strips
a bunch of chives, chopped
a bunch of cilantro, chopped
a few spoonfuls of chopped fresh herb, either marjoram (i used that) or oregano
romaine and arugula (approx. quantities, i think 2 heads romaine, 1 bunch arugula)
extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic
1/4c. fresh orange juice
red wine vinegar
1 T. dijon mustard
1/4t. sugar
1 med/large shallot
salt, pepper
2 T. capers, rinsed

first, cube the bread; arrange on 1 or 2 cookie sheets in a single layer and drizzle about 1/4 c. EVOO over bread. sprinkle with a little salt/pepper and toss to distribute. small cubes are easier to eat-i don't like struggling with my croutons, which are often either too big or too hard. bake at 250degrees until slightly crisp (10-15 minutes). don't let them get hard. cool and set aside. turn up the oven to 400degrees and roast the beets in a casserole with a splash of olive oil, cover and bake till soft (about 40 minutes). remove cover and cool to room temp. next, peel and chop the oranges , saving the juice that's released for the dressing. put the oranges in your very large serving bowl. add red pepper, beets, feta, herbs, cilantro, capers, pickled onions, some salt and pepper and stir. make the dressing next: i like mine tart; adjust to your own taste. start with a measuring cup or a glass jar and add 1/2 cup olive oil. add orange juice, minced (or microplaned) garlic, minced shallot, dijon, sugar, a good couple grinds of pepper and 1/4 t. salt. stir well and then add 2T. red wine vinegar. taste and add more vinegar or more oil, if you like. HALF AN HOUR BEFORE SERVING, add the croutons to your salad bowl and toss with about half the dressing so they will soften and soak up the dressing. at the last minute, add the greens and toss again, adding more dressing slowly, tasting and adjusting with more salt, pepper, vinegar or oil as needed.
PICKLED ONIONS: 1 red onion, very thinly sliced; 1/4c. red wine vinegar; 1/2t.sugar; 1t. kosher salt; 1/2 c.warm water. combine all ingredients in a medium bowl. let stand at least 30 minutes. drain before using. but you can store in the liquid for up to a week in the refrigerator.