You might need to buy:
  • * 1 pint sour cream
  • * 2 tablespoons butter
  • * 1 teaspoon salt
  • * 1/2 teaspoon pepper
  • * 2 tablespoons milk

Heidi notes: I used 71% Valrhona chocolate. White whole wheat flour works great if you would like to substitute. I also added espresso powder, half of a large ripe banana, and about a cup of toasted walnuts (per Mollie’s suggestions at the tail end of the recipe). I topped them with a sprinkling of walnuts before going in the oven as well.

Optional: chopped nuts, or 1 tablespoon instant coffee, or 1 teaspoon grated fresh orange or lemon rind, or 1/2 teaspoon allspice or cinnamon, or a mashed over-ripe banana, or none of the above.

Yet another option: instead of uniformly blending in the chocolate, you can marble it. Add chocolate last, after the flour is completely blended in and only partially blend in the chocolate. It looks real nice.
See the post at: http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/001578.html

You might need to buy:
  • bittersweet chocolate
  • eggs
  • pure vanilla extract
  • flour
  • Add-ins:
  • chopped nuts
  • instant coffee
  • grated fresh orange or lemon rind
  • allspice or cinnamon
  • mashed over-ripe banana
You might need to buy:
  • For crust:
  • flour
  • salt
  • sugar
  • cold water
  • cold apple cider vinegar
  • For filling:
  • butter
  • brown sugar
  • vanilla extract
  • Cinnamon Sugar for Sprinkling:
  • sugar
  • cinnamon
You might need to buy:
  • raspberry vinegar
  • raspberry puree
  • Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • shallot
  • kosher salt

If you make the caramel sauce ahead, reheat it in the microwave or a small saucepan over low heat until warm and fluid. When the hot cream mixture is added in step 3, the hot sugar syrup will bubble vigorously (and dangerously), so don’t use a smaller saucepan.

ready in about 20 minutes; serves 4
You might need to buy:
  • water
  • granulated sugar
  • heavy cream
  • table salt
  • vanilla extract
  • lemon juice from 1 lemon

For a smooth pudding, it is important to pass the pudding through a fine-mesh strainer in order to remove any bits of cooked egg.

ready in about 15 minutes; serves 4
You might need to buy:
  • packed dark brown sugar
  • cornstarch
  • table salt
  • half-and-half
  • large egg yolks
  • unsalted butter
  • vanilla extract
  • butterscotch or caramel sauce

If the egg whites to be whipped are not at room temperature, set them in a pan placed in hot tap water and stir them until they are tepid. Coconut is very nice as a variation for this cake. Add 2/3 to 1 cup lightly packed sweetened flaked coconut, lightly chopped, to the batter before folding in the egg whites.

ready in about an hour and a half; serves 12
You might need to buy:
  • granulated sugar
  • cake flour
  • baking soda
  • table salt
  • water
  • vegetable oil
  • vanilla extract
  • cream of tartar

The longer you let the zest and juice mixture steep, the more intensely citrusy your margaritas will be. We recommend steeping for the full 24 hours, although the margaritas will still be great if the mixture is steeped for the minimum four hours. If you’re in a rush and need to serve the drinks immediately, omit the zest and skip the steeping process altogether. We suggest using reposado (“rested”) tequila, which is made from 100 percent blue agave and aged for between two and 12 months. Tasters liked its mellow flavor and thought it blended perfectly with the other ingredients.

ready in about 245 minutes; serves 4
You might need to buy:
  • grated lime zest
  • lime juice from 2 to 3 medium limes
  • grated lemon zest
  • lemon juice from 2 to 3 medium lemons
  • superfine sugar
  • table salt
  • crushed ice
  • triple sec

The test kitchen prefers the hearty strands of egg-enriched fettuccine usually sold in 12-ounce boxes. We found that you need to salt the water used to cook the pasta and vegetables quite heavily to make sure they emerge nicely seasoned.

ready in about 30 minutes; serves 4
You might need to buy:
  • unsalted butter
  • Table salt and ground black pepper
  • heavy cream
  • frozen peas
  • lemon juice
  • thinly sliced fresh basil

Refer to the illustrations below when layering the batter and streusel in the pan. A fixed-bottom, 10-inch tube pan (with 10-cup capacity) is best for this recipe. Note that the streusel is divided into two parts—one for the inner swirls, one for the topping.

ready in about an hour and 20 minutes; serves 12
You might need to buy:
  • Streusel
  • ground cinnamon
  • Cake
  • large eggs
  • sour cream
  • vanilla extract
  • baking powder
  • baking soda
  • table salt