Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

I seriously love the nutella and mascarpone-slathered dessert pizza at Gialina in SF. It's warm, creamy, crunchy (thanks to those crushed amaretti) and chewy (thanks to that fabulous, charred pizza crust). It hits all of my flavor and texture buttons.

Coconut dal, served with raita!

Once upon a time I whipped up an enormous cheesecake, but for some reason put it in the oven and didn't set a timer and couldn't remember what time it was when I started baking it. I was so fearful of over baking it that I ended up removing it FAR too soon. It seemed a bit jiggly but I convinced myself it would 'set up' or something. After cooling, I unhinged the springform, lifted out the cake, and topped it with a gorgeous crown of 15 dollars-worth of lightly glazed fresh-from-the-farmer's-market-raspberries. It looked pretty good - but when I sliced it, it became very clear what I had done (or under-done...ha!)....it was like fondue, oozing everywhere. Such a sad mess. But the edges tasted pretty good. ;)

In college, I interned on Capitol Hill for an amazing Oklahoma congressman. He held a fundraiser over the summer - a "pig pull" fundraiser. When I first saw the whole roasted pig displayed upon the buffet table I was just a tad horrified. It was probably the first time I had ever seen one...and it just looked so much like a....pig. And then the congressman pulled off a piece of roasted pig and handed it to me and.......damn! So good! I'll never forget it.

The smoked fish platter with onion bagels and a potato knish at Carnegie Deli. :)

Hanger steak...preferably from Golden Gate Meats, with some of their fantastic rub.

Flour, sugar, butter, bitter and semi-sweet chocolate bars, chocolate chips, walnuts (cookies!, almonds (more cookies!), pecans (pecan tassies!), dried cranberries (holiday biscotti!), dried coconut (hello, macaroons!)....tis baking season! :)

That was simply delightful - a joy to watch unfold.

Cook's Illustrated/America's Test Ktichen has a fabulous recipe for stovetop mac & cheese. The secret is evaporated milk - it keeps the mixture smoothy and creamy and velvety. I highly recommend it. I also checked out Alton Brown's recipe (referred to above) and it seems to be almost identical.

Since I must choose: Cinnamon Panna Cotta Pumpkin Pie! :) But...I think they all sound awesome.

As far as cookies go, I recommend Rugelach (you could add a Mexican flavor by using Mexican chocolate as a filling or regular semi-sweet chocolate and cinnamon) and Mandelbrot (kind of like biscotti).

It depends on what you're using it for, but greek yogurt is a nice option. :)