Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

Dorie Greenspan's "Rainy Day Salad" -fresh tomato, basil, plums, fleur de sel and olive oil.

chocolate layer cake

Cherry pie.

Shrimp, arugula, garlic sauteed in olive oil, tossed with penne & parmesan.

@beth1 & dbcurrie, I concur. I decided to get my mixer fixed and keep it because I really did like how well the mixer worked in other functions and Viking service was courteous and timely. Before their service department told me what was wrong, I just thought I wasn't using it properly in the knead function and just held down the latch lever to keep it from popping up. In my opinion, Viking should acknowledge this defect and publish the model numbers on their website for a full recall - but wait, wouldn't that mean wiping out their profit margin?

This fits the bill for unique and fun appetizers. They are just plain cute!

Olive Penguins

1 (5 3/4 ounce) can jumbo pitted ripe olives, drained
1 (3 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/2 teaspoon dried onion flakes
1/4 teaspoon prepared horseradish
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 dash pepper
1 dash garlic powder
1 medium carrot, cut into 1/4 inch slices
12 small pitted ripe olives
12 toothpicks, with cellophane frilled tops
1 (2 ounce) jar sliced pimientos
Directions
1Cut a slit from the top to the bottom of 12 jumbo olives; set aside.
2In a mixing bowl, combine the next six ingredients; mix well.
3Fill a small heavy-duty plastic bag with cream cheese mixture.
4Cut a small hole in the corner of the plastic bag; carefully pipe mixture into jumbo olives.
5Set aside.
6Cut a small triangle out of each carrot slice; press triangles into small olives for a beak.
7On each notched carrot slice, position a jumbo olive so the white chest is lined up with the notch for the feet.
8Place the small olive, hole side down, over the jumbo olive so the beak, chest and feet are aligned.
9Carefully insert a toothpick through the top of the head into the body and carrot base.
10Wrap a pimento around the neck for a scarf.

.....and, if you work fast, you can get them done in less than 30 minutes!

Baked salmon, drizzled with olive oil and freshly squeezed lemon.

To make up for overindulging in western cuisine where there has been an over abundance of meat, I'll turn to stir frying chinese dishes. I'll use mostly tofu for protein, lots of vegetables and a couple of ounces julienned pork, chicken, or beef to give that flavor that only animal fat can impart.

A chocolate souffle served at L'Orangerie in San Francisco, 1976.

Although new to baking, I was emboldened by my successes with the recipes in a new cook book I received as a gift, so I decided to tackle "Chocolate Roll Filled with Chocolate Ganache". The disaster occurred when I was trying to "spread the ganache on the chocolate roll and roll the cake into a log". What an utter mess, with ganache and cake failing to cooperate. I ended up with this somewhat layered lump that I tried to disguise with more ganache. I dubbed it "Ugly Cake" and served it anyway. Fortunately, it tasted very good and, encouraged by my husband and friends, even attempted the recipe a couple more times - of course, never managed a pretty "roll", ending up each time with "Ugly Cake"!

Smoke it all night long
Gently pull it all apart
Drown in tangy sauce

Washington Pinots,
Napa Zinfs, Cabs and Merlots
Compete for my love

Unpatriotic,
I choose the Aussie Shiraz,
Ruby and robust!

Whole grain mustard, swiss cheese and arugula on honey whole wheat bread!