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Success: homemade brioche, using my KitchenAid stand mixer for the very first time.
Disaster: a 6-loaf bread recipe made with inactive yeast. It yielded 6 leaden bricks.

Funny, I just moved home to Brooklyn after going to school in Chicago... Totally agree with the above poster. A lot of the swankier neighbs' in Chicago are really only good for overpriced brunches and the like. The grocery stores in neighborhoods like Devon, Little Saigon/Argyle Street, Pilsen, etc. may be more limited in some senses (in that they cater to a particular ethnic group), but the ingredients they carry will also help you expand your palate!

That being said, I have to give props to Chatham: if you want ready access to incredible, fresh donuts (Dat Donut), awesome fried chicken and biscuits (Army and Lou's), and vegan soul food (Soul Vegetarian East), this neighborhood's got you covered!

What a gorgeous dish! Those parsley leaves look just like emerald earrings, and they are practically luminescent against the backdrop of the purple potatoes. Great post, as usual!

Pasta with bacon, corn, tomatoes, and hot red pepper flakes. Yum!

As per JT's comment, cook it less and definitely let it sit in the oven afterwards (door open or closed). If you do this + water bath + cover with foil, I should think you'd be fine.

Here is an excellent recipe + video tutorial: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AumOKePD1YQ&feature=channel_page

Thanks to Bittman's influence (as well as that of other food writers and chefs), I've tried to take more of an ingredient-driven approach to my cooking. Now, I'm much more capable of improvising a weeknight meal and crafting my diet around what vegetables are in season (or on sale!)

Roasted potatoes with figs and thyme! Perfect side dish for chicken. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/19/dining/193srex.html

Just a note: red snapper, monkfish, and halibut are not necessarily good choices, either. Go here for more info: http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/cr/SeafoodWatch/web/sfw_regional.aspx

Listen up! This is a seriously awesome lemon chicken recipe: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Chicken-with-Roasted-Lemon-and-Rosemary-Sauce-104857. You roast the lemons and then use their juice to make a sauce with chicken stock, pan scrapings, and rosemary. Divine!

A few of my favorites (I am a dessert/baking person, if you couldn't tell!):

- Joe Pastry (http://www.joepastry.com)
- Tartelette (http://tartelette.blogspot.com)
- La Tartine Gourmand (http://www.latartinegourmande.com)
- Cannelle et Vanille (http://cannelle-vanille.blogspot.com)
- Bake or Break (Not updated too frequently these days. Be prepared for lots of chocolate! http://www.bakeorbreak.com)
- Michael Laiskonis (Great writing. http://michaellaiskonis.typepad.com/main)

For more sweets, I also heartily recommend David Lebovitz

As everyone else has said, smoothies, vegan cheesecakes, etc. would be good uses for it. I also second blisseau's recommendation for eating it chilled with a bit of soy sauce. I personally like to cut it into small cubes, chill, then drizzle with ponzu sauce and eat with daikon radish sprouts (watercress would be a good substitute). Have fun!

Oops, sorry, I added a period to the end of the link: http://www.davidlebovitz.com/archives/2008/04/candied_peanut.html