Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

Wow, this sounds delicious. Sadly, my husband doesn't do eggplant. Or mushrooms. Maybe I can tell him it's some zucchini hybrid that he'll love. Or maybe I'll just make it for myself and make him a grilled cheese.

Mark Bittman is my hero. I love how realistic he is about food and eating. It's possible to eat well, eat consciously, and still love preparing and eating food! I definitely see the versatility of vegetables in a whole new way after buying "How to Cook Everything." He's just real, and it's hard not to like that.

I had a perfect chocolate mousse on my first trip to New York. I seriously thought there was no reason to keep on living after that.

I agree about Ariane being over her head. She really just needs to work on her self-confidence. I vote for a motivational coach to follow her around. I don't have a clear favorite yet, but that's the fun of the show. We'll see who comes out of the woodwork. And I'd like to hear Fabio say "princess" again. Cracks me up.

That easy menu is awesome, especially the apple cranberry crisp. And since this is the first year I'm cooking the whole dinner, I might just go with it!

Apple eats pickles and peanut butter? That's a new one. I'm a jelly on top girl. Sticky peanut butter is easier to get off your tongue than the roof of your mouth. That's my attempt at logic.

Israeli couscous is a favorite in our house. We also always have the standards in the pantry- beans, rice, pasta, soba and udon noodles, lots of oils and vinegars, stocks, canned tomatoes, and a new favorite is dried apricots.

Our go-to "sauce" is fruity extra virgin olive oil, good Parmesan cheese, lemon zest, and lots of black pepper. When you take the time to make fresh pasta, it's nice having a delicious ten-second sauce.