Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

i made molly wizenberg's pomodori al forno last year for a party (made little crostini with the roasted toms) and they were gone before anything else. so sweet and so good. but i love raw tomatoes so much that i don't get around to cooking with them til i've had my fill of straight-up tomatoes with salt for a couple weeks.

cup of sugar, two cups of water, pile of basil leaves. boil it for a second, let it cool, strain all the uglies out.

meantime, squeeze six lemons into a gigantic pitcher, or a glass jar with a lid if you're going camping. add as much water to the pitcher as you added lemon juice. then add the basil syrup and some ice cubes. garnish with basil leaves but don't leave em in the pitcher or they'll turn brown.

add hendrick's gin or some vodka, and you've got disco basil lemonade.

I love making shaker lemon pie with whole lemon slices, peel and all.

eggs rothko at egg, with maple bacon, caramelized grapefruit, and a biscuit on the side!

oh, give a girl a break. i'd want my chin pudginess airbrushed away, too.

also, jim, do you say "i'd hit it" directly to a woman's face when you find her attractive? because there are less violent, more creative ways of saying that.

anyway, way to step it up at the end, lisa. you did yourself proud.

Taqueria y Fonda la Mexicana in Morningside Heights!