Travel: Florence (Part 1)

We recently returned from a week-long stint in Florence visiting two good friends (Jess and Julia) who are living there.  We ate in, had some meals out, and drank a lot of caffe macchiati (oh, and saw some of the world's most famous art).  Details after the jump...

Bake: Triple Treat Bars

This recipe started with my attempt to make fudge and peanut butter fudge without a recipe.  The result was delicious, but not quite fudge (which requires the heating, then slow cooling, then stirring of corn syrup, water, sugar, chocolate, butter, and milk/cream).  Everyone agreed that the two non-fudge products should be combined to make a delicious chocolate-peanut butter treat.  I added a crust of chocolate sandwich cookies (known to most as Oreos, though I actually used Newman-Os in this recipe) and the Triple-Treat was born.  This can be served in slices like a pie (as shown above), or in smaller bar-like squares (see below).

Cook: Bacon-Wrapped Rosemary Pork

I like pork.  I do.  Really.  I like bacon, and prosciutto, and bacon... but pork loin never really appealed to me because it always seemed dry and lifeless.  I decided to conquer my fears and try to cook a tasty pork loin.  Not wanting to stand in the kitchen with a baster for an hour, I decided to use a delicious self-basting wrapper - bacon!  The pork loin was flavorful and juicy, and required minimal effort.  Recipe after the jump...

Kitchen Gift Guide

Happy Thanksgiving!  Tomorrow is Black Friday - the official start of the holiday shopping season.  I've assembled a list of my favorite cookbooks, food magazines, kitchen equipment, and other ideas for the aspiring chef on your holiday gift list.  Everything I recommend is a product that I own and use, unless otherwise stated.