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Wow. Major yums on this one. This past Duck, at the white elephant gift exchange, I stole and fiercely defended a copy of The Splendid Table’s How to Eat Supper. It’s ostensibly a cookbook, but with wonderful stories from the chefs, easy alternates for each recipe, great information on how to select and buy whatever (canned tomatoes, chicken broth, etc), and much more. This book is a definite WANT for any foodie, I love it and I love the person who brought it to the gift swap.

I’ve been wanting to try some of these recipes for a month now, and yesterday I finally did. I made a garden-in-a-pot soup adjusted into a farmhouse minestrone. Basically chicken stock added to aromatic veggies, with tomatoes and beans added along with more veggies like spinach and cabbage and zucchini (and I hate zucchini). Wow. I tasted it before I left for class and it was wonderful. It was even better when me and my dinner date got home and ate it for reals. Hearty, with a lot of complex flavors, lightly seasoned … perfect for a cold night.

The real surprise was the panna cotta, though. I’d never made it before, but this recipe was as easy as the Splendid Table folks said. 5 minutes prep, and a few hours to set, and sweet vanilla creamy goodness on the tongue. There’s so much … come over and help me eat it!

Maybe I should take some pics of the food before it’s all gone …

UPDATE: I found the recipe online at the Splendid Table’s website, so I won’t be getting into any trouble by posting it online. It really is all that, and then some.