Hi, Well, this has been journey for us. The BM Mascarpone was looking slightly yellow next to the quartz we liked. And then the quartz began to look somewhat lavender-ish against the Mascarpone. So of course that led to thinking we needed a warmer countertop. I finally got fed up and took my quartz and paint samples to my local Guiry's. We had used a color consultant there before, and we took our chances in the hopes she'd still be there--and she was. We already have Nimbus on the kitchen walls, with the Mascarpone trim for the baseboards and doors throughout the house. The gal at Guiry's suggested we keep the quartz we like, but go with BM Simply White for the cabinets. I was worried about a new color clashing with Mascarpone, but she assured me they will not only be far enough away from each other, but will complement one another. We took home a large board and painted it with Simply White, just to get a feel for how it will all tie in--and I do believe it will work. Simply White is still warm, but does not appear to have yellow under-tones. I'm still nervous about it all--and we're just in the beginning stages of this entire project, but I am not pulling my hair out any more...at least not yet...haha! Best of luck to you in your project.

Home Cookin Chapter: Recipes From Thibeault's Table Chicken with Pesto and Mascarpone Sauce ======================================= Adapted from a recipe by V. Little 2 Tablespoons Olive oil 1 small onion finely chopped 1 clove of garlic, minced 4 slices pancetta, chopped 1 cup fresh bread crumbs 1/2 cup parmesan cheese 3 tablespoons parsley, chopped zest from small lemon 1 egg 4 large Chicken breasts 1/2 cup white wine 1/2 to 1 cup chicken broth 2 to 3 tablespoons mascarpone 2 tablespoons homemade pesto . Saute the onion and pancetta in the olive oil until golden. Add the garlic, and stir for 30 seconds. Remove from the heat. When cool empty the mixture into a food processor along with the bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, parsley, egg and lemon zest. Pulse until well combined but not pureed. Stuff mixture until the skin of chicken breasts. Rub with a little olive oil and roast in a shallow roasting pan at 400°F until done. Remove chicken from pan. Add 1/2 cup white wine to pan and simmer until reduced to a 1/4 cup. Add 1/2 the e chicken broth and simmer for a few minutes. Add the mascarpone and stir until well blended. Stir in the pesto. Add more chicken broth if you like a thinner sauce. Serve over the chicken. Home Cookin Chapter: Recipes From Thibeault's Table Fresh Strawberries with Black Pepper and Vanilla Mascarpone =========================================================== Source: Gordon Ramsay Some foods are natural partners, and in the same way that fresh ginger accentuates the flavour of melon, black pepper brings a real kick to strawberries. 750g fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced in half 2 tbsp icing sugar 125g mascarpone cheese 2 vanilla pods, split, seeds removed Coarsely ground black pepper . 1 Place the strawberries in a fruit bowl and dust with icing sugar. Leave to stand for 30 minutes to allow the juices to bleed. 2 Mix the mascarpone with the vanilla seeds and season with a pinch of pepper. 3 Divide the strawberries between four serving plates and place a generous spoonful of the mascarpone on top. Season with more black pepper to taste and serve.

First of all, thank you all for the good suggestions. I will look at all of them. May Flowers, I hadn't even thought of buttermilk, probably because of the name (isn't that horrible? I do that with paint colors too), but it has the same "splotchy" texture that I love in the Organic White and I found a few pictures of it and quite like it so I'll make sure to check that too. And excellent tip on checking hte actual slabs. I can't wait to get to that point! Lovetodream, I was happy with my consultation with Maria. I'm one of those people who will second-guess every decision I make and god forbid someone makes a negative comment ... that stuff never leaves my head no matter how much I love something. I got so frustrated with dealing with whites that I finally called her. What was especially helpful was having her explain why some colors wouldn't be good. I will say though, that her prices have gone up considerably since I had my consultation, so I'd probably be a little more reluctant to do it again because of that. Yes she provides very valuable information, but you might be able to find someone equally skilled at the same thing (i.e. a designer or a person who works for a stoneyard/designer) who could offer the same advice for free. If you do decide to do it, take LOTS of pictures of your space in different lights and give her names of anything you can (such as flooring) so you can make sure she's looking at the same colors you have. I don't think a one-hour consultation would be adequate for picking colors for an entire house. We used it up pretty much just one picking a white, which started in the kitchen.

Hi folks, this event is coming up in a week and a half. I've been mulling over all the suggestions. Question: do you think I could unmold panna cotta from a muffin tin? I may have up to a dozen women attending. I liked the tea cup idea, but don't think I could keep a dozen tea cups in my fridg with everything else for a day or so, plus with the other things I plan on making, I thought what would fit in a muffin tin would be a nice size - any suggestions appreciated as I have never made it. Was planning on trying tishtoshnm's recipe suggestion. Thinking of including a "nod" to Valentine's Day with the offerings. At least one person is allergic to nuts, a couple have celiac, and one has diverticulitis and can't have seeds. This is what I have come up with to make and serve so everyone can have "most" things: heart shaped Linzer cookies with seedless raspberry jam (I have a cookie recipe to make them without nuts), walnut fudge, panna cotta (was thinking of drizzling a glaze of melted seedless raspberry jam on it?) and berries on the side with a plate of cheese, regular and gluten free crackers, figs and dates (how about mascarpone cheese since it's Italian?). Spumante was mentioned in the book, so I was thinking of getting that. I remember a tv commercial growing up for "Martini and Rossi Asti Spumante" - of course no more alcohol commercials these days lol!