That really does sound like a great dinner, Laurie, LOL, and all leftovers from the frig! Haven't made the torte yet, I have quite a few recipes bookmarked in this book that I'd like to make. Haven't gotten to any yet. She's a little wordy on a lot of the recipes, and I've made recipes from her other books that all turned out really well. Here's the apple torte recipe, let me know how it turns out! Looks good! Apple Torte with Bread Crumb and Hazelnut Crust (Torta Di Mele Di Carnia) Lidia Bastianich (Lidias Italy) Apples grow well in the Carnic Mountains, in the northern part of Friuli, and are used in many desserts. This delicious double-crusted tart reflects the deep-rooted frugality of cooks in this tough mountainous terrain. The crust is made with bread crumbs taken from stale bread, probably because of the scarcity of white flour and the time it takes to make a refined pastry dough. But the results, in the Carnic spirit, are delicious. Makes a 9-inch tart, serving 8 or more For the bread crumb crust: 1/2 cup hazelnuts, toasted 1 1/2 cups fine dry bread crumbs 6 tablespoons sugar 2 teaspoons freshly grated lemon zest 3/4 cup milk 6 tablespoons butter, plus a bit for the tart pan flour for rolling out the dough For the apple filling: 2 pounds (or a bit more) tart, firm apples such as Granny Smith 1/2 cup sugar, or more to taste 1 cup hard (fermented) apple cider or dry white wine Whipped cream or sour cream or ice cream or powdered sugar (optional) Recommended Equipment: A wide, heavy-bottomed 3- or 4-quart saucepan, with a cover A 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom A pizza stone or oven tiles, if available To make the pastry dough, chop the toasted hazelnuts into small bits, about the size of barley or rice grains, using a chef's knife, or pulse in a food processor, in short bursts to avoid pulverizing. Mix the chopped nuts with the bread crumbs, sugar, and grated lemon zest in a big bowl. Heat the milk and butter in a small saucepan just until the butter melts. Pour over the dry mixture, and stir until evenly moistened. Let the very sticky dough sit in the bowl for about 15 minutes, so the liquids are absorbed by the crumbs. Scrape dough onto a large piece of plastic wrap, enclose it, and press into a disk. Refrigerate the dough for an hour or more, until it is quite firm. To make the filling, peel, core, and slice the apples; you should have 6 to 7 cups of slices. Spread them in the saucepan; pour the sugar and the cider or wine on top; cover the pan, and set it over medium heat. Cook covered for about 10 minutes, gently turning the apples every few minutes, as they wilt and release their juices. Uncover the pan; adjust the heat to keep the liquid perking and slowly reducing. Turn the slices over frequently but carefully, so they stay intact. When the liquid has all evaporated and the apples are soft and nicely glazed, turn off the heat and let the apples cool. When you're ready to form the pastry and bake, arrange a rack in the middle of the oven (covered with a baking stone or tiles, preferably) and heat it to 375°. Lightly butter the tart ring and removable metal bottom. Cut off a third of the chilled disk of dough for the top crust, and set it aside. On a well-floured surface, roll the remaining two-thirds of the dough to a 12-inch-diameter circle, almost 1/4 inch thick, more like a cookie dough than a pie crust. Flour the rolling pin and work surface as needed to prevent sticking. Lift the round and lay it, centered, on the tart pan. Press the dough down so it lines the pan bottom and sides, and trim the edges so there's an even 1/2 inch of dough over the rim of the tart ring, all around. Spread the cooled apple slices on the bottom crust, in an even layer. Roll out the smaller piece of dough into a 9-inch round, the same thickness as the first. Lay it loosely over the filling, and trim the outside edges to fit snugly inside the bottom crust, covering the apples like a lid. Fold the overlapping bottom crust over the top piece, and pinch and smooth the dough layers together, sealing the apples inside. Place the torta in the oven, and bake for an hour or longer, until the top crust is deep golden brown and the outer crust has separated slightly from the side ring. The top crust may crack open, and you should be able to see the apple filling bubbling inside. Set the pan on a wire rack to cool. When the torta has cooled and the crust has firmed up, remove the side ring. If you wish, use a long metal spatula to separate the bottom crust from the metal disk, and slide the torta onto a board or cake plate. Serve cut in wedges, warm with ice cream, or completely cool with powdered sugar and some kind of cream.

BREAD-CRUMB COOKIES (source: "The Tightwad Gazette" - Amy Dacyczyn, recipe contributed by Ruth Palmer, Glendale, Utah) 1-1/4 c. flour 1-1/4 c. sugar 1/2 t. salt 1/2 t. baking powder 1/3 c. cocoa 1/2 c. milk 1 egg 1-1/2 t. vanilla 2/3 c. melted shortening (I use coconut oil) 2 c. (fresh, NOT dried) bread crumbs Sift together dry ingredients. Combine wet ingredients and add to dry mixture. Add melted shortening and bread crumbs. Drop by spoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350-degrees F for 15-minutes or until done. CHOCOLATE CRUMB BROWNIES 1/3 c. margarine or butter (I use coconut oil) 6 T. cocoa powder 2\-3/4 c. medium\-fine soft bread crumbs\* 1/2 t. baking powder 1/4 c. chopped nuts, optional 1 egg (sometimes I use 2 eggs if mixture is dry) 2 T. water 1 c. brown sugar, packed (I use coconut palm sugar) Preheat oven to 350\-degrees F and grease an 8\-inch square baking pan. Melt fat and cocoa powder together over low heat, stirring occasionally. If using a microwave, cook on LOW power for 1\-1/2\-2 minutes. Stir to combine. Cool. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the bread crumbs, baking powder and nuts. In separate bowl, beat egg and water together. Stir in cocoa/fat mixture and brown sugar; beat until combined. Combine cocoa mixture with bread crumb mixture until all ingredients are moistened. \[Grainlady note: you may need to alter the recipe and add more wet ingredients. Bread crumbs vary in moisture and the recipe, as written, may be too dry. I've added yogurt, sour cream, and often an extra egg to this recipe until I got a batter that wasn't too thick.\] Spread evenly in prepared pan. Bake 25\-30 minutes, or until done. Cool completely on wire rack. Makes 16 brownies. \*Do not use commercial dry bread crumbs. Bread that is at least 3\-days old works best. Using a food processor, blender, or by hand, shred bread into medium\-fine crumbs. If the bread you are using is frozen, you can grate it on a box greater. \[Grainlady note: I have also used gluten\-free bread crumbs in this recipe. You can top the recipe with chocolate chips and/or chopped nuts, coconut, be creative. Great topped with Mini Mint Chocolate Chips (I get them from Nuts.com). You just have to make sure the recipe batter mixture isn't too dry and don't over\-bake them.\] ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ LEFTOVER BREAD AND CHEESE PATTIES 3 slices leftover bread, crumbled (I use a food processor or if frozen, grate on a box grater) 1/2 c. cheese, feta or goat cheese 1 egg 4 scallions, minced, green part only (I use chopped chives) 1/4 bunch of parsley, minced (dried parsley will work also) salt and pepper to taste \[Grainlady note: you can also add your favorite seasoning mixture: lemon pepper, Mrs. Dash seasoning mixtures, nigella is my personal favorite add\-in. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Check old cookbooks, you will often find recipes for bread crumb pancakes/waffles. \-Grainlady

Cream soup and cream sauces. I'm more than grossed out by canned soups. It's so easy to make a white sauce in 3 minutes, who could ever prefer that salty gelatinous canned glop? Yuck. All baked goods: pies, cookies, quiches, cakes, brownies, muffins, popovers, tortes. I grew up in the farming Midwest, where you weren't a grown woman yet if you couldn't make a piecrust from scratch without a recipe. :-) I've never purchased a storebought crust, cookies, cake or boxed mix in my life. Salad dressings. For spinach: tarragon vinegar, olive oil, and a tablespoon of sugar, salt & pepper. Perfect. For arugula: lime juice, drop of olive oil if you want it, lots of fresh ground pepper, bleu cheese. For Romaine: olive oil, garlic, anchovy, lemon juice, mustard, salt, white wine vinegar, fresh block parmesan - blend in food processor until smooth. For mixed greens: balsamic, minced shallot, olive oil and salt & pepper. Breads, meats, dairy: we're very lucky to live in a relatively food-aware city surrounded by wonderful rural farmland, so we have access to an excellent bakery, locally raised meats and fresh dairy in glass bottles. Having grown up with lard sandwiches (yes, the Germans love them, with onion and salt on top -- I've never liked them myself), I can agree that the commercial lards sold in large supermarkets here are disgusting. Also have to agree that bacon grease from American commercial bacon is probably not very good; loaded with chemicals and salt. Definitely seek out and try the grease from non-nitrated bacon some time -- you'll be able to tell the difference in both meat and grease. Marion Nestle's What to Eat and Michael Pollan's Omnivore's Dilemma are good wholesome food reads, the former a tad less proselytizing than the latter, but both engrossing and excellent.

for those who have never make 'no knead bread' it is the 5 min a day artisan bread. mix it up one day (5 min) leave on the counter for 14 to 18 hours later then either use it form a loaf (5 min) and let it rise.... or refrigerate it (5 min) and use it within the next 7 to 10 days from the frig. By leaving it on the counter for 14 to 18 hours mother nature does the kneading. Also refrigeration afterward for any amount of time is an additional cold fermentation. I do whole wheat, spelt flour (ancient wheat), & a wonderful rye. Easy to add herbs, grated cheese, seeds. Picture of rye attached. I also use the same no knead artisan bread recipe for baguettes, pizza dough, rolls, ciabatta, & fougasse. There is also a sweet dough version with milk instead of water and a bit of honey and an egg.