I have a Chocolate Babka Recipe that I'm pretty sure I copied from a member of the CF but did not note who posted the recipe. It is from Gourmet Magazine. Laden with chocolate, butter, and old-world charm, this babka is luscious served as dessert, with coffee, or as breakfast. While baking, the rich dough becomes incredibly tender, so it pulls apart in buttery pieces that melt in your mouth. For dough 3/4 cup warm milk (105115°F) 1/2 cup plus 2 teaspoons sugar 3 teaspoons active dry yeast (from two 1/4-oz packages) 3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour plus additional for dusting 2 whole large eggs 1 large egg yolk 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 3/4 teaspoon salt 1 1/4 sticks (10 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into pieces and softened For egg wash 1 large egg yolk 1 tablespoon heavy cream or whole milk For chocolate filling 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, well softened 2 (3 1/2- to 4-oz) bars fine-quality bittersweet chocolate (no more than 60% cacao if marked), finely chopped 1/4 cup sugar Special equipment: a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment; 2 (8 3/4- by 4 1/2- by 2 3/4-inch) loaf pans; parchment paper Make dough: Stir together warm milk and 2 teaspoons sugar in bowl of mixer. Sprinkle yeast over mixture and let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. (If yeast doesn't foam, discard and start over with new yeast.) Add 1/2 cup flour to yeast mixture and beat at medium speed until combined. Add whole eggs, yolk, vanilla, salt, and remaining 1/2 cup sugar and beat until combined. Reduce speed to low, then mix in remaining 2 3/4 cups flour, about 1/2 cup at a time. Increase speed to medium, then beat in butter, a few pieces at a time, and continue to beat until dough is shiny and forms strands from paddle to bowl, about 4 minutes. (Dough will be very soft and sticky.) Scrape dough into a lightly oiled bowl and cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rise in a draft-free place at warm room temperature until doubled in bulk, 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Assemble babkas with filling: Line each loaf pan with 2 pieces of parchment paper (1 lengthwise and 1 crosswise). Punch down dough with a lightly oiled rubber spatula, then halve dough. Roll out 1 piece of dough on a well-floured surface with a lightly floured rolling pin into an 18- by 10-inch rectangle and arrange with a long side nearest you. Beat together yolk and cream. Spread 2 1/2 tablespoons softened butter on dough, leaving a 1/2-inch border all around. Brush some of egg wash on long border nearest you. Sprinkle half of chocolate evenly over buttered dough, then sprinkle with half of sugar (2 tablespoons). Starting with long side farthest from you, roll dough into a snug log, pinching firmly along egg-washed seam to seal. Bring ends of log together to form a ring, pinching to seal. Twist entire ring twice to form a double figure 8 and fit into one of lined loaf pans. Make another babka with remaining dough, some of egg wash, and remaining butter and chocolate in same manner. Chill remaining egg wash, covered, to use later. Loosely cover pans with buttered plastic wrap (buttered side down) and let babkas rise in a draft-free place at warm room temperature until dough reaches top of pans, 1 to 2 hours. (Alternatively, let dough rise in pans in refrigerator 8 to 12 hours; bring to room temperature, 3 to 4 hours, before baking.) Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F. Brush tops of dough with remaining egg wash. Bake until tops are deep golden brown and bottoms sound hollow when tapped (when loaves are removed from pans), about 40 minutes. Transfer loaves to a rack and cool to room temperature. Cooks' note: Babkas keep, wrapped in plastic wrap and then foil, frozen 3 weeks. Makes 2 loaves. Gourmet December 2006 Epicurious.com © CondéNet, Inc. All rights reserved.

If you want to step it up a bit like for an intimate brunch you may want to try Pecan Praline Bacon Preheat oven to 425 degrees. 1 slab of bacon (or whatever amount you want) 3 T. light brown sugar 1 & 1/2 T chili powder 1/4 cup pecans, chopped fine On the rack of a broiling pan arrange the bacon slices in one layer and cook in the middle of oven for about 10 minutes or until the bacon just starts to turn cook and turn golden. In a bowl mix together the sugar and the chili powder. Remove the pan from the oven and sprinkle the bacon with the sugar mixture and top with the pecans. Return to the oven and cook until the bacon is crisp Note: You can also mix the pecans in with the sugar if you want, but sprinkled over makes a better presentation. No matter how you serve it, it taste delicious!

I was visiting another forum. The was a discussion thread about a new cookbook that is coming out:"Modernist Cuisine: The Art and Science of Cooking." I am surprised that there are so many people are rushing to buy it. $500.00 a copy at Amazon.com. So I look on ebay, just curious about cookbook prices: Desperate Housewives Signed Collectible Cookbook***RARE ONE OF A KIND***FOR CHARITY*** US $10,000 Nice & Easy Cookbook, Anon US $115,878.25 BTW, The last one has free shipping. WOW! I think I am going to write a cookbook :-) dcarch

Here's one buy sooo much work! Stuffed Cabbage Head From Diana Rattray, This cabbage recipe was posted by Marie. 25 to 30 Cabbage leaves 3/4 cup uncooked rice 1 1/2 pint boiling water 2 tbsp. bacon drippings 1 med. onion, chopped fine 1 stick celery, chopped fine 1 cup lean ground beef 1 cup ground pork 1/2 cup cooked ham, chopped fine 1 egg, well beaten 1/8 tsp. nutmeg 1/4 tsp. thyme 1 tsp. salt 1/2 tsp. red pepper 1 clove garlic, mashed A large white cotton cloth about 28 " square American or Velveeta cheese to grate Immerse cabbage leaves in salted boiling water; cook 2 to 3 min. or until wilted, adding a few at a time. Avoid crowding; drain and cool. Cook rice in boiling salted water 12 minutes; drain and transfer the rice to a large bowl. Cook ground pork in bacon drippings until brown, stirring occasionally. Add slat, pepper, garlic, onion, and celery, cook 5 minutes longer. Pour into cooked rice. Combine, rice, pork mixture, ham, ground beef, nutmeg, thyme, and egg, mix well and add more salt and pepper if necessary. Spread out the cloth. In center, place 4 cabbage leaves, to later resemble growing end of cabbage. Place about 1 tbsp. of mixture in center of each leaf and spread a bit. Continue building up the the head, using up the least attractive leaves first and placing dressing over each. Then at the last try and cover top and sides with the more perfect leaves, having used up all the dressing in the center. Bring up all 4 corners of the cloth and tie a string tightly and closely to the cabbage. In a large pot, pour 1 pint or more of water; place a rack or crumpled aluminum foil in the bottom. Place wrapped cabbage on rack, cover with a tight fitting lid and cook over med. heat. When water comes to a boil, reduce heat and cook 1 hour. When it is done, turn off the heat and let set covered for 10 minutes. Then untie string, unwrap, grate cheese over top, cover again for a couple of minutes, then gently lift our cloth and slip onto a platter. Serve sliced in wedges, cut like a cake, pass your favorite tomato sauce over each helping.