I've loved reading about everyone's meals and seeing all the photos. Oh yum, lobster pasta - I want that. Ann we like your sausage and rosemary sauce too I've made it several times. I didn't know hosta was edible, of course I've now Googled and there are a number of recipes. Both the hosta dishes look good to me. Joan, sorry you didn't like your sauce, it certainly looks good and pappardelle is my favorite pasta shape. David your entire dinner looks good and I can imagine how happy it made your Mom to have that birthday dinner. I went downstairs this morning thinking I would photograph my dried pasta draped over long cooking chopsticks stuck in an upper cabinet, but the pasta had really dried out and some of it had cracked at the top of the wood chopsticks and fallen to the counter I tried to adjust the rest and more fell down so I decided just to put the strands in a box and show you that. I slid the overfull box into a large soft plastic veggie bag, put a twistie on it and put it on a pantry shelf. I'm thinking of making a carbonara later this week. I also have a small bag of shorter pieces that will be fine as soup noodles. Sadly when I was cleaning the parts, I found a mangled cap that covered the end of the spring rod in the kneading paddle. Of course parts are no longer available for my vintage machine. Max may be able to save it, he has already been able to bend it into a closer shape than the picture shows and since the dough does heat up a bit as it is kneaded, and it's clear that the part was deformed when it went into the extrusion chamber and was pushed up against the large plastic screw that moves the dough he is going to try heating it in water from the Insta hot tap which is about 190°. If that doesn't work I'm going to try using it without the cap and see if I can just clean the dried dough out after using it. The space that it fills is only about 1/16" deep, I don't know what I could use to fill it. I thought of silicon caulk but the metal ring is part of the spring assembly and it needs to rotate. I will be very sad if after my success for the first time in 25 years, we can't make it work again. Lee

CHILAQUILES EN SALSA VERDE (for 1 serving) 3 small stale corn tortillas cut into pieces 1 cup Salsa de Tomate Verde Cocida (purchased ready made or made according to recipe which follows) 2 tablespoons sour cream 2 tablespoons crumbled farmer cheese or grated mild Cheddar An individual flameproof serving dish 1/3 cup cooked, shredded chicken, warmed A small frying pan Cooking oil (1/4 inch deep) paper toweling A saucepan Heat the oil and fry the tortilla pieces lightly \-\- do not let them become too crisp. Remove from the oil and drain. Heat the sauce, and when it is bubbling add the tortilla pieces and cook them for about 3 minutes. Pour the chilaquiles (the sauce coated tortilla pieces) into the serving dish, cover with shredded chicken, and sprinkle with the sour cream and cheese. Pass under a hot broiler for a moment or two until the cheese melts, then serve. SALSA DE TOMATE VERDE COCIDA (cooked green sauce) A blender 2 cups canned tomates verdes (tomatillos), drained or poached fresh tomatillos 1 clove garlic, peeled and chopped 1/4 medium onion, chopped 2 or 3 fresh chiles serranos (or jalapenos), softened and charred on a warm pan 1/4 teaspoon granulated sugar 1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste A small frying pan 2 tablespoons cooking oil Blend the ingredients together until smooth. Heat the oil and cook the sauce for about 5 minutes, until it has thickened a little and is well seasoned. From The Cuisines of Mexico by Diana Kennedy with minor editing.

WHITE CHICKEN CHILI (Never Enough Thyme) 1 whole rotisserie chicken 1 stick butter, divided 2 large onions, chopped 1/4 cup all-purpose flour 3/4 cup chicken broth 2 cups half and half 1 tsp Tabasco 1 1/2 tsp chili powder 1 tsp ground cumin 2 tsp salt 1/2 tsp pepper 16 oz can white beans (great northern or cannellini) 2 four-oz cans chopped mild green chilies, drained 1 1/2 cup grated Monterey Jack 1 cup milk 1/2 cup sour cream Remove all the skin and bones from the rotisserie chicken and discard. Shred or chop the meat and set aside. n a large pot or Dutch oven, cook the onion in 2 tblsp of butter until softened. Remove from the pot and set aside. In the same pot, melt remaining 6 tblsp of butter over moderately low heat and whisk in the flour. Cook the roux, whisking constantly, for three minutes. Stir in the onion. Gradually add the broth then the half and half, whisking the whole time.Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes, or until thickened. (It will be nicely and obviously thick.) Stir in Tabasco, chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper. Add beans, chilies, chicken, cheese and milk. Cook over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally for 20 minutes. Add sour cream. May be served immediately but is best served the next day. Serve with the usual chili garnishes--cilantro, cheese, jalapenos.

I was always intrigued by vintage cookbooks that used chicken livers in Italian meat sauces. A few years ago, I found another one in the book In Tuscany by France's Mayes, tried it, and really liked it. (Bracketed comments are mine.) FIORELLA'S RAGU DI FUNGHI PORCINI This recipe begins with odori, the earthy mix of root vegetables and parsleythat is at the heart of many Tuscan dishes. Serves 6 to 8 Odori: 1 carrot, minced 1 celery stalk, minced 1 onion, minced A handful of parsley, chopped 1 clove garlic, minced 2 Tbs. EV olive oil 2 Italian sausages, casings removed [14 oz.] 3/4 pound ground veal 2 chicken livers, cut in small pieces Salt Pinch of red pepper 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 cup red wine [I used chianti] 1 ounce dried porcini mushrooms 1 Tbs. tomato paste 6 to 7 fresh chopped tomatoes or one 28-ounce can tomatoes Sauté the odori ingredients in the olive oil [medium heat] to make the odori. Add the sausage, veal, liver, salt, red pepper and garlic. Sauté until brown, [medium-high heat] stirring often. When the mixture begins to stick to the pan, add the wine and stir [occasionally] until it evaporates. Meanwhile, put the dried mushrooms in hot water for 10 minutes. Remove them from the water [straining and reserving it], chop, and add them to the meat, stirring well. Add the tomato paste and the tomatoes. When the sauce has come to a boil, add the water from the dried mushrooms, well filtered. Simmer slowly for about 40 minutes. Serve with fresh-cooked, al dente tagliatelle or fettuccine. [I used fettuccini but would also be good on mafalda. It's too chunky for thin pasta like spaghetti.] I make different sauces depending on the time of year. In summer, my favorite is based on fresh tomatoes. In winter, I often use creamed vegetable soups with less liquid added as a sauce, especially roasted garlic soup. In springtime, we eat a lot of veal and I often make a sauce based on Veal Marengo.