From La Cucina Italiana magazine
45 minutes

12 dried figs
1 cup dry white wine
3 ounces good-quality bittersweet chocolate (do not exceed 62% cacao), finely chopped
generous pinch fine sea salt
1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp. heavy cream
1/4 cup roughly chopped shelled unsalted pistachios
flakey coarse sea salt for topping
*will need a pastry bag fitted with a medium star tip or a resealable plastic bag

In a medium saucepan, combine figs and wine. Bring liquid to a simmer over medium heat, then reduce to a gentle simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until figs are tender and liquid is mostly evaporated, 18 to 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, combine chocolate and fine sea salt in a medium bowl. Bring cream just to a boil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Remove from heat. Pour hot cream over chocolate; whisk until smooth. Cover surface of ganache with plastic wrap; refrigerate until firm, about 20 minutes.
Strain poached figs through a fine-mesh sieve; discard wine. Transfer figs to a plate and let cool completely, about 15 minutes, then cut in half lengthwise. Place figs, seed-side up, on a large plate, gently press to flatten slightly.
Transfer ganache to plastic bag, squeezing it into 1 corner of bag, then cut off 1/3 inch of plastic bag corner to allow for piping. Pipe ganache onto figs.
Sprinkle nuts and flakey coarse sea salt over ganache. Chill figs in refrigerator to set ganache, 10 minutes or overnight. (if chilling longer than 30 minutes, allow figs to stand at room temperature 20 minutes before serving.)

…you inspired me to do something with our brussel sprouts, just cut down, that surprisingly survived hurricane Sandy, frosts and numerous rain storms.
I love your new cookbook!

To convert this recipe to vegetarian or vegan replace chicken broth with vegetable broth and instead of the sausage, add some garlic, fennel and olive oil into the mix.

1 1Lb. bag of dry navy beans
4 cups chicken broth
5 cups water (it will boil down about 1 cup)
3 bay leaves
1 large onion, chopped
3 medium carrots, chopped into coins
1 Lb. sweet Italian sausage with fennel, cases removed and cut into small pieces
salt and pepper to taste

1. Soak navy beans overnight. Rinse and put in large pot
2. Brown the sausage in a saute pan, do not throw out the rendered oil
3. Put all ingredients in the large pot (including the rendered sausage oil) and bring to a boil. Then simmer until all beans and vegetables are tender, about 45 minutes. (add extra water if needed)
4. Remove basil leaves and serve

Wine served: 2010 Beringer, Knights Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

Adapted from The Silver Spoon Cookbook
serves 6

Make any basic pasta to serve 6

Filling

1 11 ounce bag of baby spinach
1/4 Lb. pancetta, minced
2 1/4 cups ricotta cheese
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 Tbsp. freshly grated Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper, to taste

1. Cook spinach, drain well and chop
2. Cook pancetta, blot and let cool
3. Blend the ricotta cheese and spinach in a bowl
4. Stir in the eggs, Parmesan cheese, pancetta, salt and pepper. Stir all ingredients until smooth
5. Roll out pasta, place mounds of mixture (about 1/2 Tsp.) at regular intervals, fold over, press edges to seal and cut out ravioli with ravioli/pastry wheel
6. Cook in a large pan of salted, boiling water for about 10 minutes
7. With a large slotted spoon, remove cooked ravioli from pan and place on platter, cover with homemade marinara sauce and garnish with grated Parmesan cheese and fresh basil

UPDATE: There was a good amount of ricotta filling left over so a couple of days later I put it in an omelet for two and it was fantastic!