Although I'm tempted to keep it to myself so that the rest of you won't have its magical powers, here's the recipe for the amazing lamb and white bean stew from Marcella Hazan.  Make it and do me proud.

vegetable oil
2/3 c flour
3 lb lamb shoulder, bone in, cut into about 3-inch pieces (note — I get it w/o the bone)
3 T extra virgin olive oil
2 1/2 c onions, sliced thin
1 t dried sage leaves, crumbled, or 6-7 small fresh leaves, torn into small pieces
salt/pepper
1 c dry white wine
2 t tomato paste
1 c beef broth
2 19 oz cans cannellini beans
2 t garlic, chopped fine
3 T parsley, chopped

1) Pour enough veg oil into a skillet to cover the bottom completely and turn on the heat to med high.
2)
When oil is hot, dredge the lamb pieces, one by one, in the flour and
slip them into the pan. Fill, but do not crowd, the pan. Brown the meat
well on all sides, then transfer it to a plate, using slotted spoon or
spatula. As you remove a piece from the pan, replace it with one
freshly dredged in flour, continuing until all the lamb has been
browned.
3) Turn on the oven to 350 degrees.
4) Choose a lidded
pot that can later accommodate all the meat and beans (that can go from
burner to oven). Put in the olive oil, onion and sage, and turn the
heat to medium. Cook the onion, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until
it becomes colored a light brown.
5) Add the meat, turning 2 or 3 times. When it begins to sizzle, add salt, pepper, and wine.
6)
Dissolve the tomato paste in the broth. When the wine in the pot has
boiled away, add the broth, mix well, cover the pot, and place in the
uppermost level of the preheated oven. Cook for 1 1/2 hours, stirring
once every 30 min.
7) Drain the beans and add them to the pot. Cook for another 15 min.
8) Before serving, mix in the chopped garlic and parsley. Serve piping hot.

I have developed two new chef-crushes this week.  First, the talented and personable Michael Symon, who I had the pleasure of interviewing last week about his new cookbook, .  Michael Symon's Live to Cook: Recipes and Techniques to Rock Your Kitchen. The interview should go live on Serious Eats tomorrow.  I love his philosophy behind his cooking as well as his focus on the importance of sharing meals with your loved ones on a regular basis.  Next, the lovely Nigella Lawson.  Listening to a podcast this morning where she discussed self-indulgence ("I'm for it. I'll be up front about it."), she discussed how the people who refused to eat anything fried or with butter were generally the people who "ended up downing tubs of ice cream."  A little self-indulgence goes a long way.  And I love how she described her eating habits.  "I actually feel that I eat very healthily," she says. "My only problem is that I eat enough for five healthy people."  I feel the same way.

Wonder if there's any way for me to have a meal with Michael and Nigella someday?  My treat.  Or better yet, I'll cook!

So Josh (a.k.a. @cocktailspirit) did a much more thorough write-up — you should go over and take a look — but I wanted to share the recipe for a cocktail we developed last night at The Cocktail Lab class at Astor Center, led by Jonathan Pogash.  It was mighty tasty.

Pumpkin Pie
1/8 oz. Averna
1 1/2 oz. (ri)1 Rye Whiskey
1/4 oz fresh orange juice
1 barspoon pumpkin puree
1 barspoon maple syrup
1 dash pumpkin pie spice
2 dashes angostura bitters
1 egg white
Dry shake all ingredients first (shake w/ out ice) in a boston shaker.  Then add ice and shake again very well.  Strain into a cocktail coupe. Garnish with a flamed orange peel.

This was actually my second original cocktail.  The first was basically an Aviation Cocktail with the inclusion of muddled concord grapes.

Concord Aviator
6-8 concord grapes
1 barspoon simple syrup
2 ounces London dry gin
½ ounce Maraschino liqueur
½ ounce lemon juice

Muddle the concord grapes and simple syrup in a mixing glass.  Add the remaining ingredients, shake with ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a concord grape.

Photo courtesy of Spirited Cocktails