Yummy "eggplant parm" but not as good as my involtini, flatbreads on the side

This was lovely, but if I had to make an eggplant-ricotta dish again, I'd go with the involtini recipe from Mario Batali that is just excellent. Nonetheless, it's always fun to try something new, maybe pick up a new technique or idea. In the midst of constructing the "parm" towers, I did have a moment of creativity involving leftover phyllo that I saw in the fridge and a new ingredient I found today, an artichoke paste imported from Italy. Ooh, nelly. I slathered some of the paste on some olive oil-brushed phyllo and then grated some Parm atop that before cooking. On another strip of phyllo, I crumbled goat cheese and added some marinated tomatoes. T preferred the tomato side, and I the artichoke. The rice pudding is riDIC. I could eat the whole dish. PS re the toddy. I found it totally underwhelming and thin, like a leftover frat drink. Sad. The boozy cherries at the end were nice, but this is not a yes-make-me-again drink.

Rice pudding, Rye for toddy + other treats

Y'all, how delicious(!) does this rice pudding look?! Aah! I just cannot even tell you how good it smells in here right now. And I asked T to bring home Rye for my toddy, and check out the other treats he brought home. Dios mio. The St. Germain bottle is absolutely gorgeous. I'm not sure what to do with it, but The Franklin Bar in Philly included it in a number of their cocktails, so I'm sure we can find a use. Aperol, an Italian liqueur, is great fun despite its totally funky color. If you've not tried it, grab some for the holidays. What a blast.

Ricotta is on the stove, there is a hot toddy in my future tonight

I have a terrible suspicion that I'm getting a slight bit sick. Attempting to sleep everything away last night helped some but I've got the old burning sensation in my chest...What do children bring home from school?! I never used to get sick. Anyway, I have heard (probably false hope but nonetheless) that a hot toddy can help, so cheers to that! I just found a recipe for one that calls for Rye, dried cherries, sugar and a zest of lime...Yum. The ricotta is bubbling up tent-like which means it's almost time to remove it from the heat and let it curd for a while. I'm going to make some more rice pudding with the whey and use some of the cheese in the eggplant dish tonight. Meatball making will commence tomorrow when the ciabatta is a bit dried out.