I collect recipes. I borrow them. I beg for them. I have even stolen them. (watch video)

Friends are mostly very tolerant of my habits in this regard. In fact when I heard about my friend Andrew's Flourless, Butterless Orange-Almond Torte I marched right over there. I just knew it was a recipe bound for my collection. He was nice enough let me interview (and film) him while he made it too. So I have a nice video presentation for you this week. Aren’t friends the best? luv you Andrew! This is also my entry in the TumYumTreats and My Diverse Kitchen Food in Colors event.

There’s only one small problem, this video sorta makes me seem like a food obsessed food fanatic. Which just can’t be (entirely) true. I also like to travel, well at least to countries known for their cuisine...

But food fanatics, I know something about. I have a friend, she lives, talks, eats and breaths food.

She has a depth of knowledge on the subject that is staggering. I have been out to eat with her on countless occasions. She is an amazing dining companion. She does not speak French, Castilian or Mandarin, but has no trouble navigating a menu in any of these languages and plenty of others. Chefs ALWAYS seek her out. They bring a little bag for her to take home. Something on the sly...just for her.

She remembers the first time she had pancetta and repeats the story often. It makes me laugh every time.

I am very, very popular. And the curse of very, very popular people is that our time is so seldom our own. We are in demand. We have places to go, people to meet, meals to devour. There are drinks to be had, stories to be exchanged and long weekends to be spent in the company of other very, very popular people in their glamorous weekend homes.

There is only one way to maintain the status of a very, very popular person. You must reciprocate. Though I may be very, very popular. I am not very, very rich (shhh… don’t tell my very, very popular, very, very rich friends). So reciprocating to me means entertaining at home.

But Saturdays book up fast. What is a very, very popular person to do? Well, the answer is simple. Have a dinner party during the week. Now I know it’s hard to entertain at home on a weeknight (especially now that there is some CSI franchise on TV three times a week). But it can be done with some planning.

Here are my tips: