Sometimes you want to cook something special. Something particular. Maybe it's a regional specialty that you are craving. Perhaps it contains some unusual or hard to find ingredients. It could be that there is just not a chance in hell that the corner market is gonna carry all the items you need. How are you gonna make this particular culinary dream come true?

You could always improvise. There is a certain joy in creating something out of nothing. You could substitute a few anchovys for the Colatura di Alici in that special pasta you flipped over in that little seaside village south of Rome. You'd feel great, the pasta would be delicious, but deep inside you'd know it wasn't REALLY what you were craving.

I found myself in a similar predictament to your Colatura conundrum. I wanted the authentic Bistro taste of really good, really French, really delicious garlic sausage with green lentils.  I wanted saucissons à l'ail aux lentilles (video recipe attached)  . But I was not about to settle for sweet Italian sausages. I wanted the real deal. Where could I turn? What could I do. Letting my fingers do the walking is so last generation. So I put on my techno-geek hat and I surfed the web! Here's what I found: