Um, with the pesto, are you forgetting the garlic????? I luuuuuurve garlic, couldn't have pesto without it! Love the pesto with parmesan too mmmmmmmm.

Some faves here are

Spaghetti with prosciutto (Bill's)
Veal Saltimbocca
Crunchy pork (can be chops or steaks)

Anything chocolate!
Choc chip bread and butter pudding with butterscotch sauce (yuuuuum!)
Caramel Banana SS pudding (Bill's)
Nigella's alcoholic hot chocolate (not a meal I know, but any hot choccie with seven ingredients has to be great - and it really is!)

I made Christy's banana choc chip cookies this week and they have been a HUGE hit with DH!

Oh, and Lindsay, good on you for learning to cook (I hope your MIL is nice LOL!). The trick is not to be scared. Just follow the recipe, and you should be fine. Eventually, after practice, you get better at not needing the recipes so much. And remember.....we have all have disasters in the kitchen! It's good to have a laugh about them down the track Oh, and if your MIL is Italian, get her to teach you to make gnocchi one day.......yum!