Rachel Perlow

But it's got to be better than that place on the corner of 48th & 9th.

Put peanuts into food processor. Turn it on. Let it whir until you have peanut butter. Seriously.

But just so you don't have to go searching... Colette's Cakes : The Art of Cake Decorating, by Colette Peters

I don't like blue cheese. Or bleu cheese. Either one, yuck. My husband LOVES it. The stinkier the better. Any advice on how to acclimate my tastebuds? Can one learn to like the veined behemoth?

Hmm, if you don't want a candy type of fudge, perhaps what you are looking for is a dense flourless chocolate cake of some sort. You could cut that into squares, just like fudge, only it's richer and chocolatier without being overly sweet.

The only problem I see with it is that rotting fruit sometimes gets fizzy naturally. You'd have to be careful to explain to people to eat their carbonized fruit quickly, lest they confuse something going bad with something carbonated. Actually, I am one who does not usually like carbonation. I drink very few sodas, preferring water or iced tea in most cases, so I don't think I'd be into fizzy fruit. Except the grapes. The grapes sound cool.

Usually, we wait until the conclusion of a Q&A before posting the Thank You. But I just couldn't wait. Mario, you have given eGullet one of the best Q&As ever and we are grateful. No other Q&A has inspired so many positive emails and PMs from our membership, way to go! Remember to check back to this topic in a few days to see who will win one of three copies of The Babbo Cookbook. ~~~ And the winners are... snowangel FoodMan Nathan P. Moderator Note: the winners list was edited because one of the book winners never responded with their address, so I had to pick an alternate winner. Enjoy your books!

I think it harkens back to ye olde days of cash registers when the item was only entered once, but with a quantity number. Now, since each individual item is scanned it doesn't matter as much if they're all the same item or not.

Not paying any attention to it at the time is what can make it worse. I know there's this whole macho cook thing about burns, but if you ignore them, they will be much worse than if you immediately ice them down.

I recently received a review copy of The Leave-No-Crumbs Camping Cookbook. It had a lot of great recipes, that, even though we don't go camping, I thought sounded good enough the make. Plus there's advice on each recipe about whether to begin prep at home or bring raw ingredients on the trail, lots of dehydrator advice and recipes. Also, many vegetarian recipes, but not exclusively, as one of the authors is a vegetarian and one is not. The Leave-No-Crumbs Camping Cookbook by Rick Greenspan and Hal Kahn

But on the east coast (of America) egg rolls and spring rolls appear on the same menus. Spring rolls have the thin crispy skin (as in Gary Soup's picture), while egg rolls have a chewier, crunchy, skin with that bubbly texture on the outside.

Have you ever tried frying a roll wrapped with the thicker egg roll wrapper without egg washing it? It just doesn't look or taste right.

The only way to get that bubbly texture all over the surface of a thick skinned egg roll is to coat the entire roll in an egg wash after it has been shaped, before deep frying. That's why it's called an egg roll as far as I know.

Marketing.

This sounds like it's for that clean-out-the-attic-show, Cash in the Attic. Which is mostly a take off of other finding-the-hidden-treasure-in-your-house (or flea market, as they do in Bargain Hunt) shows and sell the stuff at auction. I've never seen anyone raise more than a 1000 pounds on Cash in the Attic, I guess they're trying to find more high end participants.

Please tell us what we should try next time.

Did you mean bottom of the menu? Because if it is on the bill, that means you already ate.

I think it was your right, if it is something that annoys you, which clearly it is, to say something to 'oblivious self-involved yuppie lunkhead' when he returned to the line with his extra items. You should have said, "Pardon me, but this is the express line, and you have way too many extra items to make any excuses for not moving to another line." I think 3 is the maximum overage of express line items. But they should be multiples of items, not individuals. So there.

I've added the above to the list in the first post.

Make a lot of souvlaki and use more than I did? Give away baggies of it at the next DDC event as door prizes?

Recipes for the above pictured items have been added to RecipeGullet. Just search by my name or look for Middle Eastern food. Oh heck, here's the links: http://recipes.egullet.com/recipes/r1100.html eggplant tomato salad http://recipes.egullet.com/recipes/r1101.html grilled corn salad http://recipes.egullet.com/recipes/r1102.html tzadziki http://recipes.egullet.com/recipes/r1103.html souvlaki http://recipes.egullet.com/recipes/r1104.html babaganouj

Baba Ghanoush Serves 6 as Side. No matter how you spell it (baba ghanoush, babaganouj) this is a great dip. This yields 2-3 cups, depending on the size of the eggplant. Grilled Eggplant 1 large eggplant olive oil Other Ingredients 3 garlic clove 1/4 c tahini 1 T fresh lemon juice 1/4 c olive oil 1/2 tsp ground cumin 1/2 tsp salt parsley (optional/garnish) Rub the eggplant with a little olive oil and place on the grill over medium-high heat. Cook, turning occasionally until the eggplant has softened to the point of collapse (30-40 minutes). It is OK if the skin chars a little. Cool until it is easy to handle. If you place it in a covered bowl the skin will be easier to peel (just like when you roast peppers). Peel and discard skin and cap. With blender running on high, drop in the garlic cloves to mince them. Then add the eggplant, tahini, lemon, olive oil and blend to puree. Add the cumin and salt. Taste for seasoning. Adjust by adding more lemon, tahini, salt or cumin. If it is just too thick but the flavor is good, add a tablespoon or two of water. If you want to add parley, first hand chop it, then add to the blender for just a quick pulse or two. If you blend it too long the dip will turn green (you can also just stir it into the dip by hand after you pour it out of the blender). Garnish with a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkling of parsley. Serve with fresh pita, baked pita chips and/or vegetable crudites (like carrots or slices of cucumber). Keywords: Vegetarian, Vegetables, Middle Eastern, Dip, Salad, Side, Blender ( RG1104 )

Baba Ghanoush Serves 6 as Side. No matter how you spell it (baba ghanoush, babaganouj) this is a great dip. This yields 2-3 cups, depending on the size of the eggplant. Grilled Eggplant 1 large eggplant olive oil Other Ingredients 3 garlic clove 1/4 c tahini 1 T fresh lemon juice 1/4 c olive oil 1/2 tsp ground cumin 1/2 tsp salt parsley (optional/garnish) Rub the eggplant with a little olive oil and place on the grill over medium-high heat. Cook, turning occasionally until the eggplant has softened to the point of collapse (30-40 minutes). It is OK if the skin chars a little. Cool until it is easy to handle. If you place it in a covered bowl the skin will be easier to peel (just like when you roast peppers). Peel and discard skin and cap. With blender running on high, drop in the garlic cloves to mince them. Then add the eggplant, tahini, lemon, olive oil and blend to puree. Add the cumin and salt. Taste for seasoning. Adjust by adding more lemon, tahini, salt or cumin. If it is just too thick but the flavor is good, add a tablespoon or two of water. If you want to add parley, first hand chop it, then add to the blender for just a quick pulse or two. If you blend it too long the dip will turn green (you can also just stir it into the dip by hand after you pour it out of the blender). Garnish with a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkling of parsley. Serve with fresh pita, baked pita chips and/or vegetable crudites (like carrots or slices of cucumber). Keywords: Vegetarian, Vegetables, Middle Eastern, Dip, Salad, Side, Blender ( RG1104 )

Pulled Pork Souvlaki Serves 2 as Main Dish. Inspired by the Souvlaki and Tzadziki thread. Great for a picnic spread, as seen in that thread. I usually find souvlaki to be kind of dry. I find cooking the pork on the bone and in larger pieces makes for much moister meat, especially when you pour the juices that had accumulated on the plate into the container with the pulled souvlaki. 1 tsp dried oregano 1 tsp dried zatar (optional) 1/4 c water 2 T lemon juice 1/4 c olive oil 4 pork chops (about 1-1.5 lbs if on the bone) 8 oz whole mushrooms (optional) lemon wedges pita bread tzadziki * Soak the dried herbs in the water to rehydrate for about 1/2 hour (in a large bowl). Then, whisk in the lemon juice and olive oil. Place the pork chops in the bowl and turn to coat them in the marinade. Cover and place the bowl in the fridge, marinate for at least 1 hour (2 would be better), turning the chops halfway. If using the mushrooms, toss them in the marinade with the chops when there's about 1/2 hour to go. Grill the chops and mushrooms over high heat for about 10 minutes. Remove to a plate and allow to rest for at least 10 minutes, or put in the fridge to deal with later. When cool to the touch, pick the meat off the bones, removing the fat and gristle as well. Tear the mushrooms into pieces with your hands too. Mix in any meat juice that has accumulated at the bottom of the plate. Serve cool or reheat gently, garnish the plate with lemon wedges for sprinkling on the meat. Make sandwiches with pita bread and tzadziki (*click for recipe). Keywords: Main Dish, Pork, Middle Eastern, Dinner, Lunch ( RG1103 )

Pulled Pork Souvlaki Serves 2 as Main Dish. Inspired by the Souvlaki and Tzadziki thread. Great for a picnic spread, as seen in that thread. I usually find souvlaki to be kind of dry. I find cooking the pork on the bone and in larger pieces makes for much moister meat, especially when you pour the juices that had accumulated on the plate into the container with the pulled souvlaki. 1 tsp dried oregano 1 tsp dried zatar (optional) 1/4 c water 2 T lemon juice 1/4 c olive oil 4 pork chops (about 1-1.5 lbs if on the bone) 8 oz whole mushrooms (optional) lemon wedges pita bread tzadziki * Soak the dried herbs in the water to rehydrate for about 1/2 hour (in a large bowl). Then, whisk in the lemon juice and olive oil. Place the pork chops in the bowl and turn to coat them in the marinade. Cover and place the bowl in the fridge, marinate for at least 1 hour (2 would be better), turning the chops halfway. If using the mushrooms, toss them in the marinade with the chops when there's about 1/2 hour to go. Grill the chops and mushrooms over high heat for about 10 minutes. Remove to a plate and allow to rest for at least 10 minutes, or put in the fridge to deal with later. When cool to the touch, pick the meat off the bones, removing the fat and gristle as well. Tear the mushrooms into pieces with your hands too. Mix in any meat juice that has accumulated at the bottom of the plate. Serve cool or reheat gently, garnish the plate with lemon wedges for sprinkling on the meat. Make sandwiches with pita bread and tzadziki (*click for recipe). Keywords: Main Dish, Pork, Middle Eastern, Dinner, Lunch ( RG1103 )