Nyleve Baar

Fattoush Salad Serves 4 as Salad. This is sort of a cross between a Greek Salad (with olives and feta cheese) and an Italian Panzanella. Makes excellent use of leftover or stale pita bread that you might otherwise throw away. 2 large pita breads (pocket type) 8 c torn romaine lettuce 1 c cherry or grape tomatoes, halved 1 c seedless cucumber, cut into 1/4-inch cubes 1/4 c chopped green onion 1/4 c finely chopped cilantro 1/4 c finely chopped fresh mint leaves 3/4 c coarsely crumbled feta cheese 1/4 c pitted and halved Kalamata olives 3/4 c olive oil 1/4 c freshly squeezed lemon juice 2 garlic cloves, minced 2 tsp sumac powder (if you can find it) 1/2 tsp cumin 1/2 tsp salt 1/4 tsp black pepper Preheat the oven to 350o F Separate the pitas into two layers and cut each layer into 6 wedges. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until the pita wedges are crisp and lightly browned. Remove from oven and break into pieces. In a large bowl, combine the lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, green onion, cilantro and mint. Add the feta cheese, olives and pita chips. In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, sumac, cumin, salt and pepper. Pour about half of the dressing over the salad in the bowl, toss until everything is coated with dressing. Add more dressing if necessary, and toss again to combine. (Leftover dressing can be refrigerated and used with a day or two.) Keywords: Salad, Lunch, Vegetarian, Dinner, Easy, Middle Eastern, Vegetables ( RG1314 )

Fattoush Salad Serves 4 as Salad. This is sort of a cross between a Greek Salad (with olives and feta cheese) and an Italian Panzanella. Makes excellent use of leftover or stale pita bread that you might otherwise throw away. 2 large pita breads (pocket type) 8 c torn romaine lettuce 1 c cherry or grape tomatoes, halved 1 c seedless cucumber, cut into 1/4-inch cubes 1/4 c chopped green onion 1/4 c finely chopped cilantro 1/4 c finely chopped fresh mint leaves 3/4 c coarsely crumbled feta cheese 1/4 c pitted and halved Kalamata olives 3/4 c olive oil 1/4 c freshly squeezed lemon juice 2 garlic cloves, minced 2 tsp sumac powder (if you can find it) 1/2 tsp cumin 1/2 tsp salt 1/4 tsp black pepper Preheat the oven to 350o F Separate the pitas into two layers and cut each layer into 6 wedges. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until the pita wedges are crisp and lightly browned. Remove from oven and break into pieces. In a large bowl, combine the lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, green onion, cilantro and mint. Add the feta cheese, olives and pita chips. In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, sumac, cumin, salt and pepper. Pour about half of the dressing over the salad in the bowl, toss until everything is coated with dressing. Add more dressing if necessary, and toss again to combine. (Leftover dressing can be refrigerated and used with a day or two.) Keywords: Salad, Lunch, Vegetarian, Dinner, Easy, Middle Eastern, Vegetables ( RG1314 )

Oooo. I'm making lamb shanks tomorrow night. I'll save the fattoush for that. Hey - are we, by any chance, identical twins separated at birth? My mother did, now that I think about it, have a slightly mysterious past.

Make Lebanese fattoush salad (recipe follows) and increase the amount of mint (my recipe is pretty stingy in the mint dep't). Or make tabouli salad with half mint and half parsley (instead of all parsley). They're both absolutely wonderful salads -perfectly summery Lebanese Fattoush Salad For the salad: 2 large pita breads (pocket type) 8 cups torn romaine lettuce leaves – preferably just hearts 1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes, halved 1 cup seedless cucumber, cut into 1/4-inch (.5 cm) cubes 1/4 cup chopped green onion 1/4 cup finely chopped cilantro 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh mint leaves 3/4 cup coarsely crumbled feta cheese 1/4 cup pitted and halved Kalamata olives For the dressing: 3/4 cup olive oil 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice 1 – 2 cloves garlic, minced 2 tsp. sumac powder (optional) 1/2 tsp. cumin 1/2 tsp. salt 1/4 tsp. black pepper Preheat the oven to 350o F. With a sharp knife or scissors, cut around the edges of the pita breads and separate the two layers. Cut each layer into 6 wedges and place on a baking sheet. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until the pita wedges are crisp and lightly browned. Remove from oven and break into large chunks. Set aside. In a large salad bowl, combine the lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, green onion, cilantro and mint. Arrange the feta cheese, olives and pita chips on top. In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, sumac, cumin, salt and pepper. Pour about half of the dressing over the salad in the bowl, toss until everything is coated with dressing. Add more dressing if necessary, and toss again to combine. (Leftover dressing can be refrigerated and used with a day or two.) Makes 4 to 6 servings.

I spent time in that area last summer and your post brought back great memories. Unfortunately, we didn't know about the crazy parking lot area with all the vendors at the Frasassi Caves. I won't go into the rather baroque details of how we actually got to the caves, but we ended up at the parking area with 2 hours to kill. Ate, drank, bought very tacky souvenir thingies. It was more fun than a barrel of monkeys. You're right about le Marche. It's a wonderful area. Don't tell anyone else, please.

Of COURSE it was English. As in, probably, English when I've been out in the sun too long. As in English when I should have turned the computer off at least three hours before I did. As in, well, bad English. Sorry for the incomprehensibility. What I thought I had said was that I keep a bag of plastic whatchamacallits that we use over and over again to decorate family cakes. These are generally of the dollar store variety and they allow us to create truly bizarre little cake-top scenarios. Hence the mention of the now infamous ants-all-over cake which featured about a gazillion plastic ants crawling up the sides and all over the top of my son's birthday cake one year. He loved it, but it was difficult to eat. If I were asked to make a dachshund cake, I'd find a plastic dachshund and surround it with appropriate accessories. Such as fire hydrants and/or trees. But that's just me. I'm kind of into tacky. And in my world, a kid's ice cream cake should not necessarily be tastefully decorated. Sorry for the confusion.

Why don't you just buy a plastic (or some facsimilie thereof) dachund and arrange it on the top of the cake with suitable paraphernalia. Like a plastic fire hydrant or tree. We have a bag of plastic whatnot that we use and reuse in increasingly demented ways to decorate family cakes. The best was the ants-all-over cake.

You've pretty much got exactly how I do it. I make a 9-inch round cake layer and split it. Then I line a springform pan with plastic wrap - extending it up the sides and hanging over. This will help create a neater outside surface. Now place one half layer in the bottom, scoop in a whole half gallon (2 litre) tub of whatever flavour ice cream you like (softened slightly) and top with the other half layer. Press down and wrap the plastic over the top. Freeze solid. When it's solid, I remove the whole thing from the springform pan and peel off the plastic. Frost with sweetened and tinted (if you like) whipped cream. Regular buttercream frosting doesn't work well on a frozen cake. The whipped cream softens just enough when you remove the cake from the freezer to give it a reasonable texture. And it goes well with the cake and ice cream.

I don't want to be the voice of doom here (oh, maybe I do...) but traffic in Miami being the way it is, 5 hours can be cutting it close in terms of getting somewhere and back in time to clear security etc. In theory, it shouldn't take more than 20 minutes to get to, say Chef Allens in North Miami. But I have been trapped on I-95 in standstill traffic - extending that length of trip to an hour or more. If you're determined to do this, I suggest you look for restaurants within a very close radius of the airport. Unfortunately I can't help you with that either. I don't live in Miami. My experience comes from about 20 years visiting my aged mother who did live there and waited for us more times than I care to remember, her fingers drumming anxiously on the kitchen table, while dinner dried out in the oven and we were stuck in a traffic jam.

In total this season I have found, probably, a dozen morels. VERY disappointing. I live near Peterborough, Ontario - so in the general area you mention. I think it's a combination of the extended cold weather and, now that it's warm enough it's too dry. But truth be told, I've never found a whole lot of them. Just enough to make a nice morel pasta or risotto. At them moment I have about 6 small ones in the fridge waiting for me to do something to them. Mustn't be hasty about these things.

I'm not picky when it comes to mold on cheese - but THAT doesn't look right to me. The mold looks like accidental mold, not cultivated mold. If I had allowed it to turn into that in my own fridge, fine. I'd just cut off the bad bits and eat the rest. But I wouldn't buy it that way. Return return return.

Cilantro.

Grilled asparagus brushed with olive oil, garlic and salt. Heavenly. Fiddleheads - first BOILED for about 5 minutes, drained and sauteed with butter and garlic. But what to do with nettles? They're coming up all over my yard. Some great ideas would be very much appreciated. I know they're supposed to be delicious, but have never had the nerve to try them.

Yeah, cool and wet-ish, but we still did it. Have to. It's a cast-in-stone tradition. Did a mixed grill - whole piece of strip loin, butterflied leg of lamb, venison sausages and chicken breasts - with grilled asparagus, a sweet and sour potato salad and tossed green salad. Rhubarb pie and blueberry-apple pie for dessert. Husband insisted on building a bonfire - and it was a good thing - or else we couldn't have sat outside to eat. Then fireworks. Excellent evening all around. One culinary note, however. I marinated both the lamb and beef in and oil, red wine, rosemary and garlic marinade but added smoked paprika to the beef. It was outstanding. Guests just left an hour ago and I'm glad to be rid of them. It was fun but I'm still doing dishes. Until next year.

Seriously - this is a doable pasta recipe? I'm not questioning it really - it's just that the pasta recipe I usually use doesn't have anywhere near as much egg. If this is good, I'll be tremendously happy because I have been left with too many egg yolks too often. Last time I made - yes - lemon curd. Which was lovely but it's just not something you need a lot of.

This post takes me back to art school. Thank you. ← Funny - George is, in fact, an artist. And, at the time, not long out of art school. Me too, for that matter. That's pretty funny.

At the risk of lapsing into broken-recordness, I must report that I made potatoes yesterday using the pre-cook method. They were perfect. I was paying attention because I knew this thread was floating around. The precooking makes it possible - as Ruth said - to partially prepare and then finish them right before you need them. Which is what I did. They browned in the oven in about 15 minutes on 425o, I turned them about twice. For pan crisping, it would be about the same. So simple and no worry that your potatoes won't be done when everything else is. Crisp and brown on the outside, fluffy inside.

Godito - Yes. To everything. I am for sure a bumpkin, and don't go out to eat often. And when I do, it's usually to some funky hole in the wall I found perversely interesting. So there was a part of me that imagines a whole world of experience out there to which I am not privy. Turns out sometimes true, sometimes not. And it also turns out that I may just like the ambiance and quirkiness of the less mainstream undiscovered gems when I go out to eat. And, as has been pointed out, I agree that restaurants may not always be the best places to eat wonderful food. Love and soul are what I appreciate in a meal - and you can't really buy that element. It's ok. I'm over the disappointment now. In fact, going out to dinner tonight. Not expecting miracles, but hoping for at least a good bottle of wine and something nice to eat.

I get much better results if I steam the potatoes slices or chunks to near-doneness first, then toss with olive oil or whatever (and salt and pepper) and THEN brown them. That way you're not depending on the pan for fully cooking the potatoes right through, and you can use a slighly higher heat without worrying about burning them. Cook just until nicely brown and crisp and they're done. Don't cover!

Dang -- you're not getting what you need at the "fancy schmancy" places and now your neighborhood trattoria is giving you a hard time about the salt. Tough Spring! ← You're SOOOO right. I guess I just can't go out anymore. Better stay home with my cozy little salt pot that I can use at a moment's notice, and my good old home cookin'. No - wait. Don't let my husband read this.

I had dinner not too long ago at a supposedly casual Italian restaurant where there was no salt on the table. At first, I thought it was a mistake. But when I asked the waiter, he very audibly informed me that THE CHEF HAS ALREADY SALTED THE FOOD but IF YOU INSIST I'll see if I can find you a salt shaker. I found it pretentious and rude and I will never eat in that restaurant again. I might understand if this were the Type of Restaurant where One Does Not Question. But fercripesakes it was pizza and pasta. Give me a break.

I sometimes find myself believing that the ability to cook well is almost bred in the bone - not genetic, exactly, but a deep love that is learned in childhood - infancy, even. When I eat something that really has soul - as someone posted earlier (sorry, I just lose track of names) - I feel like I'm actually contacting the person who made the dish. It's like a telepathic communication. Is this weird? When I eat high-end restaurant food - highly constructed, ethereal dishes - I very rarely feel that contact. It is purely aesthethic to me. Beautiful, impressive even, but not real. I am not touched where it counts. I swear I'd rather have a single bowl of incredible soup in a grungy hole in the wall cooked by a lunatic wearing a smeared apron than ten dinners where the food is presented in a triangular shape in a pool of some kind of extreme reduction, with individual strands of grass arranged with geometric precision over a splodge of foam. Maybe it tastes fabulous, but then again, maybe it's all smoke and mirrors. My original post was a slight lament about the fact that the meal I had wasn't even especially competent, never mind impressive. However, just out of sheer curiosity, I plan to go back there sometime to try the regular menu. But in my heart of hearts, I truly believe that the place is extremely overrated and that it's more about hype and cool than about really really good food.

True - that last comment. That's exactly what I'm looking for when I go out to eat somewhere special. I don't generally expect an entire meal to be absolutely stunning, but even a single dish that makes me stop in my tracks. It doesn't happen often. In fact, I can probably remember every single time in my life that it HAS happened. And it's not usually something complicated either. Perfect gnocchi, for instance, has made me go all cross-eyed. Pear and gorgonzola ravioli. Chicken tagine with olives and preserved lemons. Yeah, I'm into peasant food. No question. Gotta hit me between the eyes like a sledge hammer. Sort of embarassing, I suddenly realize.

God - it's all coming back to me now. I won a milk recipe contest about 20 years abo with a recipe that I sort of stole from somewhere (can't remember where) and anyway it must have been horrible - I can't imagine why I won. If I remember correctly, the recipe was for a casserole with cauliflower and cheese baked in a cream sauce with, like, olives or some other ridiculous thing in it. No really, it must have been awful - I can see that gooey whiteness, the slightly overbaked edges - ick. I won a food processor, though. Used it for years until it died.

Don't give up on them though. They're really nice when they're not poisonous.