Lucas'mom

Back in 1983 Craig Claiborne & Pierre Franey published a recipe in the NY Times for a chocolate mousse cake. You make the mousse, bake 3/4 of it, and use the remaining 1/4 to frost the cooled cake. It's spectacular. Recently, I unearthed the recipe and made it for a women's group dinner. Needless to say, I was asked whether the dish included raw eggs, and had to confess it did. Do others still make such throw-backs to a bygone era? I read on the American Egg Association website that the risk of salmonella is something like 1 in 20,000. What do others think? Lucas' mom

Mmm. The best way I know to do greens is -- how else? -- a la Paula. Her Moroccan greens recipe in "Couscous" is awesome. I've made it so many times, I just wing it by now. You can use any combo: last night I put in kale, broccolini, and a whole bunch of flat parsley. Steam in just a wee bit of water til tender (I like mine more on the crunchy than soggy side). Add a large dollop of kalamata olive schmoosh, some preserved lemon (I include the pulp for more of that salty zing), lots of sliced garlic, fresh lemon juice. Stir til well blended (and the garlic a bit cooked), remove from heat, and drizzle with fragrant olive oil at the end. Served room temperature last night with rice & beans and some fish. Oh my, it was SOOO good. Lucas' mom

Today's NYTimes article by Lawson on comfort foods got me thinking about our family's latest: chilaquiles. Thanks to Rick Bayless' "Mexican Kitchen," we have discovered the joy of turning pureed tomato & tortilla chips into homey, Mexican comfort food. My 14-yr-old likes to add fresh spinach, grated cheese (he likes Monterey Jack, I say sharp cheddar), mashed chipotle & adobo sauce, and roasted garlic smoosh into the tomato sauce. Then the magic: you pour in a big hunk of tortilla chips (we use Tostito's Bite Size) and wait for them to soggify. Honestly, it's delicious, quick, easy, and you can dress it up a zillion ways, if so inspired. Lucas just finished his leftovers for breakfast. Yum. Anyone else into this Mexican comfort food?